Seriously.

You can't shrug off chocolates - the right kind, anyway - as a thoughtless Valentine's Day gift anymore, now that studies show the delectable treat might actually protect your heart.

Dark chocolate is one of the best sources of antioxidants called flavenols, which research suggests may help protect against heart disease by preventing blood clots, lowering blood pressure and destroying oxygen molecules that can cause arterial plaque.

Cardiovascular disease kills more Americans - one every 34 seconds - than any other cause by a long shot, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It kills more women every year than all forms of cancer combined.

So this Valentine's Day, bring on the chocolate. The darker it is, the greater its antioxidant power.

And don't forget the red wine.

Thanks to the grape skin used in red wi0ne, it, too, is chock-full of an antioxidant called resveratrol, which seems to boost good cholesterol and prevent blood clots.

Research suggests it may even protect against heart attacks.

"There are some observational studies that seem to show that people who drink a glass of red wine a day have less heart attacks than those who don't," says Brent Muhlestein, director of cardiology research at LDS Hospital and professor of medicine at the University of Utah. "But to definitively say it's the red wine that does it" is an overstatement.

Even so, at least one enterprising doctor is marketing a capsule called Revatrol as the "highest content of resveratrol of any red wine extract on the market."

Candy companies also are hoping to capitalize. Mars recently introduced Dove Dark, a bar rich in antioxidants.

Of course, moderation for both wine and chocolate is key. You can easily confound the health benefits of both by overindulging.

"There is all sorts of evidence that a lot more than one drink of red wine a day is bad for the heart and a lot of other things, too," Muhlestein says.

Likewise, one ounce of dark chocolate packs 140 calories - a toll that can quickly add up to extra pounds if you don't burn more calories or cut back elsewhere.

So take it easy.

A glass of red wine. A few chocolate-dipped strawberries.

Now that's love.

rlynn@sltrib.com