Conference moira::parenting_v3

    Eating chocolate while breastfeeding may cause diarrhea in your
    infant.  
    
    Carol

    I was told that chocolate was loaded with caffeine, so that's why it's
    not recommended to eat while pregnant or breastfeeding.  
    
    Mimi

>
>    I was told that chocolate was loaded with caffeine, so that's why it's
>    not recommended to eat while pregnant or breastfeeding.  
>    

Loaded?  I don't think so ... but it definitely does contain some caffeine
in it.  A cup of percolated coffee definitely has more caffeine than your
typical candy bar.

The bit about diahhorea I believe is caused because one of the primary
sweeteners for chocolate and candy  is corn syrup.

Unless you are pigging out on chocolate, then I wouldn't worry about it.  I'd
worry far more about the sugar consumption from eating chocolate rather than
anything else.

Stuart

Funny I should just happen on this note after polishing off a Milky Way
and bag of peanut M&Ms...My Dr. never said anything about not eating
chocolate, but she may not realize I consider it one of the basic food
groups (along with saltines in early pregnancy)

re: .5

>Funny I should just happen on this note after polishing off a Milky Way
>and bag of peanut M&Ms

Ah, must be the day after Halloween.

Clay

    re: .5
    
    >> and bag of peanut M&Ms...
    
    well, Liz, at least you chose the "high-protein" version.  haha
    
    cj/

    When I asked my doctor about avoiding chocolate, he laughed.  He
    said that unless I was injecting the stuff, I wasn't going to get
    enough caffeine from it to be harmful.  Unless I was eating so
    many sweets that I wasn't eating enough other food, of course.
    
    But I'm curious, Liz -- why do you dilute good chocolate by
    mixing it with something like peanuts?  
    
    --bonnie

    Eating too much chocolate is "not advised" during pregnancy since it
    hinders the absorption of calcium .... as per my OB and nutritionist.

    re:-1
    
    That's what mine told me, as well.  Also, if you have a tendency
    to get headaches, chocolate can be a contributing factor.  My OB
    told me to switch to white chocolate.
    
    - Kathryn
    

    
    In re: .9
    
    That is plausible, since chocolate _in_ milk does recombine with the
    calcium so as to make it non-digestible (the reason chocolate milk is
    not good for kids).  The same reaction might happen to a certain degree
    in the stomach.
    
    		- Bruce

    Re: .9, .11
    
    I have read that the notion that chocolate hinders calcium absorption
    is a myth.  I know this idea was popular when I was a kid. 
    
    			Steve

>     <<< Note 475.12 by QUARK::LIONEL "Free advice is worth every cent" >>>
>
>    Re: .9, .11
>    
>    I have read that the notion that chocolate hinders calcium absorption
>    is a myth.  I know this idea was popular when I was a kid. 
>    
>    			Steve
>


I don't know about it being a myth.  A childbirth instructor just told me that
a couple of weeks ago.

Come to think of it, I *have* heard that one ...  The question then remains
how much calcium does the chocolate bond with ?

Do you drink tea or coffee with a meal ?  Then you are losing a lot of the
iron in your food too because of a similar binding with vitamin C.  You need
vitamin C to help absorb iron ...

I really think, like so many of these "you should avoid x, especially during
pregnancy" statements, none are backed up by quantities ... If someone stated
that the chocolaate in a quarter pound of chocolate makes most of the calcium
in a glass of milk unavailable then we'd have a much better idea as to what
we are doing to ourselves and how to make up for it.  In this example ...
drink 2 glasses of milk ... one for the chocolate, and one for yourself!
(Note this is only an example, the numbers are pulled out of thin air)

So, until such time as meaningful data like that is published, all you can
do is use moderation, and if you are worried about say losing calcium
because you ate 1/4 lb of chocolate ... drink or eat something else a
little richer in calcium!

Stuart

	Yeah, me too.  In fact, I recently read an article on nutrition/school 
lunches/junk food that said that chocolate does *not* interfere.

	(This was in the paper a few weeks ago and is now long gone. So I can't 
verify.)

Tracey

My opinion, eat as much chocolate as you like while pregnant.  I did, and
it never bothered me.  If you nurse, you'll want to avoid it then (the 
caffeine in it bothers my baby -- makes her hyper!!).

Kyra

    
    Um, I have a dumb question.... how can my eating chocolate give my 
    breastfed baby diarrea?  [Or does she always have it?] The pedi says
    she's normal.
    
    BTW, I haven't found NOT eating or drinking anything while I'm
    breadtfeeding to make any difference to baby!
    [Excluding caffeine and alcohol] 
    
    Rochelle

	RE: .0
    
    When I was pregnant it was one of the basic food groups!  I had at
    least one piece a day.  It was a craving I guess.  I had a healthy
    check-up everytime I went and a healthy baby.
    
    However, I didn't (or tried not too) eat it while nursing.  It made my
    baby have SEVERE stomach aches.  She cried so hard everyone thought it
    was colic.  Chocolate is very strong.
    
    If you plan to nurse your baby may I suggest you talk to your Dr. 
    and your future pedi about things you put in your mouth.  You'll hate
    learning the hard way.  It killed me to see my baby suffer.  Especially
    when it could have been avoided.  I assumed because it was good for me it
    would be alright, but some things will surprise you.
    
    Have fun, it goes by fast!
    Pam
    

    Rochelle,
    
    I don't know exactly how/why eating chocolate gives the baby diarrhea.
    I based my input on a friend's experience with her newborn (1 month
    old) last fall.   She was eating their leftover Halloween candy and
    her son got very loose stools.  Her pedi told her to lay off the
    chocolate.   Second hand information.
    
    I agree that the breast fed babies stools are generally pretty loose,
    but it's definitely different than diarrhea in my experience!
    
    This is gross!
    carol

>    
>    I don't know exactly how/why eating chocolate gives the baby diarrhea.
>    I based my input on a friend's experience with her newborn (1 month
>    old) last fall.   She was eating their leftover Halloween candy and
>    her son got very loose stools.  Her pedi told her to lay off the
>    chocolate.   Second hand information.
>    

Corn syrup (Karo syrup) is the major sweetener used in most candies, and
since it is often recommended to give a baby a spoon of that stuff to
loosen them up, I suspect that is the real connection.

Stuart

    I don't think that eating small amounts of chocolate during pregnancy
    is harmful (this is my opinion).  However, remember that it contains
    sugar and is high in calories.  Sugar is supposedly not recommended in
    pregnancy, and we all have to watch the pounds, right?
    
    By the way, in case anyone is interested, I saw a dentist on the Good
    Day show yesterday.  He was being interviewed about halloween candies. 
    He said that chocolate is not as bad an evil as some of the other
    stickier candies because chocolate is naturally dissolved off of the
    teeth from the saliva.
    
    Nancy

    If I had to give up my last vice during pregnancy, I'd never get
    pregnant!! I honestly think I cannot live without chocolate. 
    
    While breatfeeding my first I think I gave it up simple because I was
    trying to watch my weight.
    
    Andrea_who_has_her_3:00_fix_EVERY_day

I ate chocolate all through pregnancy and brestfeeding without a problem.
When pregnant, I told everyone that I was getting him used to it now so that I
wouldn't have to give it up while breatfeeding.  ;-) 

BTW, chocolate does not have caffeine.  It has a relative of caffeine, and they
do act similarly.  Some of us, however, are blessed, and neither caffeine nor
chocolate affect us adversely.  :-}
 
      Carol

    
    Just some followup .....
    
    Our 6 month old started on solids over the weekend, predictably she
    got a little constipated. So guess who hit the Halloween Snickers????
    
    It worked great. 
    
    Rochelle
    
    BTW - I didn't notice anyone suffering!
    

    
    .12 > I have read that the notion that chocolate hinders calcium
    .12 > absorption is a myth.  I know this idea was popular when I was a kid.
    
    My remark about chocolate milk is derived from _Kitchen Science_, a
    book that is recent, and (I believe) quite reliable.  I will try to
    remember to look up the specific chemical reaction involved.
    
    		- Bruce
    

    I had read this summer (in, I think, the NY Times Science section)
    that a very recent piece of research showed that the difference in
    calcium absorption between chocolate milk and regular milk was
    negligible, and chocolate milk was back on the "okay" list for
    kids.  
    
    Unfortunately, I couldn't find the article last night, though I'm
    sure I saved it.  Sigh.  Couldn't have anything to do with the
    fact I probably clipped a thousand articles this summer and never
    put them in any order, now could it?
    
    --bonnie

That would be great.  I can only stand regular milk in cereal, or with something
chocolate.  Otherwise, I would rather have choc milk.

    
    	IS THERE LIFE AFTER CHOCOLATE??????
    
    You would have had to have been there during Halloween, when I was
    pregnant with AJ....It was one Twix or KitKat for the Kids and at least
    TWO, maybe Three for me.....!!!  Fortunately I can live without large
    amounts of chocolate ordinarily!   [ 8-)]
    
    Lyn