Pistachios, heart-healthy nuts
As with other nuts such as almond, the pistachio It has a series of very important properties and benefits, especially when they are consumed regularly and in small quantities, since they are nuts that help reduce high cholesterol.
Of the nuts, the pistachios they come to be the richest in proteins, besides having a lot of fiber, folic acid and good fats for our body, important for its clear properties Y Benefits.
In their original form they are of a bright green color, and nowadays we can find it in any establishment selling toasted with salt to be taken as aperitifs.
With regard to their fats, it is true that they have a high caloric content, but we can not take this thought alone, given that, with it, we miss out on enjoying many of its most interesting properties.
What are pistachios?
The pistachio It is a wonderful dry fruit, fruit from a small tree belonging to the genus Pistacia, known scientifically with the name of Pistacia vera L.Or simply Pistaciaceae, and originated mostly from the mountainous regions of Syria, Greece, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
At the time of the domination of the Roman Empire, pistachios were already well known. In fact, we can mention a manuscript of the early sixth century AD. C., and written by Anthimus, in which he talks about pistachios and their knowledge in ancient Europe.
It is an extremely delicious dry fruit with a very distinctive and easily distinguishable appearance, which we find inside a shell split in half (it is enough to separate these two halves to be able to consume it, although sometimes it becomes a complicated task when they are very close).
Benefits of pistachio
Heart-healthy properties
As we will see in the section dedicated to nutritional properties of pistachio, these nuts stand out precisely for their high content of fatty acids, especially oleic acid.
As you probably know, fatty acids are healthy fats, especially useful when it comes to reducing high levels of LDL cholesterol, while helping to increase the HDL cholesterol, also popularly known as good cholesterol.
In fact, pistachios are rich in monounsaturated fats, a type of fat necessary for our body at the cellular level, which, by not accumulating in the arteries, helps to improve its condition and to reduce high levels of blood cholesterol.
High arginine content
Pistachio also provides arginine, an amino acid that among other important functions helps increase defenses. But this is not the only quality that this substance gives us, since it is also useful when it comes to improve blood circulation.
Therefore, nuts are extremely beneficial to avoid the accumulation of fats in the arteries.
Good against diabetes
As with almonds, pistachios are also a very suitable dry fruit for people with type 2 diabetes. And it is that as it demonstrates a study carried out by the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV) of Tarragona, pistachios help reduce high blood glucose levels.
But this quality does not remain here, since as you could see in this study, it helps in turn at the time of improve insulin resistance.
Unlike what you think, helps control weight
The nuts, among which we find the pistachios, have always been reviled in weight loss diets because of their high contribution both energetic and therefore caloric. However, did you know that pistachios They are useful for controlling weight?.
This is due to the presence of fiber in its composition, which exerts an interesting satiating effect. In fact, a study published inPlosOne found that eating pistachios three times a week reduced the likelihood of overweight.
They improve constipation
For that fiber content that we talked about on a previous occasion, Pistachio also helps to improve constipation, being useful to improve and regulate intestinal transit.
What's more, a ration of pistachios provide around 3 grams of fiber, which would be equivalent to an amount greater than 10% of the recommended amount of fiber per day.
Properties of pistachios, in summary
- It contains plant proteins, among which we find the amino acid arginine.
- It has a lot of good fats: monounsaturated, oleic acid and triglycerides.
- Important antioxidant, rejuvenating and anti-cancer capacity.
- High content of vitamin E, carotenes and phytosterols.
Nutritional information for pistachios
Pistachio is a really good heart-healthy food, especially because it has a good amount of good fats, among which we find monounsaturated, oleic acid and triglycerides.
They also have a very important antioxidant, anticarcinogenic and rejuvenating capacity, derived both from their vitamin E content and from the phytosterols and carotenoids found in them.
Pistachio nutritional contribution per 100 grams:
| Calories | 598 kcal | Vitamin B9 | 50 μg |
| Carbohydrates | 12.5 g | Vitamin E | 37.5 mg |
| Proteins | 20.8 g | Carotenoids | 140 μg |
| Fat | 51.6 g | Sodium | 65 mg |
| Fiber | 10 g | Selenium | 8 μg |
| Vitamin B1 | 0.08 mg | Calcium | 135 mg |
| Vitamin B2 | 0,03 mg | Potassium | 1020 mg |
| Vitamin B3 | 5.28 mg | Magnesium | 158 mg |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.26 mg | Iron | 7 mg |
