Pregnancy attracts more food advice than any other period of life, and dry fruits attract more of it than most foods. Some of it is sound. Some is a hundred years old and has never been checked.
What follows separates the two as honestly as a shop reasonably can - and none of it replaces the person actually looking after you.
Short answer: Dates have real evidence behind them in late pregnancy. Almonds, figs and raisins contribute iron, calcium and fibre usefully. None of it replaces supplements, and the right amounts for you come from your own doctor.
Dates, which have actual evidence
This is the one where the folk advice turned out to be right. Several small trials have looked at women eating around six dates a day in the last four weeks of pregnancy, and found shorter first-stage labour and less need for induction compared with women who did not.
The studies are small and not all of them are strong, so this is "promising and reasonable" rather than "established". But it is a genuine finding about a cheap, harmless food, and it is a long way from most pregnancy folklore.
Four to six dates a day in the last month. If you have gestational diabetes, this specific advice is exactly the one to clear with your doctor first, because six dates is a meaningful amount of sugar.
Almonds, figs, raisins and walnuts
Almonds carry folate, magnesium, vitamin E and protein. Six to eight soaked almonds a day is a sensible habit and the soaking makes them easier to digest at a time when digestion is often unhappy anyway.
Figs carry fibre and a genuinely unusual amount of calcium for a fruit, and constipation is one of the most common and least discussed problems of pregnancy. Two soaked anjeer in the morning is a gentle, food-based answer.
Raisins carry iron. Not a lot - a handful gives perhaps a milligram against a requirement of 27 - but it contributes, and they are easy to eat when nothing else appeals.
Walnuts carry ALA, the plant omega-3. Two to four halves a day.
Across all of these the pattern is the same: a useful contribution, not a replacement for anything.
Three things that get repeated and should not
"Eating almonds makes the baby fair." There is no mechanism and no evidence. Skin colour is genetic. This advice is still given constantly and it has no basis at all.
"Saffron in milk makes the baby fair." The same, with the same answer. Kesar in milk is pleasant and harmless in small amounts and does nothing to a baby's complexion.
"Dry fruits replace your iron tablets." They do not, and this one matters. The iron requirement in pregnancy is 27 mg a day, which is far beyond what food alone provides for most women, and iron-deficiency anaemia in pregnancy has real consequences. If a doctor has prescribed iron and folic acid, the dry fruits are an addition, not an alternative.
The practical cautions
Quantity. Dry fruits are calorie-dense and sugar-dense. The old advice to "eat for two" has been retired; the actual additional requirement is modest, and a large daily bowl of dry fruit is an easy way to considerably overshoot it.
Gestational diabetes. Dates, raisins and figs are all high in sugar. If you have been diagnosed, every number on this page needs to come from your doctor instead.
Hygiene. Rinse dried fruit before eating it. It is air-dried and much-handled, and pregnancy is a reasonable time to be more careful than usual about that.
Storage. Rancid nuts are unpleasant for anyone; buy small quantities and keep them in the fridge.
Buying it in Salumbar
Our dry fruits is on this site with the weight and the price on every pack. Order before 5 PM and it reaches you the same day inside Salumbar, free over ₹200. We have been on Sadar Bazar since 1961. If you would rather just say what you want, send it on WhatsApp and we will confirm the price before we pack anything.
Questions people ask
Are dates safe in pregnancy?
Yes, and there is reasonable evidence that four to six a day in the last four weeks is associated with shorter labour. If you have gestational diabetes, ask your doctor first - six dates is a meaningful amount of sugar.
How many almonds a day in pregnancy?
Six to eight, soaked. They carry folate, magnesium and protein, and soaking makes them easier on digestion.
Do almonds make the baby fair?
No. There is no mechanism and no evidence. Skin colour is genetic.
Can dry fruits replace iron tablets?
No. The requirement in pregnancy is around 27 mg a day, far beyond what food provides. If iron has been prescribed, keep taking it.
Which dry fruits help with constipation?
Soaked figs and prunes, for the fibre, with plenty of water. If it persists, raise it with your doctor rather than eating more figs.
Should dry fruits be washed?
Yes. Dried fruit is air-dried and handled a good deal. Rinse and pat dry.
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