To ensure that you get the most benefit from eating pistachios before bed, you should eat about half a cup of these nuts. This means you should consume about 2 ounces of pistachios before bed - about 20 to 30 nuts. Melatonin levels typically peak in the middle of the night, between the hours of 2 am and 4 am.
“On average, the amount of melatonin present in pistachios is among the highest found in food at about 6.6 milligrams per one-ounce serving, or about 49 nuts,” says Frances Largeman-Roth, RDN, author of Smoothies & Juices: Prevention Healing Kitchen.
Pistachios also contain B6 and Magnesium which are good for sleep. A 1-ounce portion of kernels eaten about an hour before bedtime should set you up for a good night of sleep.
According to Losso, pistachios contain certain phenolics which can reduce the breakdown of tryptophan to toxic compounds so that it is converted to melatonin. The increase in tryptophan has the potential to help with delayed sleep onset, sleep duration and quality.
How many pistachios help you sleep? To ensure that you get the most benefit from eating pistachios before bed, you should eat about half a cup of these nuts. This means you should consume about 2 ounces of pistachios before bed - about 20 to 30 nuts.
Most nuts have a good amount of melatonin. Pistachios and almonds are among the highest.
Most nutritionists recommend their clients consume no more than two ounces (56 grams) of pistachios every day. For shelled pistachios, that adds up to 90 pistachios. Nutritionists also advise people to drink a sufficient amount of water to digest. Otherwise, you may get an upset stomach after eating pistachios.
How many pistachios should you eat in a day? To enjoy the delicious taste and health benefits of pistachios, it's generally recommended to have about 1 ounce (28 grams) or a small handful (around 30-50 nuts) per day. This way, you can relish their delightful flavor without overindulging.
They offer several health benefits, especially for the heart, gut, and waistline. Regularly eating pistachios may help improve health and wellbeing. But people should stick to plain, unsalted pistachio nuts in their shells and avoid eating more than 1 oz a day.
Eggs and fish are higher melatonin-containing food groups in animal foods, whereas in plant foods, nuts are with the highest content of melatonin. Some kinds of mushrooms, cereals and germinated legumes or seeds are also good dietary sources of melatonin.
1. Cherries. Cherries (especially sour cherries like the Montmorency variety) are one of the only (and highest) natural food sources of melatonin. Studies have shown a boost in circulating melatonin after consumption of cherries, though sweet cherries have half the melatonin content as sour cherries.
Pistachios
“Among all plant foods nuts, and in particular pistachios, have the highest amount of melatonin,” Neville tells SBS.
A serving of #nuts is about 30g, which is equal to: 20 almonds 10 Brazil nuts 15 cashews 4 chestnuts 20 hazelnuts 15 macadamias 15 pecans 2 tablespoons pine nuts 60 pistachios in shells for 30g of kernels 10 whole walnuts or 20 walnut halves A small handful of mixed nuts.
Pistachios hit the sleep-inducing jackpot, packing in protein, vitamin B6, and magnesium, all of which contribute to better sleep. Refrain from a shell-cracking frenzy, though. "Don't exceed a 1-ounce portion of nuts," London warns. "Anything too high in calories can have the reverse effect of keeping you awake!"
Bananas provide up to 26% of your daily recommended intake of melatonin, but those high levels just before bedtime can be what makes it hard to get a good night's sleep.
Risk of Pistachios
If you have fructan intolerance -- a bad reaction to a type of carbohydrate -- pistachios might bother your belly. If so, you may have: Bloating. Nausea.
Consuming pistachios in excess can cause high blood pressure. In addition, you may experience lightheadedness, blurred vision, confusion, and fainting. Also, consuming salted pistachios might elevate your blood sodium level, increasing your chance of developing various cardiovascular illnesses including hypertension.
There is something about tiny little things that you have to work hard for that make them addictive, I think. Just like sunflower seeds, pistachios take a bit of work to enjoy so you feel like you're just needing more and more. Plus, it's such a redundant motion that it's easy to do it for a while.
There is 5.7 mg of iron in every 100 grams of pistachios, which requires between 4 and 5 mg of iron per day for a normal human being.
There is no official recommended maximum dose of melatonin for adults, but a range of 0.5 mg to 5 mg appears to be safe and effective. Generally speaking, most people produce enough melatonin to sleep well, but if you need a little extra to add to their sleep cycle, you probably don't need more than 3 mg.