Valentine's chocolate: good or bad?

• Position: Nutrition - Brief article

Valentine's Day brings out the chocolate lover in us all. Yet, should we really indulge?

"Of course we should," declares Lona Sandon, assistant professor of clinical nutrition at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas. "Chocolate, or the cocoa bean from which it's made, has antioxidant properties in it similar to those found in red wines, grapes, tea, onions, and apples. These may reduce the risk of cancer of heart disease."

Is that a green light to devour an entire box of chocolates? "In studies that have looked at chocolate in regard to the risk of heart disease and cholesterol levels, cocoa butter was shown to have a neutral effect on total cholesterol levels and the LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol that clogs the arteries)," Sandon points out. "However, chocolate does increase...