Pistachios are one of the lowest calorie nuts with only 160 calories in a single ounce, which is the equivalent of about 49 pistachios. Researchers recently discovered that eating as much as 20% of calories from pistachios may not lead to weight gain, but it may provide the added benefit of improving blood pressure, among other perks. Emerging research shows that people with extra body weight can benefit from eating pistachios – those who munched on pistachios lost weight and improved their triglyceride levels (blood fats).
The High Council of France’s public health recommends a daily consumption of a small handful of nuts. This recommendation is based on scientific data that highlights health benefits of nuts, including pistachios, in terms of diet quality, weight management and cardiometabolic risk reduction. Pistachios are nutrient dense foods containing protein, fiber, phytosterols, and antioxidants and are naturally cholesterol-free. California-grown pistachios have a high monounsaturated fatty acid content (53% of total fat) and a high unsaturated/saturated fat ratio of 7.4: 1.
With inputs from American Pistachios
