Chocolate (Image from flickr by Andy Ciordia)
Tomorrow (February 14th) is Valentine’s Day, and that could only mean one thing : Chocolates! We all love to indulge in that small piece of guilty pleasure, not only because of it’s delightful sweetness, but also because it makes us feel happier. As if those weren’t good enough excuses for being gluttonous over chocolate, there is a new reason why we can love chocolate even more; chocolate makes happier babies!
3D ball-and-stick image of serotonin (Image from Wikipedia by Ben Mills)
All chocolates, except white chocolate, are made with cocoa solids. Some chemical compounds found in cocoa solids, such as phenethylamine, theobromine and tryptophan, trigger mood enhancing chemicals and neurotransmitter to be released in the brain. In other words, all of these chemicals play a part in making us happier when we ingest chocolate. For instance, tryptophan assists production of serotonin, or commonly known as “happy hormone”, which makes people feel relaxed and satisfied. Moreover, phenylethylamine, which is similar to amphetamine in its actions, causes the brain to release dopamine in the pleasure centers of the brain, thus making people feel pleasure.
coffee (Image from flickr by user Ballstik Coffee Boy)
Now, does this mean that babies would also feel happier when chocolate is eaten during pregnancy? Many women actually avoid eating chocolate during pregnancy, as they are concerned about the caffeine in the chocolate. This is because many studies suggest that caffeine is dangerous to an unborn child and is linked to an increased risk of miscarriage. However, contrary to popular belief, chocolate has very small quantities of caffeine, between 5 – 30 milligrams per 1 ounce, which is less than half the caffeine found in a cup of coffee (between 90 – 135 milligrams). On average, doctors recommend that a pregnant woman consume no more than 270 milligrams of caffeine each day. This indicates that small intakes of chocolate during pregnancy is acceptable. In fact, a study from University of Helsinki in Finland has shown that consuming chocolate while pregnant may actually benefit babies. In this study, babies were observed under the areas of smiling and laughter, and fear of novel situations. The results showed that mothers who consumed chocolate daily while pregnant rated their children as more happy (increased smiles and laughter, reduced crying in new situation) at 6 months of age. Interestingly, while maternal stress during gestation was a predictor of fear in 6 month old babies, this was largely negated by chocolate consumption.
Happy baby! (Image from flickr by user Mallu2007)
So chocolate is even more wonderful than we thought! In addition to tasting so delicious and making us feel happier, chocolate also makes new-borns happier. Maternal chocolate consumption could not only improve the temperament of babies, but it could also reduce the known effects of maternal stress on the babies. However, excessive ingestion of chocolate during pregnancy may build up caffeine levels in the body increasing the risk of miscarriage (along with the risk of becoming overweight). Moderation is the key here!
A video clip addressing this topic from Youtube – uploaded by user karensue64
References:
Raikkonen K, Pesonen AK, Jarvenpaa AL,Strandberg TE. (2004) “Sweet babies: chocolate consumption during pregnancy and infant temperament at six months.” Early Hum Dev. 76(2):139-45.
http://gsdl.sld.cu/collect/chocolat/index/assoc/HASH42f5.dir/doc.pdf
Cocoa Solids:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocoa_solids
Phenethylamine:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenethylamine
Theobromine:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theobromine
Tryptophan:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tryptophan
Serotonin:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serotonin
Amphetamine:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amphetamine
Pregnancy Wizard – “Chocolate during Pregnancy”:
http://www.pregnancywizard.com/food-diet-nutrition/chocolate.php
