It's true, chocolate really is good for you!

Mmm. Dark, rich and velvety chocolate. Whether you are eating it or  drinking it, chocolate is just about the most popular herb in the world. (The only rivals for that title would be coffee and tea). But Theobroma cacao, to give the cocoa plant its proper name, has also been used for centuries as a medicinal herb.

For thousands of years the Mayans and Aztecs treated Theobroma cacao as divine, believing it held the secret of good health and longevity. It was also used regularly to treat fainting, fever,  infections and stomach and bowel problems.

The Spanish and Portuguese invaders, who raided Central and Southern America in the sixteenth century, took chocolate home to Europe. Here its medicinal benefits were poorly understood and anyway, there were plenty of European plants in the Herbal Pharmacopeias to use instead. So the seed of the Theobroma cacao plant, the cocoa bean, was used to make chocolate as we know it today.

But modern research is establishing that the Native Americans were right all along. Theobroma is one of the plant world's richest sources of flavanols, which have potent anti-inflammatory actions. And the flavanoids in the plant are strong anti-oxidants which prevent cell damage and so can prevent all sorts of diseases such as  heart disease and even cancer.

Added to this Theobroma cacao contains the alkaloid theobromine. This has particular actions on the heart, kidneys and muscles. Theobromine has also been shown to reduce blood pressure and to relax the bronchioles, so helping asthma sufferers.

Of course, the medicinal benefits apply to the cocoa plant itself and not the bars of chocolate we buy in the shops. These actually can have more sugar than real chocolate in them.

But , on a positive note there is very recent evidence that a couple of squares daily of a high-quality bar containing 70% chocolate solids, may really help maintain good health and longevity.  So, divine after all!