Go ahead and read that title again. We aren’t lying and neither are scientists. Fortunately for us chocoholics, a few scientists are saying it’s actually good to eat chocolate while pregnant. Justify your chocolate cravings with these factual tidbits about the benefits of chocolate during pregnancy.
Enjoying some extra chocolate (especially during your first trimester) has been proven to lower the risk of preeclampsia.
Dark chocolate contains an antioxidant called flavanol, which has been proven to improve glucose tolerance, which decreases your chance of developing gestational diabetes. The other antioxidants in chocolate have been proven to have antiviral, antiallergic, and anti-inflammatory properties that aid your immune system.
In a study of 7,000 women, those who ate chocolate every day were less likely to miscarry by 20 percent.
It can be used as a natural cough suppressant.
A study suggested a peripheral stress-protective effect of dark chocolate consumption, meaning it lowers your body’s response to stress.
Italian researchers have confirmed that the heart rate and movements of fetuses increase when pregnant mothers eat chocolate, especially female fetuses. We can’t deny it; we're biologically driven to chocolate, ladies!
During pregnancy, your arteries have to stretch out to make room for the 50 percent more blood you have flowing. Dark chocolate helps restore flexibility to arteries while also preventing white blood cells from sticking to the walls of blood vessels.
Grab your keys and head to the nearest gas station for a king-size Kit Kat, or Reese's, or Snickers ... oh, the choices!