Chocolate lovers rejoice! A new study from BMJ.com (the British Medical Journal) reports that eating chocolate not only satisfies one's sweet tooth but also lowers the risk of heart disease.

The link between chocolate and reduced heart disease risk has been explored before, but this is the first time that an analysis of seven previous studies of more than 100,000 people has shown that those who eat the most chocolate on regular basis reduce the risk of heart disease by one third.

"We found a potential link between chocolate consumption and prevention of heart disease," said Dr. Oscar H. Franco, the lead researcher of the study from the department of public health and primary care at the University of Cambridge in the UK.

"At this point we are in the early stages of research," he added.

The research team analyzed the seven previous observational studies which showed the link between chocolate and cardiovascular outcomes. Five of the seven studies have shown that eating chocolate had beneficial outcomes. People who regularly eat chocolate had 37 percent lower risk of heart disease and a 29 percent lower risk of stroke.

It still not clear why chocolate has such health benefits but previous studies have attributed chocolate's heart benefits to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

Nevertheless, researchers caution chocoholics against eating too much chocolate in light of the study. Further research needs to be done on chocolate's effects.

"We still need to clarify the quantity that permits chocolate to prevent heart disease," Franco said. "Given the amount of sugar and calories in chocolate, we don't think it's going to be a high quantity."

In addition, much of the chocolate available to consumers have large amounts of fat, sugar and calories which could lead to weight gain and an increased risk of diabetes. Researchers also need to confirm what type of chocolate leads to heart benefits although they suggest that reduced sugar chocolates could be better overall.

Chocolate could be beneficial for the heart, they say, but it is still no reason to overindulge.

"If you are already eating chocolate, do it in moderation; if you are not eating chocolate, our advice is not to start eating chocolate," Franco said.