心情难过的时候,来块巧克力吧

The secret to why a bar of chocolate and even a cup of tea can make us feed good may finally have been discovered.

心情难过的时候，来块巧克力就能让我们心情好起来，有时候简单的一杯热茶也能让我们倍感温馨。众多事实表明食物能改善我们的情绪，而其背后所隐藏的奥秘可能即将被研究人员所最终揭示出来。

Researchers today revealed that some flavours found in commonly eaten comfort foods are chemically similar to mood enhancing drugs – and could have a similar effect.

研究人员今天发表声明称，他们在通常被认为是所谓的“安慰性”食物中发现了某些口味成分，其在化合组成上同某些缓解情绪的药物相似——而且也具有类似的功效。

The team found natural ingredients bearing what they describe as ‘a striking chemical similarity’ to valproic acid, a widely used prescription mood-stabilizing drug.

该研究小组在某些天然食物原料中发现了被他们称之为“在化学上同丙戊酸（valproic acid）惊人相似”的成分，而丙戊酸是在医学上被广泛应用于情绪稳定的处方药物。

Researchers believe the flavours in foods such as chocolate is chemically similar to a mood altering drug, and could explain why some food makes us feel better

研究人员相信在巧克力等食物中含有某种成分，其化学组成类似于情绪调解类药物，因此可以解释为什么某些食物能够让人得到舒缓。

‘The large body of evidence that chemicals in chocolate, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, teas and certain foods could well be mood-enhancers encourages the search for other mood modulators in food,’ said Martinez-Mayorga.

马丁内斯-马约尔加博士说：“大量证据表明，在巧克力、蓝莓、覆盆子、草莓、茶叶等食物中所含的某种化学物质可以用于缓解情绪，这一结论将大大激励我们，继续在食物中寻找其它具有类似功效的成分。”

Chocolate is often seen as a comfort food, and now scientists believe they are one step closed to understanding why it can make us feel happy

巧克力通常被认为是种具有“安慰性”的食物，现在科学家们相信，他们即将揭示出其为什么能让人感到快乐的原因了。