The European Heart Journal recently published results of a 10 year study on almost 20,000 people done by German researchers. The good news? Chocolate reduces the chance of heart attack and stroke by a significant percentage. The bad news? Sugar and saturated fat, which are found in large quantities in chocolate, are still bad for you.

Interestingly the useful amount of chocolate is small at 1/4 ounce daily. This reinforces the Diet Inn suggestion of eating a wide variety of food in small to moderate amounts.

The study raises the question of exactly what it is in chocolate that improves health. Further study will focus on flavonoids. These are more prevalent in dark chocolate.

So do eat chocolate! Remember: a few nibbles a day is all that is helpful. A small square of dark chocolate with a piece of fruit is a delicious and healthy dessert.