Can a daily dose of chocolate keep the wrinkles away?

Here comes the perfect excuse for buying that extra bar of chocolate - it might ward off wrinkles.

A daily portion of dark chocolate could protect the skin against the aging effects of the sun, according to research.

The study shows that nibbling on just a couple of squares every day helps to prevent wrinkles caused by ultraviolet light in the sun's rays.

Scientists who carried out the study at European Dermatology London, a private Harley Street skin clinic, say it might also lower the risk of skin cancer.

But it only works with dark chocolate that is very high in flavanols, the antioxidants that occur naturally in cocoa beans - the main ingredient in chocolate.

The study found volunteer who ate flavanol-rich chocolate could tolerate more wrinkle-causing UV light on their skin than those who ate a lower-flavanol chocolate.

But before you rush to buy that extra bar, chocolate with such high levels of flavanols is not generally available at present.

The researchers said: 'The main mechanism is likely to be the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant. But conventional chocolate had no such effect.'