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Pistachios may help lower cholesterol

Category: Heart Health and Cholesterol

Individuals with high cholesterol may want to add pistachio nuts to their diets, as a new study has found that the nuts may help to improve the results of their next cholesterol test.

A team of researchers from Penn State University recently found that incorporating pistachios into a moderately fatty diet increased the concentration of antioxidants in patient's blood. Antioxidants have been shown to have cholesterol-reducing effects.

Penny Kris-Etherton, lead researcher on the study, said that the list of health benefits of pistachio nuts continues to grow with every study that looks into them.

"Our previous study showed the benefits of pistachios in lowering lipids and lipoproteins, which are a risk factor for heart disease," Kris-Etherton said. "This new study shows an additional effect of pistachios [by providing antioxidants] so now there are multiple health benefits of eating pistachios."

The research team suggested that adding more of the nuts to the diets of individuals suffering from high cholesterol may be an easy way to improve their heart health.