Pistachio Beans, Cardiological Recommendation Snacks For A Healthier Heart

Illustration of the pistachio snack recommendations for cardiologists for healthy heart (Freepik/xb100)

YOGYAKARTA The heart plays an important role in supporting the functions of the body. This organ beats about 2.5 billion times as long as you live. The heart works to pump blood throughout the body, it is important to adopt a healthy lifestyle to maintain heart health. Instead of snacking unhealthy foods, cardiologists or heart experts recommend snacks that support healthier heart. Namely pistachio nuts, by adding a handful of snacks to your daily routine to get heart health.

It is important to understand that there is no scientific evidence that eating any food can reduce the risk of heart disease. However, it is necessary to anticipate and regulate what is consumed for healthier heart. That is, you need to limit high-fat foods to saturated and consume more fatty fish, seeds, fruits, vegetables, and nuts. This is the reason why heart experts recommend pistachio nuts for your healthy snacks.

One of the first indicators of healthy heart is your cholesterol levels. Launching Livestrong, Tuesday, September 19, high levels of LDL cholesterol can increase the risk of heart disease. Meanwhile, higher HDL levels lower these risks. One way to increase good cholesterol levels is to undergo a healthy diet. This can be done by choosing healthy fats from nuts consumed between 20-35 percent of your daily calories.

Most of the fat in pistachio is unsaturated fat, which is associated with lower cholesterol, explains Jim Liu, MD, a cardiologist and assistant professor of internal medicine at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.

Lowering blood pressure is not only enough by eating pistachio beans. However, pistachio beans can be an option for healthy snacks to prevent blood pressure from increasing instead of eating unhealthy foods.

For people with high blood pressure, it is recommended to eat low sodium. This food consists of three servings of healthy fats every day and 4-5 servings of nuts, beans, whole grains, and pea every week. When you eat 1.5 ounces or a handful of pistachios every day, it is associated with systolic and diastolic blood pressure lower, according to a 2015 study published in Nutrients.

Food fiber is important for overall body health. This helps digestion work optimally, lose weight, and improve heart health. People who consume high amounts of fiber, have a much lower risk of heart disease and death from the disease.

In 1 ounce of pistachio beans, it contains 3 grams of fiber food or about 11 percent of daily value (DV). On average, adults need fiber 20-35 grams of fiber per day. That is, you can choose this healthy snack for your health as a whole including a healthy heart.

One of the most important nutrients related to heart health is antioxidants. These include vitamins C and E as well as selenium and beta carotene. Antioxidants, support heart health by fighting oxides aka free radicals that cause cell damage.

"A high level of antioxidants can reduce the risk of heart disease," explained Ankit Shah, MD., a sports cardiologist and assistant professor of medicine attenuation University Medical Center.

Pistachio nuts are very rich in antioxidants, vitamins E, polyphenols, lutein kerotenoids, and zeaxanthins. These nuts also include the top 50 antioxidant foods in the journal Plants.

The benefits of pistachio in addition to the heart, are also associated with healthy blood sugar levels. Consumption of pistachio has been associated with lower blood sugar and insulin levels. In addition to increasing overall metabolism in people experiencing prediabetes.

Please note, one portion of pistachio is about 1 ounce or 28 grams. This is the same as 159 calories that you can consume as a snack for a healthier heart. Choose a raw pistachio without salt, a cardiologist recommends.