For many people, chocolate is both comfort and nemesis – they reach for it when they want a hit of sweet nurture and they swear off it each time they step on the scales. But chocolate has significant healthy properties as well as those unhappy calories. When you understand how chocolate affects your brain – real chocolate with a high percentage of cocoa solids, not cloyingly sweet chocolate with a great deal of added sugar and fat besides the natural cocoa butter – you can enjoy it strategically for emotional and physical benefits.