The New Complete Book of Food
becoming pregnant and continuing through the first two months of pregnancy reduces the
risk of cleft palate; taking folate through the entire pregnancy reduces the risk of neural
tube defects.Adverse Effects Associated with This Food
Allergic reaction. According to the Merck Manual, peanuts are one of the 12 foods most likely
to trigger classic food allergy symptoms: hives, swelling of the lips and eyes, and upset stom-
ach. The others are berries (blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries), chocolate,
corn, eggs, fish, milk, nuts, peaches, pork, shellfish, and wheat (see wheat cereals). NOTE:
In 1998, USDA advised pregnant or breast-feeding women who suffer from eczema, hay
fever, asthma, or other allergies or whose partner or children have allergies not to eat pea-
nuts because children exposed to peanuts while in the womb or nursing are at higher risk of
developing serious allergies to peanuts.
Production of uric acid. Purines are the natural metabolic by-products of protein metabolism
in the body. They eventually break down into uric acid, which may form sharp crystals that
may cause gout if they collect in your joints or kidney stones if they collect in urine. Fresh
and roasted peanuts are a source of purines; eating them raises the concentration of purines
in your body. Although controlling the amount of purine-producing foods in the diet may
not significantly affect the course of gout (which is treated with medication such as allopu-
rinol, which inhibits the formation of uric acid), limiting these foods is still part of many
gout regimens.Food/Drug Interactions
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