During pregnancy, you may experience some cravings. One of the most common cravings experienced by pregnant women is chocolate. However, not all types of chocolate are beneficial and it will lead to some health problems if you consume them too much. The best type of chocolate recommended for your pregnancy is dark chocolate.
Dark chocolate is better than any other type of chocolate because it contains less sugar. It is clear that it has a lot of benefits too, such as mentioned in health benefits of dark chocolate for hair and health benefits of dark chocolate and wine.
That’s why consuming this type of chocolate may not impose other problems. Craving for dark chocolate during pregnancy is believed to have great impact for your pregnancy, especially for your baby inside your belly. Let’s see how amazing dark chocolate is for your pregnancy.
Preeclampasia, a condition which causes your blood pressure to increase rapidly, can be prevented by consuming dark chocolate during pregnancy. This condition may lead to early delivery and severe and fatal health issues.
There are some researchers at Yale University who found out that women who eat most chocolate during pregnancy can have higher concentration of theobromine in their umbilical cord blood. It reduces the chance to develop preeclampsia.
It cannot be denied that pregnant women experience stress during their pregnancy. It happens because your hormones all over the place during the nine-month pregnancy. Fortunately, consuming dark chocolate can help in lowering your stress level.
Some studies have found out that eating dark chocolate is able to reduce the level of stress significantly. If you’re stressed, you can also try Goya chocolate. Read more about it in health benefits of Goya chocolate as it is one of the best ways of stress prevention.
Chocolate can make you happy, so can dark chocolate. It is because of serotonin, which acts as an antidepressant. This hormone is able to lift your mood, especially when you’re feeling down.
Not only for the moms, consuming dark chocolate can also give happier babies. Mothers who frequently had chocolate during their pregnancy gave higher happiness score to their babies. It was found out by some researchers in the New Scientist Magazine.
The exact reason is unknown, however, it could be the chocolate passing through the placenta into the breast milk.
There is nothing you can do to prevent miscarriage, but women who eat dark chocolate daily during their pregnancy were found to have less chance of suffering a first-trimester miscarriage by around 20%.
Dark chocolate contains less sugar and fats. No wonder, it is helpful to regulate cholesterol level. Besides, dark chocolate also contains flavonoids which raise good cholesterol levels, reduce oxidation of bad cholesterol and regulate blood sugar level.
Weight gain could not be avoided as you are feeding two people, so your weight must gain some. When you gain your weight, it is good for the baby, but you shouldn’t gain too much! Does consuming dark chocolate lead to unhealthy weight gain? Fortunately, it doesn’t! It is low in sugar and fat so it won’t contribute to weight gain. Instead, it helps you maintain healthy weight gain and lower cholesterol levels.
Do you know that you can also exercise while you’re pregnant? Swimming is one of the exercises you can do. Get ready for it and feel the health benefits of swimming while pregnant.
Iron and magnesium are two essential nutrients during pregnancy. Fortunately, dark chocolate is rich in iron and magnesium. A 100-gram of dark chocolate provides you with 67% recommended daily intake for iron and 58% for magnesium.
Iron is needed to maintain the hemoglobin count during pregnancy while magnesium is beneficial for metabolizing fatty acids.
Another health benefit of consuming dark chocolate is preventing you from getting heart disease. Dark chocolate contains an antioxidant property. Hence, it also supports the cardiovascular system. Interestingly, the darker and the higher quality of the chocolate, the better is for your heart.
Despite the fact that dark chocolate is good for pregnancy, you still have to consult with your doctor. Consult with your doctor about the amount of chocolate you can consume.
As we know, everything that is consumed too much won’t bring good things to your health. If you’re pregnant, make sure you also read some food you can consume, such as mentioned in health benefits of lemon water while pregnant and health benefits of chamomile tea for pregnant woman.