Nuts are an energetically valuable and healthy product that is recommended for both adults and children. But their use during pregnancy raises many questions. Not so long ago, women were severely restricted in their cravings for nuts, and there were good reasons for that. Now nuts are allowed, but with certain restrictions. In this article, we will consider the question of the most popular and healthy walnuts - can the expectant mother eat them, whether such food will harm, and how to do it correctly.
General information
Not long ago, doctors warned women in an "interesting position" against eating nuts. They are considered quite allergenic food, and for a long time it was thought that eating them while carrying a baby could cause allergies in a newborn after birth. Recently, WHO has been forced to change its own guidelines, recognizing that the consumption of moderate allergens during pregnancy, on the contrary, "teaches" the baby's immunity, protects him from allergies and atopy after birth.
In May 2019, scientific publications published the results of the discovery of Spanish pediatricians, who found that eating nuts during pregnancy significantly increases the likelihood of having a child with high intellectual and mental abilities.
Moreover, experts recommended that women eat nuts in the early stages, when the process of laying the fetal brain is going on.
This experiment involved 2200 pregnant women. Their food was carefully monitored by staff at the research center. And then the experiment was postponed for several years. Children were born, grew up, and the experimenters conducted a neuropsychiatric examination of the children. It turned out that the highest results of mental and intellectual development were observed in children whose mothers ate at least 40 grams of nuts per day for up to 16 weeks.
In the first place in terms of benefits (read - in terms of the content of amino acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids necessary for a child), experts put walnuts.
Composition and properties
Walnut is a unique gift of nature. The concentration of vitamins, minerals and amino acids in its nuclei makes this type of nuts one of the best for the nutrition of pregnant women. The special value of the product lies in the presence of a fairly high amount of fatty acids Omega-3 and Omega-6 in its composition, up to 70% of all valuable substances in walnuts are allocated to them. About 20% are plant proteins that are actively involved in the metabolism and structural metabolism of cells.
Carbohydrates occupy only 7% in the composition of the nut, no more than 3% is allocated for tannins. The rest is amino acids, quinones, phytoncides, fiber, phytosterols. Among the vitamins that walnuts are rich in, it should be noted vitamin A, B vitamins, ascorbic acid, vitamin E, folic acid.
The mineral composition contains calcium, magnesium, iron and zinc. Calcium is necessary for pregnant women, since it is actively involved in hematopoiesis, mineralization of fetal bones. Magnesium is needed for a good mood, maintaining the nervous system, it relieves the increased tone of the uterine muscles.
How are they useful?
Walnuts should already be introduced into the diet of a future mother because they are rich in Omega-3 and Omega-6. Polyunsaturated fatty acids provide a strong stimulus for the development of the fetal brain, while it is important to eat nuts precisely in the early stages of pregnancy.
Phosphorus and calcium in the composition of nuts are necessary for the formation of the child's skeleton, the growth and hardening of bones, which is especially important in the second trimester, when their mineralization is at a rapid pace. During this period, the child takes the maximum amount of calcium from the mother's blood, and if the nutrition does not compensate for the deficit, then the woman will have problems with her teeth, hair, nails and hematopoiesis.
Excessive appetite is a problem for many expectant mothers. To quickly satisfy hunger, to calm down the destructive desire to eat something tasty and sweet, you can use healthy and tasty walnuts - even a small amount of them effectively eliminates the feeling of hunger, without leading to excess weight gain. A handful of nuts is a great snack in between meals. During periods of nausea and toxicosis, the same handful will help to cope with unpleasant attacks and relieve painful symptoms.
In folk medicine, walnuts are respected for their moderate diuretic effect. Therefore, this product can be especially useful for pregnant women who suffer from edema. It is also believed that the systematic use of walnut kernels relieves headaches.
All pregnant women, especially in the 3rd trimester, are prone to anemia in one way or another. To increase the amount of hemoglobin in the blood, again, walnuts will help, since they contain quite a lot of iron. This is important because with maternal anemia, the baby receives less oxygen. B vitamins and magnesium in nuts help women stay calm and in a good mood.
The benefits are not only of the kernels that can be eaten. Walnut oil helps prevent stretch marks.
And the partitions that are inside the shell can be used to prepare a decoction with which you can wash your hair so that it looks more shiny and healthy.
How can they harm?
With all the many benefits of walnuts, their potential harm is also possible. But mostly only in a situation where a woman uses them in unlimited quantities, without measure. If you do not dose this delicacy, then a large amount of protein that enters a woman's body can cause an inadequate immune response if the immune system takes these proteins for antigens. This is allergy.
Therefore, it is important to consume the product in moderation, following the recommendations of nutritionists. If an undesirable reaction appears - redness, sore throat after a portion of the product, a rash, then nuts should be abandoned altogether.
A large number of nuts in the diet is a sure way to constipation. Difficulty defecating during pregnancy is an already widespread phenomenon, whether it is worth increasing the risks.
Constipation not only brings unpleasant sensations, it causes systemic intoxication with the products of putrefaction and decay, increases the risk of uterine hypertonicity when overflowing intestinal loops begin to mechanically squeeze the wall of the uterus. Constipation increases the likelihood of developing hemorrhoids at any stage of pregnancy, but especially at later stages.
A large number of nuts can be harmful to women who have chronic diseases of the stomach and pancreas.
For most expectant mothers, nuts do not harm. The main thing is to comply with the recommended daily amount.
You will learn more about the benefits and dangers of walnuts by watching the following video.
How to use?
All the beneficial properties described above are relevant only if we are talking about raw nuts that have not been heat treated. After boiling or baking, frying in a pan, the lion's share of nutrients disappears. Therefore, do not buy baked goods with nuts or roasted kernels.
The best choice for pregnant women is unpeeled regular walnuts. While the kernel is in the shell, it retains nutrients more efficiently.
As far as the implementation of cleaned kernels is concerned, everything is not so simple. After peeling, the nuts dry out quickly. And if you take into account the considerable cost of a kilogram of such a product, then it is profitable for sellers that the peeled kernels are kept in a marketable condition as long as possible. Therefore, the nucleoli are often treated with special preservatives and additives that increase their shelf life, but, alas, reduce the benefits to human health.
When choosing inshell nuts, inspect them. They should be free of mold. If there is one, or the shell is covered with a whitish coating, it is not worth buying and eating such products - they were stored in violation of sanitation rules.
If you bought nuts in shells and peeled them at home, then you need to store the kernels in a tightly closed glass container in a dry and cool place.
The daily amount of walnuts recommended by doctors for the expectant mother is from 30 to 50 grams. Try not to exceed this amount, and then there will be no negative consequences. On the eve of childbirth in the last weeks, it is better to reduce the amount to a maximum of 30 grams so as not to provoke constipation. If you have a tendency to constipation or if you have hemorrhoids, you should limit yourself to 2-3 nuts a day or refuse them, in general, at a later date.
