| Pistachios for a Healthy Heart |
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www.healthyeatingadvisor.com Do nuts do have a place in a healthy diet? The simple answer is yes! The latest research shows that pistachios appear to benefit the heart by relaxing blood vessels and lowering blood pressure. This finding follows a study of young men whose cardiovascular reactions to stress suggested that they were more likely to develop high blood pressure. The research team put the young men on three successive diets: a healthy heart plan with 25 percent of calories from fat and 8 percent saturated fat; a diet with 30 percent of calories from fat and 8 percent saturated fat plus 1.5 ounces of pistachios daily; or a diet with 34 percent of calories from fat and eight percent saturated fat plus three ounces of pistachios. At the end of four weeks on each of the three diets, the researchers checked the participants' blood pressure, assessed the elasticity of their blood vessels when at rest, and gave them two stress tests. They found that the 1.5-ounce pistachio diet lowered blood pressure; the three ounce pistachio diet reduced blood pressure and also relaxed the arteries, a beneficial change that reduces the heart's overall workload. The study was reported at an Experimental Biology conference in April 2007. True, nuts such as pistachios are generally high in fat, but most of them contain monounsaturated fat that is good for the heart. In fact, eaten in moderation, nuts of all kinds appear to lower your risk of heart disease and heart attack. |
