Is Chocolate Good for Your Health?

The good news is that chocolate may not be as bad for our health as we once thought! First off, the cocoa bean — a major component of chocolate — is a good source of flavonoids, which act as antioxidants and help to mop up free radicals that, if left unchecked, can damage cells, increasing the risk of health problems like heart disease and cancer. If you are going to indulge, opt for dark chocolate, as it is a better source of flavonoids than milk or white chocolate, because it is less processed.

What’s more, while there’s no doubt that chocolate is high in fat — a 50g bar contains around 15g fat — there’s evidence that around a third of the fat in chocolate is oleic acid — a heart-healthy monounsaturated fat that can also be found in olive oil.