【推荐1】Eating chocolate at least once a week could stave off a heart attack, according to new research. Chocolate is packed with plant chemicals that weaken inflammation(炎症) and help blood flow, explained scientists.

Lead author Dr. Chayakrit Kittanawong said, “Our study suggests chocolate helps keep the heart's blood vessels healthy.” It collected data from six trials that examined the link over the past five decades. A total of 336, 289 people reported their intake. Those who ate chocolate more than once a week reduced their risk of coronary artery( 冠状动脉) disease by eight percent. This was compared to peers who ate it less than once a week.

Chocolate is known to produce the same chemical in the brain as falling in love. But evidence is growing that its reputation as a “guilty pleasure” is wrong. Dr. Krittanawong said, “Chocolate contains heart healthy nutrients such as flavonoids, methylxanthines, polyphenols and stearic acid which may reduce inflammation.

Known medically as HDL(high-density lipoprotein)(高密度脂蛋白), it helps to rid LDL (low-density lipoprotein) out of the body. When this collects, it causes vessels and arteries to become blocked up. It can stop blood flow to the heart or brain, causing a heart attack or stroke. Dr. Krittanawong said, “In the past, clinical studies have shown chocolate is beneficial for blood pressure.

Dark chocolate has long been known to have health benefits but recent research has suggested milk chocolate may also provide valuable nutrients to the heart. Dr. Krittanawong pointed out his study did not investigate whether any particular type of chocolate is more beneficial - or if there is an ideal portion size. He said, “Chocolate appears promising for the prevention of coronary artery disease. But more research is needed to show how much and what kind of chocolate could be recommended.”

While it's not clear how much is perfect, Dr. Krittanawong warned people against overeating. He said, “Moderate amounts of chocolate seem to protect coronary arteries but it's likely that large quantities do not.”

【推荐2】For many Chinese consumers, a satisfying breakfast is one that includes either hot porridge(粥) or steamed buns(馒头). Cold sandwiches, which are usually popular with Westerners, are probably one of the last options on their minds. But that is not to say that consumers, especially those in an international city like Shanghai, would avoid everything considered Western for breakfast. For instance, coffee, which has steadily grown in popularity in the country, is one drink that many cannot do without today.

To satisfy this growing demand for breakfast sets that combine elements from the East and the West, food companies have been rolling out a host of new offerings to attract the customer. One example is Shanghai Qiao Coffee, which was launched by local time-honored food company Qiaojiashan at the end of 2019. Apart from its traditional dim sum, the store also sells various types of coffee.

According to Shen Yan, deputy manager of Shanghai Qiaojiashan Food Development Cold, the most popular breakfast set at the moment is the steamed vegetable bun paired with black coffee. “The calories that one gets from a meal featuring Chinese dim sum and coffee are less than those of a Western breakfast. Since a steamed bun has nearly 200 calories and a cup of black coffee barely has any calories, this combination can be considered healthy and delicious," said Shen.

Even the smaller shoppers in the food scene are jumping on the East-West breakfast trend. Western food establishments, too, have been rolling out Chinese breakfast options. "Consumers and even cultural heritage will also benefit from the increased competition. If not for the current trend which has revived interest in certain traditional dim sum, these foods could soon be lost to history," Shen said.

【推荐1】People who like travelling have their reasons. They believe that travelling can help them expand their field of view, especially in the geographical and historical sense. They also think that touring will give them more chances to enjoy different kinds of food and experience new things that would never be brought by other activities. But those who dislike travelling also have some reasons.

Travelling, in my opinion, does more good than harm. Most importantly, it broadens (使扩大) our mind. We can get in touch with other civilizations (文明), cultures, customs and ideas.

Through history, most people travelled because of necessity (必要性) －not for pleasure. People travelled just in order to remain alive. They searched for food to eat or places to live in. They sometimes ran away from enemies. This is not to say that no one ever travelled just for fun of it. In ancient times, for example, rich Romans travelled all the ways to Greece to take part in the Olympic Games, and festivals. Of course, some people decided to travel just out of curiosity (好奇心). They wanted to find out what it looked like beyond the horizon (地平线). Also business travel has been going on for centuries. Traders could not only make money but also learn to speak several languages and be introduced to different cultures.

So, travelling does enrich our mind and draw new ideas to us. There is no doubt that we can get much from it.

【推荐2】There is an old saying in English: "Laughter is the best medicine." Until recently, few people took the saying very seriously. Now, however, doctors have begun to investigate laughter and the effects it has on the human body. They have found evidence that laughter really can improve people's health.

Tests were carried out to study the effects of laughter on the body. People watched funny films, while doctors checked their heart rate, blood pressure, breathing and muscles. It was found that laughter has similar effects to physical exercise. It increases blood pressure, the heart rate and the rate of breathing; it also works several groups of muscles in the face, the stomach, and even the feet. If laughter exercises the body, it must be beneficial.

Other tests have shown that laughter appears to be capable of reducing the effect of pain on the body. In one experiment doctors produced pain in groups of students who listened to different radio programs. The group, which tolerated the pain for the longest time, was the group, which listened to a funny program. The reason why laughter can reduce pain seems to be that it helps to produce endorphins(内啡肽) in the brain. These are natural chemicals that diminish both stress and pain.

There is also some evidence to suggest that laughter helps the body's immune(免疫的) system, that is, the system which fights infection. In an experiment, one group of students watched a funny video while another group served as the control group—in other words, a group with which to compare the first group. Doctors checked the blood of the students in both groups and found that the people in the group that watched the video had an increase in the activity of their blood cells, that is, the cells which fight infection.

As a result of these discoveries, some doctors and psychiatrists(精神病学家) in the United States now hold laughter clinics, in which they try to improve their patients' conditions by encouraging them to laugh. They have found that even if their patients do not really feel like laughing, making them smile is enough to produce beneficial effects similar to those caused by laughter.

【推荐3】Why can’t we stop longing for the good old days?

People in many countries are longing for the good old days. But when exactly were the good old days? Podcaster Jason Feifer devoted an episode of his program to this question. The most popular answer seemed to be the 1950s, so Mr. Feifer asked historians whether Americans in that decade thought it was particularly pleasant. Definitely not. In the 1950s, American sociologists worried that rampant individualism was tearing the family apart. There were serious racial and class tensions, and everyone lived under the nuclear threat.

In fact, many in the 1950s thought that the good old days were to be found a generation earlier, in the 1920s. But in the 1920s, child psychologist John Watson warned that because of increasing divorce races, the American family would soon cease to exist. Many people at the time idealized the Victor inn era, when families are strong and children respected their elders.

Why are human beings always so nostalgia for past eras that seemed difficult and dangerous to those who lived through them? One possibility is that we know we survived past dangers, so they seem smaller now. But we can never be certain we will solve the problems we are facing today. Radio didn’t ruin the younger generation, but maybe the smart phone will.

Another reason is that historical nostalgia is often colored by personal nostalgia. When were the good old days? Was it, by chance, the incredibly short period when you happened to be young? A U.S. Poll found that people born in the 1930s and 1940s thought the 1950s was America’s best decade, while those born in the 1960s and 1970s preferred the 1980s.

This kind of nostalgia has neurological roots. Researchers have found that we encode more memories during adolescence and early adult hood than any other period of our lives, and when we think about the past, this is the period we most often return to. Moreover, as we grow more distant from past events, we tend to remember them more positively.

Obviously, some things readily were better in the past. But our instinctive nostalgia for the good old days can easily deceive us, with dangerous consequences. Longing for the past and fear of the future inhibit the experiments and innovations that drive progress.

Vaccination, steam engines, railroads and electricity all met with strong resistance when they were first introduced. The point isn’t to show how silly previous generations were. The same kinds of anxieties have been expressed in our own time about innovations like the internet, video games and stem-cell research.

And not all fears about the future are unbounded. New technologies do result in accidents, they disturb traditional cultures and habits, and they destroy old jobs while creating new ones. But the only way to learn how to make the best use of new technologies and reduce risks is by trial and error. The future won’t be perfect, but neither were the good old days.