Sorry MedGal, I was joking.

However, dark chocolate has been found lately to have health benefits:

A Dark Chocolate a Day Keeps the Doctor Away

Daily Dark Chocolate Good for the Heart, Loaded With Flavoniods

By Daniel DeNoon
WebMD Medical News     Reviewed By Brunilda  Nazario, MD
on Tuesday, June 01, 2004

Here's news that's hard not to like. Eating a small, 1.6-ounce bar of
dark chocolate every day is good for you. Very good for you, find Mary
Engler, PhD, RN, of the University of California, San Francisco, and
colleagues.

Now here is a medical experiment you would love to volunteer for.
Engler's team divided 21 healthy adults into two groups. One group got
a Dove Dark Chocolate bar every day for two weeks. Like other dark
chocolate bars with high-cocoa content, this one is loaded with
something called epicatechin. Epicatechin is a particularly active
member of a group of compounds called plant flavoniods. Flavoniods
keep cholesterol from gathering in blood vessels, reduce the risk of
blood clots, and slow down the immune responses that lead to clogged
arteries.

The second group that didn't get Dove bars wasn't totally left out.
They, too, got dark chocolate bars. But their treats had the
flavoniods taken out.

All subjects underwent high-tech evaluation of how well the blood
vessels dilate and relax -- an indictor of healthy blood vessel
function. Blood vessel stiffness indicates diseased vessels and
possible atherosclerosis. Those who got the full-flavonoid chocolate
did significantly better. Why? Blood tests showed that high levels of
epicatechin were coursing through their arteries.

"This is the longest clinical trial to date to show improvement in
blood vessel function from consuming flavonoid-rich dark chocolate
daily over an extended period of time," Engler says in a news release.
"It is likely that the elevated blood levels of epicatechin triggered
the release of active substances that ... increase blood flow in the
artery. Better blood flow is good for your heart."

Why Dark Chocolate Is Different

Not all chocolate is created equal. Dark chocolate contains a lot more
cocoa than other forms of chocolate. And standard chocolate
manufacturing destroys up to half of the flavoniods. But chocolate
companies have now learned to make dark chocolate that keeps up to 95%
of its flavoniods.

Sure, this seems like a scam. Can't you get more and better flavoniods
from other foods? Surprisingly, the answer is "not really." Engler
says that dark chocolate contains more flavoniods than any other food
-- including green tea, black tea, red wine, and blueberries.

"Many people don't realize that chocolate is plant-derived, as are the
fruits and vegetables recommended for a healthy heart," Engler says.

While a little dark chocolate is good, a lot is not better. Chocolate
still is loaded with calories. If you're going to eat more chocolate,
you'll have to cut back somewhere else. And remember that a balanced
diet -- and plenty of exercise -- is still the key to heart health.

Engler's study was funded by the University of California, San
Francisco, School of Nursing. The American Cocoa Research Institute, a
nonprofit group funded by the chocolate industry, provided the
chocolate used in the study.

The findings appear in the June issue of the Journal of the American
College of Nutrition. Engler previously reported the findings at the
2002 Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association and at the
Experimental Biology 2003 meeting.