Shelled pistachios, a super food with great nutritional value, good for the heart, cholesterol, eyes and diet. Pistachios are one of the best quality and tastiest nuts. They have been labeled as a SUPER FOOD and not without reason. Looking back at their nutritional value, we see that they are one of the few foods, which in a small amount give us an abundance of beneficial ingredients.
Pistachios are characterized as a super, concentrated food. It is one of the few foods which in a small amount give us a multitude of beneficial ingredients. More specifically, just a handful cover a significant percentage of the daily needs for energy, good monounsaturated fatty acids, fiber, vitamins (especially B complex), minerals and beneficial antioxidant components.
Even 25 grams of pistachios are rich in nutrients and contain 10 percent of the daily needs of vitamins and minerals such as vitamin B6, thiamin, magnesium, phosphorus and copper and fiber. They have a high content of plant sterols, substances that have been proven today to help reduce cholesterol. Antioxidants, which we know protect us from aging and diseases such as cardiovascular disease. Vitamin B6, which reduces levels of homocysteine, a substance associated with the appearance of atherosclerotic plaques and arteriosclerosis.
And all this with only 170 calories per serving of about 30 grams! In other words, we can cover a significant part of our daily needs in nutrients in a natural way, especially if we enjoy them uncooked and unsalted.
In addition to being delicious, pistachios can also reduce the risk of heart problems, as research done in Pennsylvania showed that consuming 40 grams of pistachios a day for 4 weeks and doubling the amount for an additional 4 weeks, LDL cholesterol it falls by 9% in the first period and 12% in the next.
Eating pistachios both times reduced levels of interleukin-1, a marker of inflammation that is a risk factor for heart disease, by 15%. This is because pistachios are low in saturated fat and high in unsaturated, while they contain no fatty acids. A recent research confirms that daily consumption of pistachios helps to reduce the pressure.
Studies have come to certify that pistachios contain the components lutein and zeaxanthin, which have a beneficial effect on our eyes. Specifically, they have the ability to absorb the radiation that the eye receives every day, thus protecting our eyes from aging.