Everyone knows you shouldn't snack on chocolate just before a meal.

每个人都知道在饭前不应该吃巧克力。

But if you really must, scientists have revealed that tucking into some types may be better for you than others.

但是如果你真的必须要吃点儿巧克力的话，科学家指出某些种类的巧克力甚至会对你有好处。

Research found that women who ate dark chocolate rather than milk or white, were less likely to overeat later.

研究发现，女性饭前吃点儿黑巧克力（不是牛奶巧克力或者白巧克力），稍后正餐就可能不会吃得过多。

The study, reported in journal Appetite, added: 'Of course, these results do not intend to promote the consumption of chocolate for weight management, but rather show that for women that do consume chocolate, dark chocolate may be the chocolate of preference.'

这项刊载在《食欲》期刊上的研究补充说道：“当然，这些结果并不是要让那些减肥的人多吃巧克力，而是表明对于那些一定要吃巧克力的女性来说，黑巧克力可能是最好的选择。”

Over three weeks, a Liverpool John Moores University study gave volunteers similar-sized samples of 80 per cent cocoa plain, 35 per cent cocoa milk and white chocolate.

在利物浦约翰·摩尔大学一项为期三个星期的研究中，研究者给志愿者们提供了相同大小的黑巧克力（80%可可）、牛奶巧克力（35%可可）和白巧克力。

Researchers then measured how much the volunteers – all women aged 50 to 65 – ate during a meal and asked how they felt.

随后研究者记录下了志愿者们（均为50-65岁的女性）正餐时的食量，并询问了她们的感觉。

The study found all the volunteers claimed to be comfortably full despite eating significantly less after dark chocolate.

该研究发现，在吃了黑巧克力之后，虽然志愿者们的饭量都变小了，但是她们均表示自己已经吃得很饱了。

They consumed only 323 calories, compared with 404 calories for those who ate milk chocolate. And those who had white chocolate then ate 440 calories.

那些食用牛奶巧克力的人正餐吃下了404卡路里的食物，相比之下食用黑巧克力的人只吃下了323卡路里的食物。而那些食用白巧克力的人则吃下了440卡路里的食物。

Snacking on an extra 100 calories a day – the equivalent of a biscuit – would add 1lb in weight every 35 days.

而如果每天多摄入100卡路里（相当于一块饼干），每过35天就会增重一磅。

It is thought compounds called polyphenols, of which there are more in dark chocolate, slow the digestion¹ of carbohydrates² in the stomach and so reduce appetite.

研究认为，一种被称为多酚类的化合物（黑巧克力中含量更多）会减缓胃里碳水化合物的消化过程，从而减少人们的食欲。