时差N小时:你能沉迷于巧克力吗? Can You Be Addicted To Chocolate?

As Robert Palmer sang in the mid 80s,You might aswell faceit, you're addicted to love.

80年代中期的罗伯特帕尔默曾经唱道：承认吧，你已坠入爱河。

While that may or may not be true depending onwho you are, it's nosecret that addiction is acommon phenomenon.

虽然，这句歌词的意思因人而异，但我们都知道，沉迷某事物或某人是个普遍现象。

Apart from serious addictions to drugs and alcohol,how many times have you heard someoneclaim thatthey're absolutely addicted to chocolate? Or diet Coke.

除了严重的毒瘾和酒瘾意外，你有多少次曾听到有人说他们对巧克力十分上瘾?

Or broccoli? Well, maybe notbroccoli, but you get the point.

或者说无糖可乐,或是花椰菜?也许不是花椰菜,但你知道我想说的是什么。

But is it really possible to be a chocolate addict in the same waythat someone might beaddicted to drugs?

对巧克力上瘾真的会跟毒瘾一样吗?

To answer that question we need to know what addiction is.

要解答这个问题，我们需要知道什么是上瘾。

Although the precise science ofaddiction is unclear, we do know that it involves the brain;addictive substances alter brainchemistry in such a way as to make the body crave more.

虽然对上瘾还没有确切的定义，但我们都知道它跟大脑有关;上瘾的东西会以某种方式改变脑化学，从而使人体产生对该物的渴望。

But what about chocolate?

但怎么解释巧克力呢?

Several studies indicate that chocolate addiction is for real.

一些研究表明，对巧克力上瘾确实是存在的。

Chocolatecontains a number of addictive substances, including caffeine and cannabinoids,chemicals similarto the ones that make marijuana a potent drug.

巧克力包含很多容易上瘾的物质，如咖啡因、大麻类物质。

Further studies found not only that chocolatefats trigger the release of pleasure-causingsubstances in the brain, but that chocolate contains achemical similar to amphetamine, a highlyaddictive drug.

进一步研究发现，不仅巧克力脂肪能够促使大脑释放出使人体愉悦的物质，巧克力还含有一种和苯内胺很相似的化学物质。

Does this mean that anyone who eats enough chocolate will become addicted?

难道说任何吃过多巧克力的人都会上瘾吗?

No. Some peoplecan eat all the chocolate they want and never get hooked.

不是的。有些人可以想吃多少巧克力就吃多少而不上瘾。

But chocolate does cause chemicalchanges in the brain that can result in a powerful craving.

但巧克力确实会引起大脑的化学变化，从而产生一种强烈的渴望。

Chocolate addiction is nowhere near aspotent or harmful as alcohol and drug addiction, ofcourse.

对巧克力上瘾可不是像毒瘾和酒瘾那样对人体有害。

But if you find yourself unable to gothrough the day without at least one Hershey's Kiss, it's notjust in your mind.

但如果你发现自己一天不吃上一块好时巧克力就不自在的话，不止是你脑中会这样想，

You're hooked.

而是你确实是染上巧克力瘾了。