Discussion: Does Chocolate affect pregnant women?

[U4ea]

My best friend sent me a link to this article today: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,596304,00.html

 

She knows I'm a chocoholic, so it was horribly appropriate.

 

My question (and you can be as serious as you want to be in answering, I'm a big fan of either response...) is what do you think?

 

I say chocolate releases endorphins in the brain and makes preggo chicks happier, so it's all around better for everyone being around a pregnant chick when she eats chocolate regularly. *grins* Maybe that's just me, though...

[Bellanoire]

Oh I totally agree! chocolate also stimutlates the parts of the brain that gets stimulated during sex, so eating choclotate is like just having a really good row, with your husband, which is the only way you should consimate*eyes the underagers*

 

fyi hubbies get out of trouble with chocolate!!

[Reyn]

I dunno... I get a chocolate craving every once in a while (and yea, I'm happy once I've had at least a few bites of something chocolatey after that), but I don't think a woman would be more likely to have high blood pressure WITHOUT it.

[Auld Manriva]

I wonder if English or Swiss chocolatier's or possibly Willy Wonka funded this research?

 

It seems to me to be another spurious and absolutely useless waste of time and effort to present another needless excuse to consume chocolate, which needs no excuse to justify it's consumption.

 

Just don't SWIM in the stuff. "Everything in moderation" ladies ... of course I realize that is a useless phrase to those of the female persuasion who find themselves incubating an alien.  ;D

[Mirshann Uuranor]

*was totally going to swim in chocolate until now* :(

[Bellanoire]

lol still want to, ever see those chocolate fountains!!! mmmmmmm, I've seen them but never had the opertunity to get very close to one, i would so get a straw and suck stright from the vat!*l*

[Celarisa]

I'm with Manny....anything is okay once in awhile, in moderation.  The big danger with having chocolate during pregnancy (or at least this is what they told me!) is that it contains caffeine and you should really limit your caffeine intake while the wee one is cooking up in there!  ;)

[Kathleen]

I didn't read the article, as I can't open links *grrface* However, I did have two kids and I do get depressed every once in a while, when I am in either state, chocolate is my go to cheer-me-up. I don't know if it is truly because of any chemical reactions (how much chocolate is supposedly needed to increase your levels?) or just because I think it will make me feel better, because I enjoy it, so I do feel better after having it? Placebo affect? Either way, I know many times when I was pregnant I craved chocolate, or when I was having mood swings and was given chocolate they calmed down. So its definitly worth a shot!

 

As for chocolate's effect on lowering your blood pressure while your pregnant, I don't really know if it is true, I had high blood pressure with both my kids, but I don't know how much chocolate was in my system at the time the tests were done. I can see it helping in the sense that if you cheer up or relax when you get the treat of chocolate that change in mindset could change your stress levels and possibly lower your blood pressure. Again, I'm not sure if its more of a placebo effect taking place, and if it is scientifically sound, how much chocolate do you need to get the results they claim it can have?

[Bellanoire]

I'm with Manny....anything is okay once in awhile, in moderation.  The big danger with having chocolate during pregnancy (or at least this is what they told me!) is that it contains caffeine and you should really limit your caffeine intake while the wee one is cooking up in there!  ;)

 

Then stop coffee and soda they are way worse then chocolate when it comes to the amount of caffee in it, besides dark chocolate is good for the heart and preggos need that.

[Bellanoire]

I've heard of the study it was on night line and its actually less then an actual candy bar about four of the precut chunks.  Dark chocolate has most of the benifits.

 

 

[Taei]

Well, I've had four kids. I have occasionally craved chocolate while I was pregnant and it did make me feel better. Chocolate has a calming and satisfying effect on women period, doesn't matter if you're pregnant or not. As for the caffeine in it there really isn't that much. Unless you have some sort of heart problem that's really bad I don't see why you can't have some chocolate every once in awhile. Like Bella said coffee and soda have a ton more of it than chocolate, and try to get everyone to stop drinking those when they have no energy. *rolls eyes*

[Guest BaLefireP]

Dark Chocolate is the way to go! I have a mother and 5 sisters, I would know! Dark  Chocolate is also a lot better for you then Milk Chocolate, even thought Milk Chocolate tastes better!

[Nynaeve]

I think you'll always find pros and cons when it comes to any sort of food. What might help with one species can be lethal to another. Dark chocolate specifically is lethal to dogs (causes severe neurological problems that ultimately lead to death).... and semi lethal to cats. To them it's a toxin and not a positive substance. Obviously species differ, so there are bound to be vast differences.... but I'm just giving an example of how a coin has two sides.

 

Also, all these researches can seem really based but it's all about whether or not the researcher is doing it right. Results can seem really reliable but if the group chosen for this isn't a good representative of the population, if the group wasn't randomly picked, if the group isn't big enough to make conclusive results... then it all means jack. Any detail that the researcher might have influenced (even unknowingly) or any results he might have left out to make his results seem more solid... has a big impact on the results.

 

So... basically... I wouldn't necessarily believe this to be true.

 

 

 

 

Nyn

 

 

[Taei]

It's like the whole salt being good for you, then bad for you, then good for you, and then bad for you thing. A saying I heard a long time ago is, "Everything in moderation, including moderation." And I have to agree with that 100%.

[Nynaeve]

Yeah, I agree. :)

 

 

 

Nyn

[Bellanoire]

mmmmmm chhhooocccooolllaaatttteeeee*homersimpson groandrools*

[Torrie]

I agree with everyone else. In moderation it is not bad.

 

But any craving is a way for your body to tell you, you are lacking something. Finding something else to eat like milk (if it is the calcium your body wants) is the better route.

 

I used to eat a spoonful of peanut butter when I craved chocolate.

[el Nynaeve]

Going to jump in here.

 

Personally I don't really care for chocolate. I would be perfectly happy to go the rest of my life without eating it. Plus I can only eat the dark stuff anyway, the smell of milk and white makes me feel kinda queasy. :P

 

My mother-in-law is a chocoholic. I say chocolate is more like drug, especially after living with her for a while. She eats it, feels good and then has an emotional crash, eats more, feels good, crashes........it turns into a vicious cycle where she feels she needs to eat chocolate to feel good. And it's affecting her body weight and her emotional state of mind. She moans about being depressed but doesn't listen when I tell her a lot of it is down to what she eats. When she eats chocolate, she's hyper and bouncing off the walls and when she doesn't, she's tired, lethargic and just lies in front of the TV all day.

 

Anyhow, that's just my take on it. I agree with Torrie though, it's better to find something healthier to eat if you crave chocolate.

[Taei]

Like I said, in moderation. Your mother-in-law is obviously not eating it moderately Elli.

 

And well, I've never found anything else that quite hits the spot like a little bit of chocolate. Can't do the peanut butter thing... I'm allergic to that, wouldn't go well....