No longer a guilty pleasure?

>>> finally tonight, this is not permission to go wild in the local chocolate section of your grocer and don't blame us if you gain 300 pounds or have adult onset acne. but if you have a chocolate addiction and you're openly in denial while pounding back the chocolate , you'll want to hear this. bona fide science, a real science saying there are good and beneficial things in the chocolate , especially for your heart. our report tonight from nbc's lee cowan.

>> reporter: sweet on chocolate , even though the cocoa bean itself is pretty bitter. christopher columbus claims to be the original chockaholic. but the ancient aztecs have been drinking it for thousands of years before it was discovered. either way , chocolate has changed us.

>> sometime i just take the big bottle of syrup and drink the whole thing.

>> reporter: enough to get bunnies squawking like chickens. served as a peace offering to aliens. even the famous bit of wisdom -- "life was like a box of chocolates. you never know what you're going to get."

>> reporter: but chocolate triggers the release of endorphins. it contains stimulants, as well, like caffeine making us alert and aware. a british medical journal suggests what others have hinted that eating enough chocolate may decrease heart disease but as much as 37%. that makes chocolate the red wine of the sweet world. there are benefits but only in moderation. it's the flavonoids that do the trick and antioxidant found in other foods but those other foods don't have the fan base that chocolate does. look at bianca with a chocolate lover she was so upset she blogged about chocolate , but all with a friendly warmth.

>> eat it slowly, enjoy it and don't go overboard.

>> reporter: mark twain said the only way to keep your health, eat what you don't want, drink what you like and do what you'd rather not. nothing is perfect. but chork what may be as close as mother nature can get. lee cowan, nbc news, los