Say Yes to Chocolate when Pregnant!

Eating in chocolate during pregnancy could help ward off a complication known as pre-eclampsia. This is where the patient develops high lood pressure and protein is also found in the urine.

Chocolate, especially dark chocolate, which is rich in a chemical called theobromine, stimulates the heart, relaxes smooth muscle and dilates blood vessels, and has been used to treat chest pain, high blood pressure and hardening of the arteries, Yale University researcher Dr Elizabeth Triche and her colleagues say as reported by The Age.

To investigate whether chocolate's possible cardiovascular benefits also might help prevent pre-eclampsia, the researchers studied 2291 women who each delivered a single child. They also tested levels of theobromine in the infants' umbilical cord blood.

Women who consumed the most chocolate and those whose infants had the highest concentration of theobromine in their cord blood were the least likely to develop pre-eclampsia.

It was alo found that women in the highest quarter for cord blood theobromine were 69% less likely to develop the complication than those in the lowest quarter, Dr Triche and her team note in the May issue of Epidemiology.

So now when a craving hits, just remember what you read and enjoy eating it!