Can Pregnant Women Eat Pistachio Nuts?
If you are pregnant, you may be overwhelmed with the eating advice given to you, as well as worried about every bite of food you consume. While certain foods should be avoided during pregnancy, most nutritious foods can be included as part of your healthy diet.
If you are pregnant, you may be overwhelmed with the eating advice given to you, as well as worried about every bite of food you consume. While certain foods should be avoided during pregnancy, most nutritious foods can be included as part of your healthy diet. Pistachios are nutritious nuts that supply many nutrients you need during pregnancy. Learn more about nuts and pregnancy to help you decide whether you will eat them now or wait until you deliver.
Eating Nuts While Pregnant
Nuts supply certain nutrients you need more of while carrying a baby. One of the most notable is protein, which encourages proper development of your unborn baby's tissues and muscles. Nuts are also a healthy source of fiber, which can help prevent constipation, a condition that afflicts the majority of pregnant woman. What to Expect, a website by Heidi Murkoff, creator of the "What to Expect" book series for parents, notes that nuts are also a healthy source of omega-3 fatty acids. These healthy fats can help promote the growth of your baby's brain.
Benefits of Pistachios
Pistachios in particular are a healthy addition to your pregnancy diet, because you can eat a fairly large amount of them for a relatively low number of calories and a healthy dose of several nutrients. One ounce of pistachios has 160 calories and 12.71 g of total fat, with just 1.5 g of them being the unhealthy, saturated kind. Pistachios also supply you with almost 6 g of protein and 2.8 g of fiber. A serving of pistachios also supplies you with potassium, calcium, folate and iron, all nutrients important to the growth of a healthy baby.
Concerns About Pistachios
Pistachios are not appropriate for all pregnant women. If you have a strong family history of nut allergies, you may want to eliminate pistachios, as well as other nuts, from your diet until your baby is born. U.S. News reports that with a family history of nut allergies, your baby's risk of asthma is increased by 50 percent if you regularly eat nuts, including pistachios, while pregnant. Speak with your obstetrician if there are nut allergies in your family, to determine if pistachios are right for your pregnancy diet.
Ways to Include Them in Your Diet
If there is no family history of nut allergies, feel free to include pistachios in your pregnancy diet. Eat them plain for a healthy and satisfying snack, or add them to your favorite trail mix recipe. Dip chicken breasts in beaten eggs and roll in crushed pistachio nuts for a healthy coating for baked or grilled chicken. Pistachios can be sprinkled into cereal, oatmeal or frozen yogurt for a nutrient boost.