Good news for chocoholics. The treat favoured by millions not only tastes delicious but is healthy for you, American researchers said on Monday.

　　Chocolate contains compounds called flavonoids that can help maintain a healthy heart and good circulation and reduce blood clotting -- which can cause heart attacks and stroke.

　　"More and more, we are finding evidence that consumption of chocolate that is rich in flavonoids can have positive cardiovascular effects," Carl Keen, a nutritionist at the University of California, Davis, told a science conference.

　　"We not only have observed an increase in antioxidant capacity after chocolate consumption, but also modulation of certain compounds which affect blood vessels."

　　Antioxidants such as vitamin C reduce the damage of cancer-causing charged particles in the body.

　　Keen and his colleagues measured the impact of chocolate on platelets in the blood. They presented their findings to the British Association for the Advancement of Science conference in Glasgow. Platelet activation is thought to be an important risk factor in blood clotting.

　　The researchers collected blood samples from volunteers who ate 25 grams (0.9 ounces) of chocolate with a high flavonoid content and other volunteers who ate bread. They took blood samples from both groups two and six hours after they ate the chocolate and bread to measure their platelet activation.

　　Volunteers who consumed the chocolate had lower levels of platelet activity, while the scientists found no change in thesgroupsthat ate the bread.

　　Keen said the results of the study support earlier research which showed that cocoa acts like low-dose aspirin which helps to reduce blood clotting.

　　"These results lead us to believe that chocolate may contribute to a healthy, well-balanced diet," Keen added.

　　Up to 300 scientists are presenting research on subjects ranging from genetics and microbiology to global warming and organic farming during the five-day conferenc. 食用巧克力益处多 　　以往人们都认为巧克力中含有高热量成份，多食用会导致人身体发胖，并有可能引发多种疾病。但近期医学界的一项新的研究调查给喜爱巧克力的人们带来了福音。据报道，美国学者9月3日表示，巧克力这种受到广大民众喜爱的食品，不仅味香可口，而且还对身体大有裨益。

　　研究表明，巧克力中含有一种黄酮混合物，具有维持心脏健康、促进血液循环及减少血液凝结物等功能。长期食用巧克力还能降低心脏病的发病率。

　　在英国格拉斯哥召开的英国科学进步协会研讨会上，美国加利福尼亚大学的营养学家卡尔·基恩称：“我们越来越多的发现已证实，人们在消化巧克力的过程中吸收了大量的黄酮成份，这种物质能够起到增强心血管功能的作用。” 　　专家们让部分志愿者食用了25克富含黄酮成份的巧克力，并给另一部分人食用一定数量的面包，并在2至6个小时后采集了他们的血液样本进行化验，来检验他们血液中的血小板活动程度。结果，血液样本显示，食用巧克力的志愿者的血小板活动减慢了，而食用面包的志愿者则无任何变化。基恩称：“这一结果使我们相信，巧克力能够作为健康及均衡体能的食品。”