Chocolate a Day

In a slim volume that attempts to straddle health-book and gift-book categories, the authors (both health researchers in Australia) champion chocolate as a health food, a ""functional sweet"" whose high concentration of minerals and antioxidents make up for its fat and sugar content. Beginning with a brief, 6th-grade-textbook style history of the cacao plant, the authors move on to consider the oft-reported mood-altering effects of chocolate and its potential as a source of potassium, magnesium, calcium and polyphenols (the same antioxidents found in red wine and green tea). Some chocolates are better than others, the authors warn, but beyond a few references to the trans fatty acids in ""cheaper chocolates,"" they sidestep the specifics that would help consumers choose the healthier sweet. They offer a few surprises, including the fact that chocolate is probably better for us than carob, and the suggestion that even diabetics might want to consider eating chocolate to boost their potassium levels. Those who imagine this is license to raid the candy aisle, however, should note that the maximum amount of chocolate recommended is about 2 ounces per day. The stumbling block in this volume is its prose, which veers from neutral if somewhat clunky reports of scientific studies to the overly enthusiastic breathlessness of chocomania (even candy bar wrappers ""convey messages of enjoyment, of love, affection, endearment and having fun""). But readers who can stomach the truly awkward sentences will find much to justify their chocolate cravings.