Do these nuts make you fat? Or take your fat?

December 28, 2015 Ashley 0 Comments

“Won’t nuts make me gain weight?”

This’s a giant misconception when it comes to nuts – the notion that they’ll pack on the adipose pounds because of their fat content. Admittedly, this was something that took a bit of time for me to learn and accept, too. I’d just gone vegan, was looking for good protein sources, and all but nixed the nuts from my option list because I thought they’d put blubber on my body. Not necessarily, says science. In fact, there are some nuts in particular that can aid in weight loss – particularly belly fat – versus worsening your corpulent condition. And which are those?

Pistachios.

Actually, technically, these things are seeds – not nuts. But since they’re part of the cashew family, they tend to fall into the nut bucket for ease of categorization. But let us not get caught up in the semantics. The important thing here is that pistachios are nut to be knocked when it comes to seeking out healthful snacks.

Firstly, that’s because the fats in these things aren’t working against you. Quite the contrary. In fact, the monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs, they’re called) do some serious cholesterol control. These guys also release glucose metabolism regulating hormones like a kraken of wellness. In turn, an increase in insulin release happens. The result? Lower blood sugar. Which is good if you’re not a fan of things like diabetes.

But don’t just believe me.

We can take a look at a study published in Nutrition: About sixty middle-agers on the verge of diabetes and heart disease got split up. Half had pistachios added to their diets (making 20% of their total calories from them, thereby upping their protein and good fat intake and decreased their carbs). Meanwhile, the control group had nada. And what happened? The former groups’ waists shrank – along with their cholesterol levels. And, indeed, their blood sugar improved. And the other guys? Oh. They died. (Just kidding. I mean, they all will eventually. Both groups. But ’til then, the seed eaters are enjoying more quality to their years. Maybe the control group can catch up and do the same post-experiment.)

And, why is it that consumption of this nut doesn’t parallel people porking up?

(Good a reason as any. But let’s explore a few others, just for funsies.)

Well, any dietary tip has to be taken with a grain of salt (though it’s best if you buy your pistachios unsalted – too much sodium’s no good). That is to say, you’ve gotta follow this rule in conjunction with an otherwise healthy life. Exercise. Quality sustenance. Avoidance of junk food. And, obviously, moderation. Of course, if you sit there eating this stuff all day to supplement the whopper you just bought, then, yes. Don’t expect miracles. That’s why, I suppose, some experts suggest buying these guys in their shells. (They call it the “Pistachio Principle”.) Experiments showed that those who buy these seeds still in their shell, consumed 50% fewer calories and were fuller faster. (I tend to think it’s the same idea behind eating podded edamame or picking apart jackfruit; when you have to work for your food, you tend to appreciate it more.) Also, their high protein content tends to fill you up faster. Couple that with the fact that you’re busy shelling ’em out of their lair while your body processes the handful you just ate, and it does a double whammy for satiation. And that’s actually another observation that’s been made in research efforts: because they fulfill the desire for the processed slop you’d usually ingest, they ultimately end up replacing the bad snacks.

So let’s collectively jettison this fat myth and add pistachios back to the ingestion bit of our fitness paths.