Pistachios Reduce Cardiovascular Risk
I have written about nuts and their good effects on the heart. Lately there have been a few articles on pistachios and its positive effects on reducing total cholesterol and LDL or bad cholesterol levels.
According to the American Heart Association, replacing saturated and trans fats with healthy mono- and polyunsaturated fats is a major dietary recommendation to improve heart health. Researchers at Pennsylvania State University conducted a randomized, crossover, controlled feeding study to test the effects of pistachios added to a heart healthy, moderate-fat diet on cardiovascular disease risk factors.
Twenty-eight men and women with moderately elevated LDL cholesterol began the study by following a diet designed to mimic the current average American intake, consisting of 35 percent total fat and 11 percent saturated fat for two weeks. The researchers randomly assigned subjects to follow three test diets for four weeks each, with a two-week break between each diet.
All three diets were variations on the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) Step 1 Diet, a cholesterol-lowering diet advocated by the American Heart Association and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.
The three diets included a Step 1 Diet control group without pistachios; a Step 1 Diet with one dose of pistachios a day at 10 percent of total calories (equal to 1.1 to 2.2 ounces of pistachios a day depending on calorie level); and a Step 1 Diet with two doses of pistachios a day at 20 percent of total calories (equal to 2.2 to 4.4 ounces of pistachios a day depending on calorie level).
Total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and non-HDL cholesterol levels were significantly lower with the two pistachio diets compared to the control group. The one dose pistachio diet lowered harmful LDL cholesterol by nine percent and the two dose pistachio diet lowered LDL by 12 percent.
In addition, the researchers documented lower amounts of saturated fats in the blood and higher amounts of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats in both pistachio diets. Compared to the control diet, HDL-cholesterol levels were higher in women following the two dose pistachio diet. HDL-cholesterol levels were not significantly different across the diets in men.
So about a handful of pistachios a day can make a significant difference in lowering blood cholesterol levels