Ask Dr Miriam

QI keep hearing that chocolate is really good for you. I’m a chocoholic so this is very good news, but is it really true?

AYes and no. All the research on the benefits of chocolate have been done on dark, unsweetened chocolate with high cocoa percentages.

This is because cocoa is a good source of flavonoids, a type of antioxidant similar to those found in red wine and tea. The magic ingredient is epicatechin which can lower your blood pressure. That said, the research suggests you use this kind of chocolate as “medication”, by that I mean a couple of squares once or twice a day. The sweet, sugary milk chocolate so beloved by chocoholics I’m afraid doesn’t cut the mustard. This kind of chocolate has much lower cocoa content and far too much fat, plus a lot of sugar. So that Dairy Milk isn’t benefiting your health.