chocolate

They call it the "Chococlock" and for just $37.10 you can feed your chocolate addiction on the hour, every hour. That's if you're quick enough!

Every 60 minutes the shutters open and a piece of chocolate pops out, but you've only got 30 seconds to grab it. If not, the chocolate goes back in and you'll have to wait whole hour before it opens again. So not fair.

Researchers at the University of East Anglia (Norwich, UK) are starting a project to look into one of many dieters' favorite "facts" - that chocolate is good for you.

Here's eight ways to beat those chocolate cravings:

Prone to irritability and worrying about rejection? If so, new research suggests a bar of chocolate could lift your mood and calm you down.

While you may be using chocolate as an energy booster, a study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry has found a link between chocolate cravings and personality.

Results suggest certain personality types are not only more likely to crave chocolate, but it may also improve their mood.

I love peer-reviewed journal articles. There are so many of them. If you search hard enough you're sure to find something positive about your favorite nutritional vice.

Perhaps reading something positive about what you're eating has a placebo affect. Your brain tells you it's good for you - so your body follows suit. Wine, coffee, chocolate, full-fat dairy... just take your pick.

My vice is dark chocolate.

It's getting close to Valentine's Day, and minds are straying to thoughts of chocolate - chocolate bars, chocolates in a box, chocolate candies. Lately chocolate has been featured in the news as promoting heart health.

Could this really be, or is it just an excuse to eat the delicious stuff?