Don’t feel guilty if you bring home a box of chocolates for your sweetheart as part of your Valentine’s Day celebration this year. Chocolate has good antioxidants that are cardiac- or vascular-protective, doctors say.

These antioxidants — also known as flavonoids — are also found in fruits, vegetables, tea, and red and white wine, and they reduce the risk of blood clots and heart disease.

The amount of flavonoids in a particular chocolate depends on processing. White chocolate has the fewest flavonoids, while dark chocolate has the most. Rubenfire says it isn’t clear whether milk or dark chocolate is better for you, “but there are benefits to chocolate that go beyond their good taste.” Oddly, in addition to protecting the heart, chocolate also may alleviate coughing, for instance.

A recent study in England found that cocoa, the main ingredient in chocolate, contains the flavonoid theobromide, and that theobromide was nearly three times more effective in stopping persistent coughs than codeine.

While there are many potential benefits from eating chocolate there is a limit to how much we should eat. “Just like most foods, eating chocolate in moderation can have benefits but it’s full of calories from fats and sugars, so we’ve got to be very careful not to eat too much,” explains Dr. Rubenfire, M.D., University of Michigan Health System cardiologist.

Rubenfire notes that chocolate is relatively high in fat and dark chocolate is high in saturated fat; still, it isn’t as dangerous as palm and coconut oils found in some sweets. 

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