Should You Be Eating Pistachios?
A new study shows that adding pistachios to a behavioral weight loss program can result in positive outcomes like healthier body weight and lower blood pressure. The new data challenges old ways of thinking about fat in our diets. Previously, experts recommended avoiding all fats, assuming that excessive consumption would cause weight gain and have negative cardiac outcomes.
“As a dietitian who’s lived through decades of fatphobia with clients, it’s exciting to see research like this recent pistachio study emerge, yet again showing the power of eating healthy fats to achieve weight loss and other health-related goals,” Elizabeth Shaw, MS, RDN, CPT, a nutrition expert at Shaw Simple Swaps, tells Verywell.
Pistachios are a source of dietary fat, but it’s not the same type of fat that is found in heavily processed foods. Instead, pistachios contain heart-healthy monounsaturated fats, which have been linked to many positive health outcomes.
Excerpted from Very Well Health
