Your body naturally produces the hormone melatonin, which helps induce sleep cues.
Since sleep has a significant effect on your health, eating some foods containing melatonin is useful for improving sleep quality.
In fact, pistachios and other food sources containing melatonin such as grains and mushrooms may induce sleep.
In this article, pistachio melatonin content and how it affects the body is explained.
How does pistachio melatonin affect your body and promote restful sleep
Your body normally produces melatonin in response to darkness. In most people, the production of this hormone is usually done around 2 am.
Foods containing melatonin can increase the amount of this sleep-promoting hormone in your body, which means that the melatonin in pistachios tells your body that it’s time to sleep.
Just 1 ounce (28 grams) of pistachios can give you about 6 milligrams of melatonin, which is comparable to the amount found in melatonin supplements. So that a melatonin supplement usually contains 0.2-10 mg of melatonin per dose.
It is important to note that melatonin does not cause false sleepiness. Rather, it simply tells your body to relax because it’s time to sleep.
In addition, melatonin can help the body in other ways. For example, it can help eye health, stomach ulcers, heartburn, and reduce the symptoms of tinnitus.
Melatonin content in pistachios for sleep relaxation
Pistachios have various minerals. In the article, what vitamins, proteins and minerals does pistachio have? We answered this question completely. Further research into the amount of exogenous melatonin, meaning melatonin that comes into the body from food or supplements, has shown that it is necessary for it to affect your body.
Keep in mind that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not prescribe supplements in the same way as other drugs, and the optimal dosage for them has not yet been determined. Also, due to reduced monitoring, it is not easy to accurately identify the content of a specific supplement such as melatonin.
However, in many other countries, melatonin supplements are not sold over the counter and access to them requires a doctor’s prescription.
However, taking 0.2 to 5 mg of melatonin 60 minutes before bedtime is generally considered safe for adults, and more than 30 mg of supplemental melatonin can be potentially harmful.
More research is needed to determine whether the body can absorb melatonin from food sources other than melatonin supplementation.
You should consult a healthcare professional before taking melatonin supplements, especially if you are taking blood thinners or epilepsy medications.
Food sources containing melatonin
Cereals, mushrooms and pistachios are among the food sources of melatonin.
Below are the melatonin content of some common foods.
- Pistachios: 230,000 ng of melatonin per gram
- Mushroom: 4300-6400 ng/g
- Oatmeal: 91 ng/g
- Cherries: 10-20 ng/g
- Tomato: 1-67 ng/g
- Cow’s milk: 0.014 ng/ml
It is worth noting that although cow’s milk does not have a significant amount of melatonin, it contains a large amount of the amino acid tryptophan. Tryptophan is an amino acid that your body can convert into melatonin.
Summary
Pistachios contain natural melatonin, the amount of this substance in pistachios is naturally higher than in many other foods.
Melatonin is the hormone that tells your body it’s time to sleep.
While your body produces melatonin naturally, it can be obtained from supplements and foods such as pistachios.
However, it is important to remember that melatonin acts in response to darkness. Keeping the room dark for a few hours before bed may also help you get a better night’s rest.