Just in time for Easter, chocolate is getting a much-needed image makeover.

    Indeed, according to two food experts who have launched a remarkable new book, it's actually good for you.
    Authors Dr John Ashton, an eminent food research scientist of the University of Newcastle, Australia – and food researcher Suzy Ashton – have also uncovered a host of tasty facts about its history and why it is so irresistable.
    Here's what the pair say about this unlikely new health food.
 

• Chocolate is made from cocoa beans from the Cacao tree, which, in its native state, grows in the jungles of Central and South America.

• The Aztecs of Mexico believed that the gods provided the cacao tree and they made choclatl – "warm liquid" from its cocoa beans.

• Since ancient times chocolate has been associated with pleasure, passion, energy and even enhanced sexual powers. The drink prepared by the Aztecs was also used as a nuptial aid.

• Montezuma – The Aztec King – always fortified himself with the beverage before entering his harem.

• Cacao was brought to Europe when Columbus delivered beans to the King of Spain in 1502. The Spaniards added sugar and cinnamon to improve the taste.

• The ideal intake is about 50g a day – an average size bar.

• To really enjoy chocolate, it should be allowed to come to room temperature of around 19–25°C and be eaten slowly, in small amounts.

• Milk solids were introduced to the ground, roasted bean by Henri Nestlé in 1875, resulting in milk chocolate.

• Bars contain endorphins (between 0.4–6.6 milligrammes per gramme) which, when released into the blood stream, create a positive energy and feelings ranging from happiness to euphoria.

• It also containstheobromine. While this natural substance is a very mild heart stimulant it also has the properties of being a smooth muscle relaxant and a vasodilator. It can help to lower blood pressure.

• Also present is valeric acid, which is a relaxant and tranquiliser and so is very good at countering stress.

• To sum up, this is basically a mulifunctional food, with many health benefits.
   

• Cocoa is almost unique in being a veritable storehouse of minerals – perhaps containing more than any other food.

• It has more iron than any vegetable – typically 14mg per 100g.

• Cocoa is also an excellent source of potassium and phosphorous, as well as being a good source of zinc, copper, manganese – all important trace elements.

• It is also a major source of dietry copper, which is now believed to play an important role in preventing heart disease.

• And it contains more than one-and-a-half times as much potassium as wholemeal bread – potassium can counteract the harmful effects of a high salt diet.

• This is a wonderful way to get our minerals naturally. It's certainly more enjoyable than taking a mineral supplement.

• Scientists have discovered that chocolate may be as good as, or even better for you than red wine.

• A (40g) bar of milk chocokate contains about the same level of polyphenolic anti-oxidants as a glass of red wine. These can reduce cholesterol levels and help protect against cancer.

• The polyphenolic compounds in cocoa may inhibit blood platelet activity, help prevent cholesterol oxidation and, reduce the risk of heart attack.

• During the Second World War, US troops received three bars per day during heavy combat.

• These natural anti-oxidants also stop the fat content from going rancid during storage – which is why it's a valuable source of food for soldiers.

• Flavonoids found in green tea and onions, which also occur in chocolate, can help protect against cancer.

• Cocoa also contains another anti-cancer agent called ferulic acid – user in sun creams and to reduce the side effects of chemotherapy.

• It is an energy-dense food, to be eaten in quantities that are appropriate – 50g is the maximum amount recommended per day.

• Cocoa butter consists of three types of fat – palmitic, stearic and mainly oleic, which is a mono-unsaturated fat similar to that found in olive oil,
   

• Cheap compound chocolates are often made using hydro-generated vegetable fats or trans fats, as a substitute for cocoa butter.
      These have been found to be almost twice as harmful as saturated fat.

• If the ingredients list includes "vegetable oiks", the bar is best left on the shelf.

• A chocolate a day (instead of a dessert) may not only keep the bathroom scales at bay but also the heart doctor away.
   

• It epitomises a food that gives both enjoyment and health. It is also one that must be enjoyed for what it is and not used in excess. More is not better.

• As if that weren't enough. It can also be associated with a better sex life, more energy, well-toned muscles and less cellulite.

   

• A Chocolate a Day Keeps the Doctor Away, by Dr John Ashton and Suzy Ashton, is published by Souvenir Press on 4th April 2002 (£6.99)