Research has shown that pistachios can help improve your cholesterol, lower your blood pressure and reduce your triglyceride levels. In fact, as little as one serving a day can have positive effects. But, what many people don’t realize is that pistachios are also a great source of protein and fiber. And, as a result, they can help with weight loss and metabolic syndrome (MetS) profile.
The “pistachio effect” may be attributed to the presence of two important nutrients in pistachios, beta-carotene and gamma-tocopherol. These fat-soluble compounds are known to interact with LDL (“bad”) cholesterol in the body, reducing its oxidation and helping to remove it from the bloodstream. When pistachios are eaten as part of a healthy diet, they help to lower blood cholesterol and triglycerides while improving other markers of cardiovascular disease, such as inflammation and endothelial function.
Pistachios are an excellent source of potassium, which has a well-established blood pressure-lowering effect. The results of a 2020 network meta-analysis showed that a serving of pistachios, or other nuts with similar fat and protein content, significantly reduced systolic blood pressure by 2.89 mmHg – that’s comparable to the effects of several medications.
In the study, 10 men and 18 women with elevated LDL cholesterol ate a control diet that didn’t contain any pistachios or a pistachio-enhanced diet where they ate either 32 to 63 grams (about 1 to 2 ounces) of pistachios per day for four weeks. They were then tested for a number of blood biomarkers, including total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and triglycerides. They also underwent a test to measure endothelial function, which measures the ability of the blood vessels to open and close. In both groups, the pistachio-enhanced group had improved LDL-cholesterol and triglyceride levels. They also saw significant improvements in blood markers of oxidation and inflammation.
In a second study, young adults were randomized to two groups that consumed either no pistachios or 1.5 ounces of pistachios per day over a two-week period. Both groups had similar dietary intakes and physical activity levels, so the only difference between the groups was the amount of pistachios they ate. The high-pistachio dose group had better outcomes in all of the biomarkers studied, but the low-pistachio dose group still showed significant improvement in a number of them. Moreover, the high-pistachio-dose group was more likely to maintain their dietary changes at six months.