茶或咖啡：哪個更適合你？
Tea or coffee: Which drink is better for you?
Countless arguments have been waged over the superiority of one beverage over the other. But what does the scientific evidence say?
關于這兩種飲料孰優孰劣的問題已經引發了無數爭論.但是科學證據是怎樣的呢？
George Orwell may have written that "tea is one of the mainstays of civilization in this country" – but even we British have to acknowledge that our national drink is facing stiff competition from the espressos, cappuccinos, and lattes invading our shores.
喬治·奧威爾或許寫過"茶是這個國家文明的一個支柱"這樣的句子——但我們英國人也要承認,隨著濃咖啡、卡布奇諾和拿鐵侵入國門,我們的全民飲料正面臨著激烈的競爭.
Despite the dangers of wading into such a charged argument, BBC Future decided to weigh up the relative merits of each drink. There's no accounting for taste, of course, but we have combed the scientific literature for their real, measurable effects on our body and mind.
盡管探討這個敏感話題充滿風險,"BBC未來"欄目還是決定對每種飲品的相對優點進行評估.當然,百人百味,但通過精心梳理科學文獻,我們找出了它們對人體和大腦真實的、可測量的影響.
The wake-up call
醒腦劑
For many, the caffeine kick is the primary reason we choose either beverage; it's the oil to our engines when we're still feeling a bit creaky in the morning. Based purely on its composition, coffee should win hands down: a cup of tea has about half the dose (40 milligrams) of the stimulant caffeine that you would find in a standard cup of brewed filter coffee (80 to 115 milligrams). Yet this doesn't necessarily reflect the jolt of the wake-up call.
對許多人來說,咖啡因的興奮作用是我們選擇這兩種飲料的主要原因；在睡眼惺忪的清晨,咖啡因就像石油一樣,給我們身體的引擎以能量.只考慮成分的話,咖啡可以輕松獲勝：一杯茶的咖啡因含量（40毫克）大約只有標準杯過濾咖啡（80至115毫克）的一半.然而,這并非反映了它們的醒腦作用.
Dosing subjects with either tea or coffee, one study found that both beverages left subjects feeling similarly alert later in the morning.
通過讓被試者飲用一定量的茶或咖啡,一項研究發現,這兩種飲料都能讓受試者在早晨晚些時候感到同樣清醒.
Verdict: Against logic, tea seems to provide just as powerful a wake-up call as coffee. It's a draw.
結論：雖然邏輯上講不通,但茶跟咖啡的醒腦作用似乎不相上下.平局.
