Sweet news for chocolate lovers

Valentine’s Day chocolates may arrive in a heart-shaped box but the percentage of cocoa determines how “heart smart” the sweet bites may be.

Chocolate is made from flavonoid-rich cocoa beans. Flavonoids pack a punch of health-promot- ing antioxidant power and can help lower blood pressure, improve blood flow to the brain and heart, and make blood platelets less sticky so they’re less likely to cause artery clogging clots.

Dark chocolate is higher in antioxidant power due to its higher cocoa content.

This is why it can taste a bit bitter. The higher the cocoa content, the more bitter the taste.

Milk chocolate tends to be the most popular option despite having less antioxidant power than dark chocolate. Milk chocolate’s creamier texture and lighter brown color are due to the fact that it contains more milk and dairy fat than dark chocolate.

White chocolate is not actually chocolate as it contains no dark cocoa powder but is a rather rich combination of sugar, milk solids and cocoa butter. White chocolate tends to be higher in calories than dark and milk chocolate.

Paying attention to the sugar content is important too. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical As- sociation found that too much added sugar in your diet can significantly increase risk of dying from heart disease. The risk was more than double for those who consumed 21 percent or more of their calories from added sugars.

Read the Nutrition Facts label on seasonal heart-shaped boxes of chocolate to compare sugar content from brand to brand.

To cut the sugar without skimping on the sweet, you can choose confections made with low-calorie sweeteners.

Facts on chocolate fats

Chocolate lovers and those gifting chocolate to their loved ones can take comfort that the fat in chocolate is relatively heart healthy, too. It comes from cocoa butter and is made up of equal amounts of oleic acid (a heart-healthy monounsaturated fat also found in olive oil), stearic and palmitic acid. Stearic acid appears to have a neutral effect on cholesterol levels, neither raising nor lowering it. Palmitic acid, on the other hand, can raise blood cholesterol levels, but it only makes up one-third of the fat calories in chocolate.

This good news doesn’t mean you can eat your heart out. Savor a small piece, preferably dark chocolate, and for the sweetest scenario, pair chocolate with other flavonoid-containing foods such as strawberries or cherries. Chocolate-covered strawberries, anyone?