Can You Eat Sugar Snap Peas Raw?

Did you know that sugar snap peas were developed in 1979? The sugar snap pea, also known as snap pea, was developed by Dr. Calvin Lamborn’s cross between a snow pea cultivar and a shelling pea. Today, Peru, Colombia, Guatemala, China, and Kenya are the leading commercial snap peas’ commercial producers.

Sugar snap peas are edible-pod with round pods and belong to the legume family. As such, they are a good source of fiber, proteins, carbohydrates, iron, vitamins, and phosphorous, to mention a few. Sugar snap peas can be cooked and are a crucial ingredient in most recipes.

That said, can you eat sugar snaps peas raw? Raw sugar snaps are edible. Most people prefer eating raw sugar snap peas while still fresh as they are sweet, crispy, and juicy. Besides, eating raw snap peas ensures that all the essential nutrients in sugar snap peas remain intact. Raw sugar snap peas are a favorite snack for most people.

How to Prepare Raw Sugar Snap Peas

Raw sugar snap peas do not have to be boring! There are various ways you can eat and enjoy raw sugar snap peas.

You can eat plain raw sugar snap peas. Alternatively, you can add the raw snap peas to a salad or eat them with dips.

You should cut off the stem at the end of the pod, then eat the rest of the pod. Some sugar snap pea’s stems are tender; hence you can also consume them.

You could also cut the raw sugar snap peas into small pieces, add them into salads, slice them, and eat them with dips.

What are the Health Benefits of Raw Sugar Snap Peas?

Most doctors and nutritionists recommend the consumption of raw sugar snap peas. This is because raw sugar snap peas contain essential nutrients for the body, including fiber, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Phosphorous, and Magnesium.

Fiber is an essential nutrient that helps in the digestion of food. Moreover, the fiber in raw sugar snap peas helps you to feel full longer, thus maintaining a healthy body weight which reduces the risk of lifestyle diseases such as obesity and high blood pressure. Fiber also helps in preventing heart diseases.

Raw sugar snap peas are an excellent source of vitamin K which improves the bone’s strength. s. This vitamin also plays a vital role in blood clotting. It helps form protein C and protein K, which work together to clot blood during injuries, preventing excessive bleeding.

Vitamin C aids in the growth and repair of body tissues and boosts the immune system.

The phosphorous in raw sugar snap peas helps filter the waste in kidneys and plays a vital role in repairing body tissues.

Raw snap peas are a magnesium source, which helps regulate blood pressure, nerve function and controls the glucose in the blood. 

This delicacy also contains iron which helps in the formation of blood cells. Therefore, continuous intake of raw sugar snap peas boosts the iron in the body and prevents conditions such as anemia.

Additionally, raw snap sugar peas are a beta-carotene source, an antioxidant that helps to protect the body against cancer and other illnesses. 

What are the Health Benefits of Raw Sugar Snap Peas for Women?

The woman’s body is quite complex and requires extra care to make sure it’s functioning at its best. For example, women undergo menstruation cycle every month and carry pregnancies for nine months. These two and other demand that women must be careful about what they consume.

Raw sugar snap peas are a rich source of folic acid, which is essential during pregnancy, and vitamin K, which fosters healthy menstrual bleeding, and ensures a healthy body weight.

During pregnancy, women are advised to consume as much folic acid as possible. This is because, during the fetus’s early development, folic acid helps to form the neural tube. Failure to take folic acid could lead to severe congenital disabilities such as damage of the brain and spinal cord, and in some cases, death. Raw sugar snap peas are an excellent source of folic acid; therefore, pregnant women should include them in their meals.

Vitamin K also helps in a baby’s bone development. Moreover, vitamin K helps in blood clotting, therefore, preventing excessive bleeding during menstruation.

How Can You Increase the Shelf Life of Sugar Snap Peas?

To eat sugar snap peas raw, they must remain fresh. Therefore, you must store them properly.

Refrigeration and freezing are fantastic ways of storing sugar snap peas to maintain their freshness.

• Refrigeration

Sugar snap peas can remain fresh under refrigeration for up to four days. In these four days, the sugar snap peas remain fresh while maintaining their sweet taste and crispiness; thus, you can eat them raw. Korean Beauty

To refrigerate sugar snap peas, you should first put them in an airtight plastic bag. You should also avoid washing them before storage as this will damage them. 

• Freezing 

Sugar snap peas are a healthy snack, especially when eaten raw. However, they are only in season for only a few weeks. Therefore, to ensure that you enjoy them months after the season, you should consider freezing them.

However, do not just put the raw sugar snap peas in a freezer, as this makes them slimy and discolored, therefore not fit for consumption. Instead blanch them before freezing them.

Are Raw Sugar Snap Peas Bad for You?

While raw sugar snap peas are fantastic, some situations can make them bad for you.

Excess intake of raw sugar snap peas increases fiber in the body. Extra fiber is hard to break, which leads to bloating and stomach pains. Moreover, raw sugar snap peas have FODMAP; therefore, excess intake increases FODMAP in the body resulting in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

Fermentable Oligo-di-mononossacharides and polyols (FODMAP) are short-chain carbohydrates and are poorly absorbed by the small intestines, leading to bloating. They also cause an osmotic effect, thus drawing more fluids in the bowel, affecting bowel muscles’ contraction, hence bowel irritation.

Final Thoughts

• Raw sugar snaps are edible, and most people prefer eating them raw while still fresh as they are sweet, crispy, and juicy.
• You can eat plain raw sugar snap peas, or you could add them to a salad or eat them with dips.
• Raw sugar snap peas are a source of folic acid, which is essential for women during pregnancy. 
• Refrigeration and freezing are fantastic ways of storing sugar snap peas to maintain their freshness.
• Excess consumption of raw sugar snap peas increases FODMAP and fiber in the body, which leads to bloating and irritable bowel syndrome.