Chocolate is the food of choice at Easter, despite its unhealthy image and alleged addictive qualities, writes Róisín Ingle

With the chocolate-fuelled holiday that is Easter rapidly approaching, chocoholics have begun stockpiling eggs as part of the annual confectionery frenzy. In Ireland last year we munched through €20 million worth of eggs and this figure is expected to grow by 10 per cent this Easter. Predictably, teenagers account for just under half the market while more mature sweet-tooths demolish a third of the eggs sold.

Scientists may scoff at claims by chocolate-lovers that the brown stuff - and to a lesser extent the white stuff - is addictive, but Shane Homan, assistant manager at Thornton's chocolate emporium on Grafton Street, Dublin, says he has a number of customers who describe themselves as "chocoholics". "They might make two or three visits to the shop a day. We have a laugh with them about it. I have learnt a lot about how intensely some people feel about chocolate since I took this job," he says.

Graphic designer Amanda Brady (32) from Co Dublin, says her love of chocolate began after her granny gave her an Easter egg when she was just six months old. "The story my parents tell is that the egg was so big, and I made such a mess eating it, that I had to be hosed down in the bath afterwards," she says, and she believes her "addiction" is genetic.

"My Dad is a chocoholic and so is my grandmother, who has been known to eat an entire box of chocolates in one sitting. So it is in my blood really." Friends know never to ask her for a square of chocolate, as a refusal can often offend.

"If pushed I would probably give it to them, but I would hate them for even asking," she says. "I love chocolate so much sometimes I feel I could faint with the joy of it. I know it sounds mad, but it's pure pleasure."

History shows that chocolate was prized and consumed in a ritualistic manner from as far back as the 17th century. Francesco Carletti, the man who brought chocolate to Europe from central America where it was consumed in drink form, recorded how the Mexican Indians "carry the chocolate to their mouths, swallow it in one gulp with an admirable enjoyment and satisfaction . . . and they seem to feel bad when they do not have this drink". As a self-confessed chocoholic, Brady has her own rituals and prefers to indulge on her own in a quiet environment. "I don't like to be observed," she says. "I turn off the TV and the stereo and just enjoy eating the chocolate with no distractions. I always feel better after chocolate."

Chocolate as therapy is a proven phenomenon. According to the World Happiness Database, eating chocolate makes people more clear-headed and tranquil while other studies show those who eat chocolate on any given day are more likely to be happier than those whose last chocolate hit was more than 24 hours before. During research for his book, Indulgence: Around the World in Search of Chocolate (Little Brown, £14.99), Paul Richardson came across a New Zealand-born guru who believed it was possible to discover our spiritual selves through the chocolate medium.

"Once self-realisation around chocolate takes place it allows you to restore, nourish and rebalance the human psyche," says Murray Langham who is an expert on "post-chocolate behaviour", and de-stressing effects of chocolate, including guilt-free chocolate eating and what your favourite filling says about you.

More discerning chocolate eaters claim Belgian and Swiss chocolates are the most gastronomically satisfying, preferring the buzz of confectionery purchased at Paris choclatiers to the hit of a Dairy Milk or a Mars bar. Fair trade chocolates such as Green and Black's organic produce are also winning new fans among those who want to ensure cocoa farmers are not exploited in the name of chocolate.

Those concerned about the health properties of chocolate - as with everything, moderation is key - should dip into A Chocolate a Day Keeps the Doctor Away (Souvenir Press, £6.99) by John and Suzy Ashton. The researchers - a father and daughter-in-law team - found that a bar of chocolate contains more anti-oxidants than six apples. In addition, they say it is better for you than red wine and claim chocolate can even protect cells against damage and ageing. It's just the kind of information chocophiles want to hear as they get ready to indulge this Easter. Chocs away!