Heartening news for chocoholics

A NEW variety of dark chocolate is claiming to help improve the health of organs.

Acticoca has been developed by Swiss company Barry Callebaut and contains health boosting plant chemicals called flavanols. Research showed it improved the health of hearts, increasing the elasticity of blood vessels by up to 2 per cent, making it easier for blood to flow. Heart attacks were also reduced by 8 per cent.

Cocoa beans are naturally high in flavanols but they are normally lost during processing but Barry Callebaut has now made adjustments to its processing technique, to preserve its benefits.  The chocolate is expected to be on sale in the next few months.