chocolate

Weight loss chocolate Lola was unveiled at a European chocolate show (wish I'd had an invite to that).

The makers Cocoa Bio claim the consumer will "immediately feel a sensation of pleasure and will detect that we have eaten an appetite satisfying food thus reducing the feeling of hunger and making us feel better" (note this is an English translation).

Personally I think it's the slime green color. One look at what you're eating and you're sure to put the chocolate box down.

Great news for sweet-toothed dieters: lab workers at the Swiss chocolate manufacturer Barry Callebaut have invented a new low-calorie type of chocolate.

The chocolate, code-named "Vulcan" due to its "volcanic rock" texture, was discovered by accident. Fortunately, the scientists involved realised they'd produced something significant.

Chocolate eaters down under have noticed something strange is happening with their chocolate bars - they've shrunk. Mars Bars have downsized by 11% and Cadbury chocolate bars have gone from 250g to 200g (20% drop).

The one thing that hasn't dropped is price.

Like marshmallow Peeps, the eggs have earned a cult following, arguably edging out chocolate rabbits as the quintessential holiday treat, but some consumer groups aren't sold on them.

Here's your guide to surviving Easter without putting on unwanted pounds - but without feeling that you've missed out, either.

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?