New research shows that chocolate is actually good for us!

Friday, 9th April, 2010.

Still on the topic of chocolate and how it affects health - according to a new study, small doses of chocolate every day could actually decrease your risk of having a heart attack or stroke by nearly 40 per cent: http://www.lubbockonline.com/stories/033110/hea_598379813.shtml. German researchers followed nearly 20, 000 people over a period of eight years and found that those who had an average of six grams of chocolate per day (or about one square of a chocolate bar) had a 39 per cent lower risk of having either a heart attack or stroke.

Whilst previous studies have suggested dark chocolate in small amounts might be beneficial to health, this is the first study which has been done over a longer period of time, which would tend to validate the claims to a larger extent. Experts believe that it might have something to do with the flavonols which are found in chocolates.

My own hypothesis is that it also stimulates pleasure and the release of serotonin in the brain which has a beneficial effect on mind and body, thereby being beneficial generally to health. So as far as I'm concerned, it's official - chocolate is actually good for you - this is the one I'm sticking to anyway!