CHOCOLATES WONDERS

• `Fighting Tooth Decay. Say what? No, it’s true. An extract of cocoa has recently been found to be more effective than fluoride in keeping your teeth healthy. 

• Keeping Your Ticker Healthy. Pick the dark chocolate and you have a dietary supplement that will improve your coronary circulation.

•  Keeping Your Skin Happy. Cocoa butter is marvelous stuff – rich, smooth and with an aroma that will have everyone fighting to get near you. And since it’s chocolate, it’s technically edible – the way all skincare products should be

•  Stop Your Tension Going Hyper. A study from the University Hospital of Cologne found a link between polyphenol-rich (dark) chocolate and lowered blood pressure. A heavenly reason to eat chocolate when you’re stressed – as long as it’s the right kind, of course.

• Feeding Your Car (or Airship)? Escherichia coli bacteria have a sweet tooth – and when they gorge on surplus chocolate, they produce hydrogen that can be used as a clean source of power. Speculating wildly, could waste chocolate power the zero-emissions vehicle of tomorrow?

• Making You Smarter. Dark chocolate is rich in flavanols that improve the circulation of blood around your body, including the brain – fighting mental fatigue, making you more alert and generally making you a more efficient thinker. For this reason, chocolate is one of the smartest foods we know.

• Lifting Your Mood. Reaching for the chocolate when you’re feeling glum has become a cultural cliché, and since eating chocolate appears to have similar physiological effects to kissing, it’s not hard to see why. (Dean Ornich, M.D. describes the sensation for Newsweek). Since it improves the circulation, is a mild stimulant and makes you euphoric, chocolate seems perfectly suited to lift you out the doldrums…but not everyone agrees.

• Not Feeding Your Pets. Here’s why dog chocolates were invented. Human chocolate contains theobromine – harmless to us but highly toxic to our four-legged friends. So ignore even the most imploring look…in case your kindness kills.