Walnuts¹ are the healthiest of all the nuts and should be eaten more as part of a healthy diet, US scientists say.

美国科学家称核桃是所有坚果中最为健康的一种，应该作为健康饮食的一部分多吃。

Scientists from Pennsylvania told the American Chemical Society that walnuts contain the highest level of antioxidants compared to other nuts.Antioxidants are known to help protect the body against disease.

来自宾夕法尼亚的科学家告诉美国化学学会称，相比其他坚果，核桃中抗氧化物质的含量是最高的。抗氧化物质有助于帮助身体抵御癌症。

The scientists said that all nuts have good nutritional² qualities but walnuts are healthier than peanuts, almonds, pecans and pistachios.

科学家说，所有坚果都营养丰富，但相比花生、杏仁、美洲山核桃和阿月浑子树果实来讲，核桃更为健康。

Dr Joe Vinson, from the University of Scranton, analysed the antioxidant levels of nine different types of nuts and discovered that a handful of walnuts contained twice as many antioxidants as a handful of any other commonly eaten nut.

斯克兰顿大学的乔·文森博士分析了九种不同类型坚果的抗氧化剂含量，发现一把核桃中抗氧化剂的含量是其他常见坚果的两倍。

He found that these antioxidants were higher in quality and potency³ than in any other nut.Antioxidants are good because they stop the chain reactions that damage cells in the body when oxidation occurs.

他发现核桃中的抗氧化剂不论从质量还是效力上看，比其他种类的坚果都要更胜一筹。抗氧化剂有着良好的效用，因为它可以在氧化发生时，阻止体内受损细胞发生进一步的连锁反应。

Roasted nuts 烤坚果

The antioxidants found in walnuts were also two to 15 times as powerful as vitamin E, which is known to protect the body against damaging natural chemicals involved in causing disease, the study says.

研究表明核桃中的抗氧化剂效力是维生素E的2至15倍；而人们通常认为维生素E可以保护身体免受引发疾病的自然化学药物伤害。

Nuts are known to be healthy and nutritious⁴, containing high-quality protein, lots of vitamins and minerals as well as dietary fibre. They are also dairy and gluten-free.

坚果健康而营养，含有高质量蛋白质，富含维生素、矿物质和食用纤维。而且坚果不含奶，也不含麸质物。

Previous research has shown that regular consumption⁵ of small amounts of nuts can reduce the risk of heart disease, some types of cancer, type two diabetes⁶ and other health problems.

之前有研究表明长期食用少量坚果可以有效减小心脏病、某些种类的癌症、二型糖尿病和其他健康问题的发病几率。

Dr Vinson said there was another advantage in choosing walnuts as a source of antioxidants: "The heat from roasting nuts generally reduces the quality of the antioxidants.

文森博士说，选择核桃作为抗氧化剂的获取来源还有另外一个优势：“通常情况下烤坚果时的热量会减少其中抗氧化剂的含量。而一般人们吃的核桃都是生的或者没有烤过的，因此可以更有效地获取其中的抗氧化剂。”