Tap into Cindy Crawford's chocolate addiction

With Chocolate Week in full swing and model Cindy Crawford admitting that a square of dark chocolate is her daily indulgence, we thought we'd ask the health experts exactly why we should be eating more.

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"A piece of dark chocolate is my daily indulgence," she wrote, "Satisfies my sweet tooth w/ less sugar. and a few bonus antioxidants!"

Cindy Crawford's Tweet

And it's good to know Chocolate Week is being taking seriously by new-to-Twitter David Cameron, who released a photo of himself looking equally as satisfied by the couple of Marks & Spencer Colin the Caterpillar cakes rolled out for the PM's birthday on Wednesday.

David Cameron's Twitter Picture

But celebrity endorsement aside, what is the low-down on chocolate. Is it good for us?

"Yes," say the experts - but within reason. "Good chocolate is full of magnesium (a great mood balancer), antioxidants, calcium, iron and potassium," says expert nutritionist Robert Hobson,
rhnutrition.co.uk
- add to that the fact that new studies suggest flavonols in chocolate lower our blood pressure too and it suddenly looks like a health food.

"And if you look for raw cacao you'll boost the effect as it contains a mild non-addictive stimulant that some believe may treat depression," adds Hobson.

It seems Cindy's chocolate habit may be helping her figure too. The US Archives of Internal Medicine published a study earlier this year admitting that 'despite boosting calorie intake, regular chocolate consumption was related to lower BMI'

"But remember manufacturers add milk, butter and sugar to the chocolate equation so it can become very calorific, so do eat it as a treat," warns Hobson, "and stay away from white chocolate which made up mostly of emulsifiers isn't really chocolate at all."

Put the virtues into practice at
Chocolate Unwrapped
at London Film Museum Exhibition this weekend - essentially a chocolate show which any addict will appreciate, but with 60 of the best quality chocolatiers and chocolate companies taking part, the nutritionists might too.