Love pistachios?

My dad sure loves pistachios. As for me, well, I will eat it once in a while... not particularly crazy about it, unlike how I love eggs.

But if you do love pistachios, good news for you! Most recently, a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition from Penn State University showed that one serving of pistachios each day as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol may reduce the risk of heart disease. Results showed that consuming pistachios significantly lowered total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and non-HDL cholesterol levels. You may get more info here: pistachiohealth.com.

Interestingly, there had already been several supporting evidences for this claim:

1. In July 2003, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first qualified health claim specific to nuts lowering the risk of heart disease: "Scientific evidence suggests but does not prove that eating 1.5 ounces (42.5g) per day of most nuts, such as pistachios, as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol may reduce the risk of heart disease".

2. In research at Pennsylvania State University, pistachios in particular significantly reduced levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL cholesterol) while increasing antioxidant levels in the serum of volunteers.

3. In a Japanese university rat study, consumption of pistachios as 20% of daily caloric intake increased beneficial high-density lipoprotein (HDL cholesterol) without lowering LDL cholesterol, and while reducing LDL oxidation.


Hmmm... no wonder my dad loves it! Heh heh heh... he's 61 this year, you know, and his heart is perfectly well and no issue at all, unlike many other people at this age. Heart diseases remain the #1 KILLER of mankind in Malaysia and globally. So what are you waiting for? Go get pistachios for your parents!



Some interesting trivia on pistachios:



1. Did you know that this nut originated from Iran, Turkmenistan and western Afghanistan?

2. Iran is the world number one exporter of pistachios, followed by the US (especially California), Turkey and Syria.

3. The word pistachio is a loanword from Persian via Italian, and is a cognate to the Modern Persian word پسته Peste.

4. It is a desert plant.

5. Get ready for this: Pistachio is one of the only two nuts mentioned in the Word of God - Genesis 43:11... LOL

Bet you went "REALLY???" How come I've never read that? Heheheheh.... So apparently it is biblical to eat pistachios too... Besides, have you ever thought of why or how those people in the Bible lived to hundreds of years? Aha... now you know...

Pistachios, anyone? :)