Posted on 02/20/2008 2:35:50 PM PST by Clintonfatigued
Eating a handful of pistachios every day may help heart health, new research has found.
The study, published in The Journal of the American College of Nutrition, and conducted by James N. Cooper of George Mason University and Michael J. Sheridan of Inova Fairfax Hospital, looked at individuals with relatively high cholesterol who replaced high-fat snacks with pistachio nuts on a daily basis. When on a diet that involved getting 15 per cent of daily calorie intake from pistachios for four weeks -- which means snacking on one to two handfuls a day -- subjects were found to improve blood lipid levels.
"These results are exciting because the research indicates that adding pistachios to the daily diet can help protect the heart without a dramatic dietary lifestyle change," Cooper said in a statement. "This research challenges the previously held belief that a low-fat diet is best for heart health."
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Printer friendly Font:****The majority of the fat in pistachios is considered a "good" fat, monounsaturated fat, the kind that lowers blood pressure.
"Studies now show that a diet with a moderate amount of healthful monounsaturated fat, like the kind found in pistachios, is a more effective way to prevent heart disease than reducing overall fat intake," Cooper said.
(Excerpt) Read more at canada.com ...
Exactly how much is “a handful”? And 15% of daily calories is a lot.
This is an interesting dietary development. Wonder if it will take root in the United States?
Take your pick.
Does Hagen Dasz Pistachio Ice Cream count?
“Wonder if it will take root in the United States?”
Nah! It’s only for wackos and nuts!
They’re so salty! Can you get unsalted?
The problem with articles such as this one is that they fail to include an additional comment. The article suggests adding some pistachios to the diet, but fails to explicitly suggest cutting OUT other snacks, like icecream!! ;)
I know it mentioned diet, but some folks are going to think that if they just add pistachios to their current fatty diet, that it will circumvent the bad effects of the bad foods.
It’s my understanding that pistachios are a complete food, and that in some countries it’s the only food given to it’s soldiers. We give ours mre’s.
I don't know where you are located but I get raw, unsalted pistachios without the shells at my local HEB store in Texas.
So if you already have low blood pressure, do you *avoid* eating pistachios? Hope not. I love the darn things and buy the big bags at Sam’s Club. They’re better for you than chips and you have to work for them.
The same holds true for cashews.
I hope.
No. They come out of the ground pre-salted. /s
I’m gonna have to check around. The closest is in Windmere, east side of Cleveland. If I go there with my lowly Highlander with the FR bumpa-sticka, I might not make it out alive! I’ll need funny shoes and a Beamer as a disguise!
I’ve just never come across unsalted ones. Thought that might be the way they were preserved. From Turkey?
“Theyre so salty! Can you get unsalted?”
Here.....
http://www.nutsonline.com/nuts/pistachios/roasted-no-saltnoshell.html?sid=3M66LOPW9qjfRdo4
Valleypistachio.com. You can get them almost anyway you want. I’ve never tasted better. A couple of handfuls of these babies a day is real hard. A half pound a day is REAL easy.
Pistachios grow on trees, you silly. If you don’t water the tree with saltwater, the nuts will be unsalted.
Thanks for the link. I can eat Pistachios until my fingertips are bloody from opening the shells.
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