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Study Demonstrates the Significant
Heart Health Benefits of Pistachios
Pistachios are particularly valuable for cardiovascular health
because they have some of the highest antioxidant capacities
of all nuts and contain more beta carotene, tocopherols and
lutein than many vegetables.
A diet that includes pistachios could help improve heart health,
according to a new study, which suggests that regular servings
of the nuts reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Researchers found that a pistachio-enriched diet resulted in
increases in serum antioxidants and decreases in oxidized
low-density lipoproteins (LDL), or so-called ‘bad’ cholesterol,
when compared to a diet without pistachios.
The study, conducted by researchers at The Pennsylvania State
University, is published in the June 2010 issue of The Journal
of Nutrition.
It adds to a growing body of science supporting the health benefits,
and the heart benefits in particular, of increased consumption of nuts,
such as almonds, macadamia, and walnuts.
However, pistachios have one of the highest antioxidant capacities
of all nuts and contain more b-carotene, g-tocopherol and lutein, an
antioxidant also found in dark green leafy vegetables.
This latest study was completed by 10 males and 18 females who
were healthy and non-smoking, aged 35-61 and with moderately
elevated LDL-cholesterol.
Participants consumed a typical Western diet for two weeks as
a baseline diet. They were then randomized to each of the three
experimental diets for four weeks - a lower-fat control diet without
pistachios, a diet with one serving of pistachios (ie 32-63 g/d) and
a diet with two servings of pistachios (63-126g/d).
The results suggest that consumption of pistachios in the context
of a heart-healthy diet confers cardioprotective benefits “beyond
established lipid-lowering effects, including a decrease in oxidized
LDL”. This, the researchers believe, is the result of both a decrease
in LDL cholesterol concentrations and an increase in serum
antioxidants, such as lutein and gamma tocopherol.
“These data suggest that a heart-healthy diet rich in pistachios has
a beneficial effect on serum antioxidants, as well as oxidized-LDL.
Beneficial effects on multiple CVD risk factors would be expected to
reduce overall CVD risk beyond that achieved by decreases in LDL-
cholesterol alone through lowering cholesterol and the benefits of the
antioxidants in the nuts.”
The market potential of heart health benefits has been highlighted
by America’s Western Pistachio Association (WPA), which has
worked with Penn State University regarding the potential health
benefits of the nuts.
In 2008 research carried out at the university and funded by the WPA
found that pistachios significantly reduced inflammation at a cellular
level, a recognized risk factor for heart disease, as well as reducing
cholesterol and blood pressure.
The authors of the latest research said that previous studies were
conducted in free-living individuals and none controlled for SFA or
antioxidant content of the background diets.
They added that their study of the antioxidant effects of pistachios
was “unique” because it “utilized a controlled-feeding crossover design
and two doses of pistachios and controlled for saturated fat intake”.
Source: The Journal of Nutrition
Pistachios Increase Serum Antioxidants and Lower Serum
Oxidized-LDL in Hypercholesterolemic Adults
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