Since studies have found that it has potential health benefits, chocolate has been the object of much "medicalizing" lately—as seen in the marketing of special "heart-healthy" bars. The healthful compounds in chocolate are phytochemicals called flavonoids, also found in tea, red wine, and many fruits and vegetables. Not surprisingly, the supplements industry has tried to turn chocolate into medicine, putting various cocoa compounds in tablet or capsule form.

Claims, purported benefits: Plain cocoa (without added fat and sugar) has an aspirin-like effect on the blood and thus helps prevent clotting. In particular, dark chocolate, which contains more flavonoids than milk chocolate, may help lower blood pressure, reduce blood cholesterol, and benefit the heart in other ways.

Bottom line: Pure chocolate—whatever its benefits may—is bitter and unpalatable. Cocoa has to be mixed with sugar, milk fat, and other additives. Turning cocoa into candy destroys some phytochemicals. Commercial chocolate bars may have very little flavonoids in them. The scientific studies usually use very-high-flavonoid dark chocolate, unlike what you buy in the candy store. And, of course, the chocolate candy we eat is high in calories—a more reliable source of sugar and fat than of healthful flavonoids.

As for the cocoa pills and capsules, there isn’t enough evidence to recommend them, and no guarantee they contain the flavonoids and other ingredients they claim. Cocoa flavonoid pills cost $15 or more for a 50-day supply. Are they worth it? No one knows. An ounce or two of dark chocolate at least makes a nice dessert or snack.