What perfect timing. With the holiday season upon us, you stumble across an article recommending a “Chocolate a Day”. You may have caught wind of this discovery a few years back when chocolate researchers first announced the possible health benefits. It appears that the cocoa bean has some powerful antioxidant abilities. Anti-oxidants help protect cells in the body against damage. When compared to other known anti-oxidant containing foods such as blueberries, red grapes and tea, chocolate proved to have the highest levels of “oxygen radical absorbance capacity”(ORAC). The ORAC rating is considered the gold standard in measuring anti-oxidant potential. What does that mean? Small amounts of chocolate can help prevent damage to cells in the body. The key word here is “small amounts”. Remember that chocolate is still very high in calories, sugar and saturated fat. Research suggests that as little as 1 small chocolate brownie, 2 squares of a chocolate bar or 20 plain M&M’s can have a protective effect on your heart. The type of chocolate does make a difference. Dark chocolate contains the highest level of antioxidants, milk chocolate is second best and white chocolate has the lowest anti-oxidant capability. Research at the University of California found that slightly less than 1 ounce of dark chocolate consumed daily reduced risk of heart disease by reducing platlet aggregation. Platlets are found in the blood and when they aggregate or stick together they can clog up the arteries. Therefore anything that reduces “stickiness” of the platlets, helps to reduce risk of heart disease. Keep in mind that chocolate is healthy in the context of a balanced diet. If you currently eat a high fat diet and skimp on the fruits and veggies, chocolate is not the answer. If you start consuming large quantities on a daily basis you run the risk of weight gain, increased cholesterol and uncontained happiness (just kidding). Many people do claim that chocolate makes them happy, as long as they are not feeling guilty about it. Skip the guilt and reap the health benefits by treating yourself to small quantities daily. You may be wondering if you can get the same health benefit from saving up those brownies and eating them all on the weekend? As you might have guessed, you negate the health benefit if you eat them all at once. Similar to drinking a glass of red wine daily versus 2 bottles on the weekend, the body responds best to moderation. So how do you moderate one of the most craved foods on the planet? Old Saint Nick must have had some insight when he created the ‘Advent Calendar’. Neat little pockets of chocolate behind perforated numbered doors. For the rest of the year you can combine chocolate with other healthy foods such as chocolate chips in whole grain muffins, sprinkle them on yogourt, add mini m&m’s to trailmix or mix powdered chocolate into a warm soothing cocoa. If you are concerned about the extra calories and fat, you can simply cut back on some other unnecessary calories in your diet. For example just 1 Tbs of butter has the same calories as an ounce of chocolate. You could use less butter, less sugar and cream in your coffee, less pop, less chips in front of the tv, less hard candies or whatever you wouldn’t miss in return for a guilt free, melt in your mouth, daily chocolate indulgence. And what a perfect season to begin your new “health kick”.