When a woman gets pregnant she starts to enjoy each moment of her pregnancy.
One such enjoyable part of pregnancy is having different types of food cravings. A woman tends to have different food cravings during her pregnancy especially for unhealthy foods like ice-creams, and chocolates. From the research studies, it has been proven that eating chocolate during pregnancy is good for both the mother and for the child as it is considered to help in the baby’s growth and development. Normally, dark chocolate is preferred over any other kind of chocolate.
BENEFITS OF EATING CHOCOLATE
- Chocolates are rich sources of nutrition as they contain theobromine, flavonoids, and magnesium. These are needed for blood pressure regulation, blood vessel stimulation, anti-oxidant, optimizing kidney function, improving immunity levels, and prevention of cardiovascular diseases.
- Pre-eclampsia is a situation where the mother suffers from increased blood pressure and more protein levels which might lead to blood-clotting, premature labor, liver damage, and convulsions. To prevent this, chocolates can be eaten as they have theobromine which will act against it in the third
- Eating dark chocolate improves uterine artery Doppler pulsatility.
- Flavanols present in chocolate can resist anxiety and tiredness.
- Due to the presence of various nutrients, eating chocolate can reduce cholesterol levels, increase the hemoglobin level, help in fatty acid metabolism, and reduce the risk of getting a stroke.
- An ingredient named resveratrol is present in chocolate that helps in a baby’s development by protecting the nervous system mainly the brain.
CONCLUSION
Eating chocolates during pregnancy can be good if taken in a minimal and required amount. Dark chocolates are preferred as they contain many nutrients which will help in fetal development. It is good to consult your gynecologist for the preference of chocolate and its limit you can have.