Happy National Pistachio Day!

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February 26 is National Pistachio Day!

A 2013 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that people who consumed more nuts were at a lower risk of death from all causes.

The nutrient and ability to satiate that we derive from these unique shelled, nuts have always made them a real super food.

Turkey, Iran and California, all with cold enough winters for bud dormancy and longer, less humid, hot summers for ripening, claim the most production.

The trees take a long 20 years to mature and have a biennial bearing cycle. – every other year with low production. This attributes to their higher cost.

According to the USDA, a proper serving is one ounce, which is roughly equal to 1/4 cup.  A serving contains 160 well-balanced calories of macro nutrients:  6 grams of protein, 13 grams of fat (7 of which are super healthy monounsaturated), and 8 grams of carbs (3 are fiber).  You could double this if you needed a healthy meal on the run and get a full protein serving plus the appropriate calorie balance fitting into weight loss as well.

One serving also provides a daily value (DV) for these nutrients:

• Vitamin B6:  0.5 mg (28% of your recommended DV)
• Vitamin B1:  1.1 mg (21% of DV)
• Copper:  0.4 mg (41 % of DV)
• Manganese:  0.3 mg (15% of DV)
• Phosphorous: 139.2 mg (11% of DV)

Good stuff!