It could lower your risk of preeclampsia, pregnancy-induced high blood pressure that can threaten the lives of both mother and child. Researchers at Yale asked nearly 1,700 women about their eating habits during pregnancy, including how much chocolate they ate. Those that ate the most chocolate turned out to have the lowest rates of preeclampsia. Eating more than five servings of chocolate a week reduced the risk of preeclampsia by up to 40 percent or more. The researchers credited the chocolate by-product theobromine, (which was seen in the cord blood of more than 1,300 of the women) for the effect. In fact, the higher a woman's theobromine levels, the lower her risk of preeclampsia. In addition, flavonoids - antioxidants in chocolate previously associated with cardiovascular benefits - may have played a role, the investigators said. For the study, they didn't distinguish between the types of chocolate the mothers-to-be consumed, but noted that dark chocolate provides the most theobromine. The researchers cautioned women not to go overboard with chocolate - too much can lead to excess weight gain and all the health problems associated with obesity.
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