The attraction between women and chocolate is well-documented and not very well understood. We already know that chocolate contains theobromine and caffeine, both of which are stimulants; your average chocolate bar contains about as much caffeine as half a cup of coffee. The phenylethylamine in chocolate combines with dopamine in your brain and acts as a mild antidepressant.

And then there’s something called anadamide in chocolate that also produces feelings of calm and well being. When the sugar and saturated fats in chocolate travel to the brain, they create a neurotransmitter called serotonin that act as an opiate.

Chocolate begins with the cacao tree. Cocoa butter is dark and rich, but it tends to be bitter. Chocolate makers add sugar and milk to make it sweeter. American milk chocolate can contain as little as 10% cocoa.  The cocoa bean has group of chemicals called flavonols.  Flavonols are also found in tea, red wine, purple grapes, apples, onions, and cranberries.

Flavonols in chocolate have many properties that may improve your health. Flavonols can increase the antioxidants activity in your blood. Antioxidants help protect your body’s tissue from damage. Dark chocolate specifically can reduce the levels of bad (LDL) cholesterol, and it may actually increase levels of good (HDL) cholesterol.

Flavonols do this by reducing your blood pressure and also by reducing platelet activation. Most heart attacks and strokes are caused when platelets trigger blood clots in critical arteries.

The benefits observed in these studies were only produced when the research subjects ate dark chocolate. You might want to look for at least 70% of cocoa in your chocolate, the higher the percent the better. Even though dark chocolate may have some real health value, it is still high in calories.

The bottom line: Choose organic dark chocolate that lists the first ingredient as cocoa or chocolate liquor, not sugar. Try to limit yourself to a few ounces a day.

Happy Valentine’s Day!