RICH, smooth milk, bitter, intense dark, or creamy, sweet white - you will almost certainly be consuming some form of egg shaped chocolate this weekend.

It's naughty, but very nice, and despite high calories and health advice, the average Brit eats around nine kilogrammes of chocolate a year.

And it is no wonder. Chocolate is thought to stimulate the release of endorphins - natural body hormones which generate feelings of pleasure and well-being.

Plus it tastes rather yummy.

The saying goes "a little of what you fancy does you good", where do you draw the line?

Experts are still uncertain why people crave chocolate quite so much as they do, although it does contain ingredients such as caffeine that are mildly stimulating.

Jacqui Lowdon, from the British Dietetic Association said: "Chocolate's the most commonly craved food because it melts at body temperature and has that instant feelgood factor."

"People often crave chocolate when they're tired and haven't eaten for a long period. That's because their blood sugar drops and they crave a quick hit of sugar which chocolate gives."

For Paula Richardson and Katie Allan, the lure of the brown stuff proved so strong they set up a business surrounded by it.

At their shop called Fantabulous, at Barleylands Craft Village, Billericay, the pair create luxury chocolates and fudge.

Surely working all day with that sticky temptation has put them off the stuff?

Not a jot. Both admit to being complete chocoholics and at times feeling sick after over-indulging while testing their recipes.

"Who doesn't love it?," laughed Paula.

"It has something for everyone. We did think the novelty would soon wear off but it hasn't yet.

Katie added: "We love working with chocolate. There is definitely something in it that makes people happy."

Fellow choccie lovers are about to be even happier thanks to Southend-based nutritionist Sandra Stirling, who advises her clients no food is forbidden in a balanced diet.

However the bad news is in the word moderation. Sandra said: "A small amount of chocolate can feature in a diet that is balanced with plenty of fruit and vegetables, lean protein and wholegrains.

"My advice, if you really cannot avoid temptation, is try to avoid milk chocolate but opt for quality dark chocolate. It's richer meaning you'll hopefully eat less and it contains antioxidents which can be of some benefit.

"However it is still high in fat and contains a lot of sugar so people who want to add some chocolate to their diet need to subtract an equivalent amount of calories by cutting back on other foods to avoid weight gain."

Happily the hard work that would entail has been simplified thanks to a new online chocolate offsetting calculator.

While the eco-phrase "carbon offsetting" has become part of everyday life, its choccie counterpart shows people how much fruit and veg they need to substitute during their week and how much exercise they ought to take to offset the unhealthy effects of gorging on chocolate.

Set up as part of the Eat in Colour health promotion to encourage us to eat five a day www.chocolateoffsetting.com allows users to select their expected chocolate consumption and find out what they need to do and eat in order to positively compensate for it.

Eat in Colour's Anthony Levy explained: "We're not saying people shouldn't eat chocolate, all we're doing is informing them of ways they can offset the effect.

"This offsetting clearly has to be a combination of eating sensibly and taking exercise - not just at Easter but all year round.

The calculator shows if you want to eat just one chocolate egg at 248g or 1,273 calories, then it would recommend you substitute your fried breakfast for something healthier and go for a two-hour walk.