February 26th is World Pistachio Day, a nut that brings a lot of benefits to our health. For this, we talked to Mrs. Mónica Herrero, specialist in Nutrition and Dietetics.
What are the health benefits of consuming pistachios?
The consumption of pistachios has a series of benefits for our health:
- It helps control cholesterol, as it contains healthy fats and phytosterols.
- It lowers blood pressure, due to its high potassium content and low salt content, as long as they are natural and without added salt.
- They are satiating and contain a moderate amount of fiber, so they help the intestinal transit.
- It is a nutritious and energetic food, suitable for children and athletes.
What are the properties of pistachios?
Like all nuts, it is a caloric food, a serving of 30 grams provides about 160 calories, that does not mean that it is not a healthy food, it contains vegetable fats, which reduce LDL levels, the so-called bad cholesterol.
It contains an important amount of vitamins and minerals, it contains potassium 1 gram per 100 grams of food, one of the highest amounts in nuts, vitamin B6 is involved in the formation of red blood cells and antibodies, also important amounts of antioxidants, which help us fight free radicals, promotes intestinal transit and sugar control.
How much is recommended to consume?
Being a fairly energetic food, the recommended daily serving of pistachios should not exceed 30-40 grams, which is the equivalent of 40 pistachios, approximately.
What happens if consumed in high quantities?
If we take high quantities, we can gain weight. In addition, the consumption of pistachio is not recommended in patients with certain diseases. This is the case of kidney disease, because of its high potassium content.
How can we introduce pistachio in our diet?
The pistachio is a very versatile food; we can include it in salads, crushed in pasta dishes, in desserts like for example the pistachio custard.
Pistachio cream recipe
A simple recipe is pistachio cream.
All you have to do is grind the pistachios until you get a thick paste, like peanut butter.
This cream can be used to make sauces for meats, fish, to spread on toast in the morning, healthy, good and energetic.