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You have my permission to eat chocolate.

No, it's not a misprint.

One of you jokingly asked me recently when I was going to write an article on chocolate being good for you. It made me laugh, but at the same time it got me thinking. I did some research and guess what I found out? Chocolate can be good for your health - in SMALL amounts!

By chocolate I mean dark chocolate, with a high-cocoa content. This high quality sweetness contains a high level of flavonoids, a compound found in many plants that have antioxidant properties, to protect your body from damaging stress. These flavonoids keep cholesterol from gathering in blood vessels, reduce the risk of blood clots, and slow down your body's immune responses that lead to clogged arteries.

Standard chocolate manufacturing destroys up to half of these flavonoids. But dark chocolate maintains up to 95% of its flavonoids. Adding milk to the ingredients, which accounts for your average chocolate bar or box of chocolates in the shops, cancels out their beneficial antioxidant effects.

If you want to eat chocolate you can, but only in small amounts, as an occasional treat. I will not be held responsible for you eating lots of the stuff and gaining body fat! Chocolate, even if it is dark, still contains large quantities of sugar, and eating sugar is one of the most devastating things you can do to your health.

Stick to higher quality dark chocolate, such as Green and Blacks Organic range, and avoid all regular chocolate products. Only the purest chocolate will do!