Indulging in chocolates during pregnancy could help ward off pre-eclampsia. Pre-eclampsia is a condition characterised by high blood pressure, loss of protein in the urine and swelling of the body during pregnancy. These conditions usually develop in the second half of pregnancy though sometimes they develop shortly after birth. Women who are pregnant for the first time are at a greater risk of developing this problem. To investigate the relation between chocolate's cardiovascular benefits and reduced risk of pre-eclampsia, British researchers followed 2,291 women who delivered a single infant between 1996 and 2000, and asked them about how much chocolate they consumed in their first and third trimesters. The researchers also tested the levels of theobromine in the infants' umbilical cord blood. It was found that the 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. The findings stated that women in the highest quarter for cord blood theobromine were 69 percent less likely to develop the complication than those in the lowest quarter. Further, women who ate five or more servings of chocolate each week in their third trimester of pregnancy were 40 percent less likely to develop pre-eclampsia than those who ate chocolates less than once a week. Women who ate five or more servings of chocolate each week during their first trimester were found at 19 percent lower risk of developing pre-eclampsia than those who ate chocolates less than once a week. Chocolates, especially dark chocolate, is rich in a chemical called theobromine, which stimulates the heart, relaxes smooth muscle and dilates blood vessels, and treats chest pain, high blood pressure, and hardening of the arteries. Pre-eclampsia has many features in common with heart disease and that is why, eating chocolates during pregnancy might reduce the risk of pre-eclampsia. However, further studies in the direction are needed.
Epidemiology,
April 2008