Chocolate - Good for Your Health

For more than 2,000 years, chocolate has played an important role in traditional medicines of North America, Europe and Asia. During the Middle Ages, chocolate was used to treat fatigue, chest pain, shortness of breath and various kidney and bowel ailments.

With it's potent antioxidant power and the added benefit of reducing inflammation in blood vessels, cocoa is finally making a name for itself in mainstream medicine.

A recent study where subjects were given skim milk supercharged with extra cocoa noted significant reductions in biomarkers of blood-vessel inflammation. Less inflammation means a reduced risk of atherosclerosis - and that's a very good thing, especially in "at risk" population (i.e., those who are obese, have abnormal cholesterol levels, or where heart disease runs in the family). So unless you have an aversion to chocolate, enjoy that high-cocoa chocolate milk, hot chocolate or dark chocolate candy.

(Tip: Try 6.3 grams of dark chocolate per day (about two Hershey's Kisses, but go for dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate)