Pistachios lower risk of heart disease and problems with cholesterol levels

Pistachios lower risk of heart disease - Telegraph

Extract:

"Pistachios in the diet can significantly reduce cholesterol and help prevent narrowing of the arteries, according to researchers.

One or two handfuls of the nuts can make a big enough difference to lower the risk of heart disease, say scientists.

Volunteers who ate three ounces of pistachios a day for one month lowered their total blood cholesterol by 8.4 per cent. Levels of "bad" cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), fell by 11.6 per cent. The balance between LDL and "good" cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), was also changed. Participants on the pistachio diet had less LDL relative to HDL after four weeks.

HDL is protective rather than harmful and lower ratios between the two kinds of cholesterol are considered to be healthy. The volunteers were given pistachios as a daily snack and also had them incorporated into other foods.

The researcher Sarah Gebauer, from Pennsylvania State University, said: "Pistachio amounts of 1.5 ounces and three ounces - one to two handfuls - reduced risk for cardiovascular disease by significantly reducing LDL cholesterol levels and the higher dose significantly reduced lipoprotein ratios."

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