Boy was I glad to see this statement.
Recently, I’ve been the chocolate monster, supplementing every meal with a couple of truffles or dark chocolate bon bons once I’m done. I never used to have a sweet tooth, I tell ya.
According to one American double-blind trial, chocolate can improve placental function and decrease your risk of preeclampsia. The researchers studied 129 women who were between 11 and 14 weeks pregnant. Half the women were fed low-flavanol chocolate; the other half ate high-flavanol chocolate. The women all consumed 30 grams of chocolate a day.
According to the results, the uterine artery Doppler pulsarility index (which measures blood velocity in the uterine, placental and fetal circulations) in both groups was much more positive than expected in the general population. However, there were no significant differences in preeclampsia, gestational hypertension, placental weight or birth weight between the two groups—which might indicate that flavanol isn’t actually the key ingredient in chocolate’s health benefits. Researchers are unsure of what component of chocolate provides these benefits.
Which means to say, eat more chocolate and you will have a healthy placenta and fetal growth and development! I’m not one to dispute these results, are you? 😛
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