The biggest problems with chocolate are the calories, fat, and caffeine. If you eat a 1 ounce milk chocolate bar you will have eaten 6 grams of caffeine….more than you would find in a cup of decaf coffee. There are beneficial antioxidants in chocolate..the darker the chocolate the more antioxidants. Dark chocolate can reduce blood pressure, promote good blood flow, and raise good cholesterol while lowering the bad. The downside is that chocolate is not a low fat food. One ounce has about 150 calories and about 8 to 12 grams of fat. So eat chocolate in moderation.

Oh, I know, who can just have 1? Chocolate in moderation is like telling a child to eat just 1 M&M! You can’t do it! Chocolate has got to be one of the best foods around. Imagine a good chocolate cake with chocolate icing. Ah, what pleasure! And don’t forget all those different chocolate candies! With Valentine’s Day being one of the highest selling candy holidays, there are bound to be many people munching on chocolates. Even though I am diabetic, I do have a little chocolate now and then. It’s a passion you can not pass up! Sugar free chocolates don’t cut it for me. The sugar alcohols react in my body giving me a problems. If you do eat sugar free, that must be in moderation or those sugar alcohols might trigger a bad reaction.

Enjoy your chocolate. And if you do get the chance, try those chocolate covered potato chips! Yum!