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| Nuts about pistachios |
| Archana Jahagirdar / New Delhi Mar 01, 2009, 00:13 IST |
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Good health in an easy-to-consume package.
Nuts, for some years now, have enjoyed a good press. Ever since the US FDA allowed nuts to be labelled as being good for health, there has been a growing movement to get people to consume more and more of them.
Within that classification, pistachios are emerging to be even better for health. Explains Dominic Engels, vice president, marketing, Paramount Farms, the largest grower and processor of almonds and pistachios, “All fats aren’t created equal. Pistachios have heart-healthy fats. And all calories aren’t equal. Calories in a bag of chips are not the same as calories that you get in pistachios.”
Pistachios were originally found in West Asia. It is believed that the pistachio tree is one of the oldest nut trees in the world. Somewhere in the middle of the last century, pistachio trees were planted in California and today that region is the second largest producer of the nut in the world.
Whatever the nut’s history, there is no denying its nutritive value. According to several studies, the pistachio is full of fibre and antioxidants.
One of the antioxidants that pistachio has is lutein. Lutein is required for healthy eyes. Pistachios also have thiamin, vitamin B6, potassium, phosphorus and magnesium. And the bonus is that for all that goodness, you actually consume only three calories per nut.
According to Engels, apart from the obvious health benefits of eating pistachios, there is another reason why this nut is now being favoured by nutritionists. He says “the shell creates an interesting behavioural dynamic”. Put more simply, because of the time it takes to take off the shell and eat each nut, it slows down a person, thereby limiting intake. Adds Engels, “The shell is a natural inhibitor of eating too quickly.”
Engels, who is hoping to get Indians to consume more pistachios (apparently they don’t eat enough), says, “Everybody likes the taste of pistachios.” And Indians are unlikely to resist the taste of good health that comes in such an easy-to-consume package.
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