Chocolate is the favorite sweet tooth. Women are especially weak. But what to do if there is a pregnancy: to refuse to eat chocolate at all or just to temper the ardor? Is it possible to have chocolate during pregnancy, and if possible, how much?
Chocolate during pregnancy has no definitive contraindications. The only thing - it is better to choose a tile of dark chocolate, it is much more useful than milk or white. However, bitter chocolate in pregnancy should be eaten with caution because of the higher content of caffeine in it.
But in general, chocolate in the diet during pregnancy has a number of advantages. First, the benefit of chocolate is that it lifts the mood. And pregnant women often experience mood jumps, and chocolate can greatly help stabilize it. Secondly, chocolate is able to strengthen the immune system due to the content of flavonoids in it.
In addition, chocolate has iron and magnesium, which have a beneficial effect on the development of the baby and the well-being of the future mother. Of course, chocolate should be consumed in moderation. Then its benefits for blood pressure will be undeniable. After all, chocolate dilates blood vessels and relaxes muscles. And high blood pressure during pregnancy threatens with such complication as pre-eclampsia of pregnant women . So chocolate will help to avoid it.
And thanks to the content of such a substance as theobromine, chocolate stimulates the heart, relaxes smooth muscles, maintains a steady blood pressure.
Speaking about moderation, it is meant that chocolate can bear and negative consequences if you do not know the measures. It must be remembered that it contains caffeine, which adversely affects the health of mom and baby. In addition, a large amount of chocolate can provoke or intensify an existing heartburn during pregnancy .
Excessive consumption of chocolate can reduce the flow of blood to the uterus, which will deprive the fruit of normal nutrition and sufficient supply of oxygen.
There are chocolate in moderate amounts recommended not only to pregnant women. In general, too much chocolate can lead to the development of allergies, and in children can cause increases in the blood of acetone.
Of course, the most useful is black chocolate, so it's better to prefer it to your favorite sweets with a high sugar and fat content. If you really want to pamper yourself during pregnancy, you can drink a cup of hot chocolate. But again - not often and not liters.