Good news for chocolate lovers (or is it?)

It's not the first time chocolate has been linked with heart health, but the latest study suggests lots of chocolate – that's right, LOTS of chocolate – could reduce your risk of developing heart disease by a third.

The study, published online in the British Medical Journal, confirms earlier studies that suggested there could be benefits in eating chocolate where your heart is concerned. Some have even claimed chocolate may help to reduce your blood pressure as well as improve insulin sensitivity (a condition linked with the development of diabetes).

But nobody really knows why chocolate may be good for you, and particularly your heart. Some believe it's because cocoa contains a high level of antioxidants (healthy plant substances). And that could explain why so many experts recommend dark chocolate, as it contains more cocoa solids than the milk variety.

This latest study, which was carried out by experts from the University of Cambridge, goes one step further. And this is the really good news for chocolate fans, since the experts claim that the more you eat, the lower your risk of heart disease. Not just that, but the report didn't differentiate between milk and dark chocolate either (which may be music to your ears if you can't get used to the bitter taste of the dark stuff).

But hold on. There's a catch (isn't there always?). Eating too much chocolate could lead to weight gain, the researchers conclude, and that definitely isn't good for your heart. Talk about a mixed message, no wonder so many people are confused about healthy eating.

Perhaps Victoria Taylor, the Senior Heart Health Dietician at the British Heart Foundation can shed some light on the matter. “Evidence does suggest chocolate might have some heart health benefits but we need to find out why that might be," she says.
“We can’t start advising people to eat lots of chocolate based on this research. It didn’t explore what it is about chocolate that could help and if one particular type of chocolate is better than another.

“If you want to reduce your heart disease risk, there are much better places to start than at the bottom of a box of chocolates. You can still eat chocolate as part of a balanced diet but moderation is key because this sweet treat is usually packed with saturated fat and calories.”

The problem, of course, with chocolate is that it doesn't encourage moderation in most people. So do you think studies like this one simply provide an excuse for many people to over-indulge?
Where do you stand on chocolate? Love it and can't stop eating it? Or do you stay away from it at all costs?