Coffee is good for you: Women who drink four or more cups a day are less likely to be depressed

　　咖啡對你有益：每天四杯咖啡可降低女性抑鬱症的風險

　　Many of us depend on a mug of freshly brewed coffee to perk us up in the mornings.

　　很多人每天早上都要靠一杯現煮的咖啡才能醒過來。

　　But its mood-boosting effect could well be lasting far longer than we realise, claim scientists.

　　但據科學家們說咖啡的提神效果可能比我們所知的還要來的持久。

　　They have discovered that women who drink four or more cups a day are a fifth less likely to become depressed.

　　他們發現每天喝四杯甚至更多咖啡的女性的憂鬱症可能性比其他女性小五分之一。

　　And those who drink between two or three reduce their risk by 15 per cent.

　　而每天喝兩到三杯的也能減少風險15%。

　　Researchers at Harvard University compared the coffee intake and risk of depression amongst nearly 51,000 women over ten years.

　　通過十年間對近51000名女性抑鬱情況的跟蹤調查，哈佛大學的研究人員們認爲咖啡對此有所影響。

　　They did not look at men – but other studies have found it has a similar effect.

　　雖然他們並沒有做針對男性的調查，但另有研究顯示咖啡對男性也有類似作用。

　　The scientists, whose findings are published in the Journal of American Medicine Association, think that caffeine works like antidepressant pills by stopping the production of certain hormones such as serotonin.

　　在這項發表於美國藥品學會期刊的報道中，科學家們指出咖啡因可以跟抗抑鬱藥品一樣，起到抑制羥色胺這類的荷爾蒙的作用。

　　They also say it improves our feelings of well-being and gives us more energy over long periods.

　　而且也能同時達到讓我們心情愉悅，並在長時間精力更加充沛的效果。

　　The researchers also asked the women how much tea they drank, chocolate bars they ate each day, their alcohol consumption and whether they did exercise.

　　研究人員也調查了被測試女性每天喝茶、喫巧克力以及喝酒的數量，並記錄了她們的運動情況。

　　They found that coffee had the strongest influence reducing depression – but the decaf variety didn’t work at all.

　　他們發現咖啡是其中抗抑鬱效果最好的，但無咖啡因的咖啡卻起不到此效果。

　　Dr Michel Lucas, from the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, said: `Our results support a possible protective effect of caffeine, mainly from coffee consumption, on risk of depression.

　　博士的哈佛大學公共衛生系的Michel Lucas博士說：“我們的數據顯示咖啡因，特別是通過咖啡攝入的，可能可以降低抑鬱症的風險。”

　　`Further investigations are needed to confirm this finding and to determine whether usual caffeinated coffee consumption may contribute to prevention or treatment of depression.`

　　“我們還需要更多的調查來確定這一發現，才能進一步斷言飲用咖啡可以預防抑鬱症。”

　　They think that in future coffee could be used as an antidepressant or as a means of preventing depression.

　　但他們認爲在未來咖啡很有可能被用於預防抑鬱症。

　　Only last year a study in Finland discovered that men who drank more than four cups a day were also far less likely to become depressed.

　　剛剛在去年，一項芬蘭的研究也發現每天飲用超過四杯咖啡的男性罹患抑鬱症的風險更小。

　　It is already known that coffee can help stave off a range of illnesses including prostate cancer, gout and Alzheimer’s and may even boost brain power.

　　我們已經知道咖啡可以起到預防某些疾病的作用，比如前列腺癌、痛風以及阿爾茨海默氏症等，甚至還能刺激大腦活力。

　　But it isn’t entirely beneficial – and you can have too much.

　　但咖啡並非是有百利而無一害的，而且也不是喝得越多越好。

　　Scientists have also shown that can raise the blood pressure and increase the heart rate.

　　科學家們一經發現咖啡會提高血壓，增加心律。

　　And pregnant women are advised to drink no more than two cups a day to reduce the likelihood of a miscarriage or their babies being underweight.

　　同時孕婦每天應不飲用超過兩杯的咖啡，以降低流產以及胎兒體重過輕的風險。

　　來源：http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2042115/Women-drink-4-cups-coffee-day-likely-depressed.html#ixzz1ZBGlZu5Y