eating at least around of dark chocolate a day, which also involves intake of significant amounts of sugar and saturated fats. The chocolate industry, and in particular Mars, Inc., has funded research to promote chocolate as a health food. As of 2018, Mars had funded more than 150 studies into cocoa flavanols since the 1980s. That year, they said they would no longer try to imply chocolate is a health food.

A 2021 systematic review of the health effects of chocolate and cocoa found high-quality research