Chocolate news?

Last week, we saw a spate of stories such as:

Stroke prevention: More sweet news for chocolate lovers:

Researchers followed more than 37,000 men for more than 10 years, and found that those who ate the most chocolate had a 17 percent lower risk of stroke than those who never ate chocolate.

Flavonoids in chocolate have previously been linked with a reduced risk of heart disease and better mental performance. It's thought they may protect against cardiovascular disease through antioxidant, anti-clotting and anti-inflammatory factors, or by reducing cholesterol.

But neurologists aren't sending patients to the candy store based on this new report.

"You have to be very careful with these types of observational studies," said Dr. Richard Libman, vice chair of neurology at the Cushing Neuroscience Institute in Manhasset, N.Y.

Yes, be careful. You see too many stories about the health "benefits" of chocolate or coffee because, like those two popular products, the stories are hard to resist. More headlines:

Chocolate each day may keep strokes away

Chocolate: A sweet method for stroke prevention in men?

Chocolate may help men dodge strokes, too

As cute as some of these headlines may be, the doctor quoted above is right: Be careful. Yes, chocolate tastes great. But don't treat it like a magic pill.

(Photo from U.S. Food and Drug Administration)