Listen Up, Chocaholics: Go for the Dark Stuff

In recent years, researchers have found that chocolate contains antioxidant flavonoids and that higher intake of antioxidants is associated with beneficial health outcomes. To follow up on these findings, an Italian team compared the antioxidant capacity of dark chocolate with that of milk chocolate. Dark chocolate and milk chocolate were prepared from the same cocoa beans, and the fat was removed. In vitro testing showed that dark chocolate had nearly twice the antioxidant capacity of milk chocolate.

Twelve healthy volunteers -- nonsmokers with normal blood lipid levels and body-mass indices -- were recruited for a crossover study. Participants were given dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and dark chocolate plus milk on different days in rand…