Can junk food be good for you

A.� Researchers in the US have just discovered that healthy chemicals called flavanoids - found in chocolate - act like aspirin to protect the heart. Their experiment showed that eating a few bars of choccy a week could help prevent blood clotting. Two volunteers fasted before eating either 25 grams of chocolate or bread. Blood samples were then taken from both people. The results showed blood took longer to coagulate in the people who had eaten chocolate than the people who had eaten bread. At a science conference in Galsgow recently, experts were told the consumption of chocolate resulted in a significant reduction in the ability of blood to form clots.

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Q.� What about other junk food, like chips

A.� The British Nutrition Foundation has stated there is no such thing as good or bad food. Eating everything in moderation, they say, is the key to good nutrition.

Chips, piizza, burgers and ice cream can benefit the body - providing you don't eat too much. Potatoes are a good source of Vitamin C, milkshakes and ice-cream can provide calcium, and even takeaway Chinese and Indian� comes with beneficial vegetables and rice.

A grilled burger on the barbie can provide an important source of iron. A grilled burger in a bread roll with salad is actually a healthy snack - it's the mayonnaise or deep fried chips that pile on the calories. The world's favourite fast food - pizza - contains elements which are all good for you. The base has cereal and then it has fruit and veg on top, and the cheese provides calcium. It does, however, have quite a lot of fat.

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Q.� What about washing it down with beer or wine

A.� Wine and beer can both be good for you - providing it's not in excess. Plant chemicals, called phytochemicals, which are found in plant foods, have been shown to reduce the risk of cancer. Wine is known to have these type of chemicals, but scientists are still investigating how they work. Wine has also been shown to reduce the risk of death from heart disease. People in France have a much lower rate of heart disease than the UK. This is partly due to their Mediterranean diet, but also their wine consumption. Beer is low in fat but it's a source of calories and carbohydrate, which can cause you to put on wieght if drunk in excess. Beer is , however, a good source of B vitamins which break down energy from carbohydrates and help in the nerves functioning.

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By Katharine MacColl