Chocolate: A Little Does It

Chocolate may reduce the risk of heart disease.

Chocolate: A Little Does a Lot

Believe it or not, a 1.5-oz bar of dark chocolate, eaten over the course of a week, is about the right amount to significantly reduce the risk of heart disease—by one-third for women and one-fourth for men. Eating more than that amount of chocolate would be overdoing it, according to a study of 11,000 people published in the Journal of Nutrition. More precisely, researchers found that 6.7 gm (0.23 oz) of dark chocolate daily is the optimum amount to reduce inflammation and risk for major diseases. Milk chocolate doesn’t do the trick because milk inhibits the action of beneficial antioxidants found in cocoa.