LONDON - IF YOU have been indulging in dark chocolate this holiday season, thinking that it is good for your heart, you may be making a mistake.

Any health claims about dark chocolate may be misleading, and instead, many products may just be abundant in fat and sugar - both of which are harmful to the heart and arteries, the online edition of BBC News quoted the British medical journal Lancet as saying.

Plain chocolate is considered naturally rich in flavanols or plant chemicals that are believed to protect the heart and lower blood pressure.

However, many manufacturers remove this chemical while producing chocolate because of its bitter taste.

'When chocolate manufacturers make confectionery, the natural cocoa solids can be darkened and the flavanols, which are bitter, removed, so even a dark-looking chocolate can have no flavanol,' the Lancet said.