Chocolate: From Guilty Pleasure to Healthy Snack?

To the ancient Aztecs, chocolate was sacred. They consumed it mostly as a drink, and valued it for its medicinal properties as much as for its taste. It was Europeans who figured out how to make solid chocolate bars and turned it into a desert treat.

Artisans in Italy's Piedmont region mixed chocolate with nuts, eventually culminating in popular sweets like Ferrero Rocher candies and Nutella spread. And that's how we think of chocolate now -- a sweet, ubiquitous guilty pleasure.

But according to a good deal of recent medical research, maybe the Aztecs were right AND you don't need to feel too guilty about indulging in your favorite chocolate confection. It's time to stop scolding yourself for eating chocolate, and to start focusing on its heart health benefits.

Chocolate, aside from being delicious, is high in compounds called flavanoids, which act as antioxidants. According to research, the flavanoids in chocolate can help lower your LDL (bad) cholesterol levels, and help 'relax' your blood vessels, leading to lower blood pressure.

The combination of lower cholesterol and healthier blood pressure causes an overall lower risk of cardiovascular disease.

The flavanoids in dark chocolate may also reduce your risk of stroke, and increase the flow of blood to your brain, helping you perform difficult mental tasks.

As you can see, there isn't as much reason to punish yourself for eating chocolate as you might have thought before. But you might still be skeptical. After all, chocolate is very high in fat. Surely the fat content wipes out chocolate's other health benefits?

Yes and no. Chocolate is high in fat, but two-thirds of the fat in chocolate comes from oleic acid and stearic acid -- fats that don't adversely affect your cholesterol levels.

That said, the fat in chocolate can still ... make you fat. If you put on even just a few extra pounds, your chocolate eating will be counterproductive. So you can't just eat as much as you want.

Here are some tips to getting the most health benefits out of chocolate:

Focus on dark chocolate -- It's the flavanoids in chocolate that carry most of the health benefits. Dark chocolate has more flavanoids than milk chocolate. White chocolate doesn't help at all.

Eat chocolate in small amounts -- Chocolate is high in calories and will cause you to gain weight if you eat too much of it. Pretty soon, the weight gain will outstrip any health benefits you were getting from the flavanoids.

Try it as an afternoon snack -- Remember when we said that chocolate could increase blood flow to your brain? You'll get the most out of that pick-me-up while you're at work. Having a small piece of chocolate with lunch will also help ensure that you don't eat too much. Chocolate should be a small treat with a meal, not a meal itself.

If you follow these tips, you can get the health benefits the Aztecs valued, even as you enjoy the taste of Ferraro Rocher or another sweet treat. Modern science -- it's a wonderful thing.