In response to a study published online today in the European Heart Journal revealing that chocolate reduces blood pressure and risk of heart disease, Senior Heart Health Dietician, Victoria Taylor said:“This sounds like a dream for chocolate lovers and just in time for Easter too, but it’s important to read the small print with this study. The amounts consumed on average by even the highest consumers was about one square of chocolate a day or half a small chocolate Easter egg in a week, so the benefits were associated with a fairly small amount of chocolate.“Some people will be tempted to eat more than one square, however, chocolate has high amounts of calories and saturated fat which are linked to weight gain and raised cholesterol levels. Two of the key risk factors for heart disease. “So whilst chocolate, in moderation, can form part of a heart healthy diet it is important to remember to include a variety of other foods including fruit and vegetables and oily fish, as well as getting out and being active for at least 30 minutes a day.”