5 Myths About Chocolate

Fact: You 100% deserve it and need no excuse to enjoy this sweet sensory delight. Just don't kid yourself that it's the new kale.

- By Kate Rockwood

1 MYTH:

Dark chocolate is a superfood.

MYTHBUSTER

"Chocolate is a wonderful treat, but not a health food," says JoAnn Manson, M.D., a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and chief of the Division of Preventive Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital. Here's why: To get the anti-inflammatory benefits of the flavanols in the cocoa plant such as lower blood pressure and a 27% reduction in risk of cardiovascular deathyou'd have to eat close to 700 calories' worth of dark chocolate or more than 5,000 calories' worth of milk chocolate each day. And when you eat all that chocolate, you're consuming a lot of sugar, fat, and calories, Dr. Manson says. "If people go out of their way to eat more chocolate just to improve their health, it can backfire," she explains. But that doesn't mean you need to kiss chocolate goodbye: A moderate amount (think an ounce or two) can be part of a healthy diet, Dr. Manson says.

2 MYTH:

You don't have to worry about the caffeine in chocolate.