Funnily enough, although I have the biggest sweet tooth among anyone I know, I'm not a huge fan of chocolate. But, I'm happy on behalf of the many chocoholics in my life (hi, mom!) every time I read more news on how chocolate is good for you.

Of course, at no time is this information more pertinent than around Valentine's Day, a day for which more chocolate is probably purchased than any other day of the year.

A new book called Chocolate: A Healthy Passion [1] by dietitians Shara Aaron and Monica Bearden explores chocolate's role in health as well as its part in world history. Among some of the good news about chocolate:

• 2 tablespoons of cocoa contains more antioxidants than 1 cup of blueberries, 1 1/2 glasses of red wine, or 4 cups of green tea.
  
• The flavanols in chocolate help stimulate blood flow, which in turn can protect against inflammation, high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. It also helps with cognitive abilities. (Eating 6.7 grams of dark chocolate a day, which is about half a bar a week, can help reap these benefits.)

• Dark chocolate gives a more pronounced feeling of satiety than milk chocolate, which might make it a good weight-suppressant tool. In a recent study, participants were given either dark chocolate or milk chocolate, and then were offered as much pizza as they wanted afterwards. Those who ate dark chocolate ate 15 percent fewer calories in pizza than those who ate the milk chocolate. The dark chocolate eaters also reported feeling less of a desire to eat salty, fattening or sweet foods afterwards.

• A compound extracted from cocoa has been shown to have beneficial effects on teeth. A study showed that this extract, which is chemically similar to caffeine, helps harden tooth enamel, which helps protect against cavities.

• Pregnant women who eat chocolate regularly (five or more servings of dark chocolate a week) have a reduced risk of developing preeclampsia, a complication caused by high blood pressure.

If chocolate's health benefits seem too good to be true, remember that there are certain stipulations. In fact, before you open that box of Godiva (or, preferably, fair-trade, organic [1] chocolates like these brands [2]), let's go over the rules again:

Dark chocolate = good

Even darker chocolate = better

Milk chocolate = not so good

White chocolate = bad. (And, in fact, is not even chocolate at all [3]!)

Too much chocolate of any kind = bad

Now, if someone discovers that vanilla cupcakes with buttercream frosting are good for you, I'll be set. But I'm not holding my breath.

Image courtesy Rapunzel [4].