Eating nuts during pregnancy could help improve the neuropsychological development of children in the long term

Although it is always important to have a balanced and healthy diet, During pregnancy we must pay more attention and care to the food we consume, making sure that we do not lack those that best nourish us during this stage.

One of those foods is nuts, which help us obtain certain necessary nutrients during pregnancy. But its benefits are not limited only to the gestational development of the baby, because according to a recent study, eating nuts during pregnancy could help improve the neuropsychological development of children in the long term.

The study

Published in the magazine European Journal of Epidemiology, the study by scientists of the Institute of Global Health of Barcelona (ISGlobal) found one more benefit of eating nuts during pregnancy, because improves cognitive function, attention span and working memory in children.

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According to the researchers, consume nuts, hazelnuts or almonds abundantly during the first trimester of pregnancy, was associated with a better performance in these three functions of the neuropsychological development of children in the long term.

To reach this conclusion in the investigation, which included the participation of 2,200 couples of mothers and children, three children were tested when they were one and a half years old, five years old and eight years old.

In them, it was found that babies who were born in the group of mothers who had consumed a greater amount of nuts during the first month of pregnancy, had obtained better results than the rest of the participating children.

Specifically, it was found that children whose mothers had consumed three weekly servings of 30 grams during the first trimester of pregnancy, they had obtained three more points in the study of cognitive function, compared to those who had had a low consumption.

Other benefits of consuming nuts in pregnancy

The dried fruits such as almonds, walnuts and hazelnuts, are one of the most recommended healthy snacks not only in pregnancy, but for all people (with an exception in the case of young children, as it is not recommended to give them whole before five or six years because of the risk of suffocation) .

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But without any doubt in pregnancy they are full of benefits for both the mother and the baby, as many of them provide necessary nutrients such as iron, calcium and omega 3, for a healthy development during pregnancy:

The almonds, for example, are a source of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids within which omega 3 is found, as well as vegetable calcium, fiber, potassium and vitamin E with antioxidant function, offering considerable levels of iodine and folic acid.

The cashew nuts They are a source of iron and vegetable calcium, and also offer among other things a high proportion of zinc to take care of the body's defenses, as well as iodine and folic acid.

The pistachios, which are rich in calcium, also provide magnesium, potassium, fiber, vitamin E, and is one of the nuts with the highest proportion of unsaturated fats as well as high protein content.

The hazelnutsThey are rich in iron and have a low water content, high in fat, are a source of fiber and have no cholesterol. They also contain unsaturated fatty acids, monounsaturated fatty acids, fiber, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, potassium, vitamin E, vitamin B6, thiamine, niacin and folates.

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Some also help us not only with nutrients, but with other benefits for pregnancy in general, such as almonds, which are one of the foods that help keep acidity at bay, or nuts, that help us have a better rest.

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