Is chocolate healthier than fruit juice?

If you're regretting all that chocolate you chomped through this weekend, there could be guilt-easing news for you this Monday morning. New research has shown that cocoa contains more health-giving antioxidants and flavonols than fruit, meaning a few squares of the sweet stuff could be a healthier choice than a glass of fruit juice.

ZEST SAYS: Before you swap your fruit salad for a Wispa, two things are worth noting. First, the goodness is in natural cocoa, found in dark chocolate rather than your average chocolate treat, which also contains fat and sugar - and in many cases, not much cocoa at all. Second, the research was carried out by US confectionery giants Hershey, so the extremely positive spin on the story has to be taken with a pinch of salt - or rather, sugar. Indeed, registered nutritionist Dr Carina Norris commented that while, 'Cocoa could be considered a health food, you can't really say chocolate could.' To make the best of cocoa's heart-healthy, disease-fighting compounds, eat a couple of squares of good-quality, dark chocolate with the highest cocoa content you can find - and save your Dairy Milk for the occasional treat.

Feed that craving with a healthier high cocoa content option at Green and Blacks, or try Willie Harcourt-Cooze's chocolate.