For most people, healthy choices to include in the diet are peanuts and any kind of nut, such as walnuts, pecans, pine nuts, almonds and pistachio nuts. The pistachio nut is good as a nutritious snack on its own, with other nuts or in trail mix. Pistachios can also add essential nutrients to a variety of healthy foods, including whole-grain bread or salads.
Nutritional Background
An ounce of pistachio nut meats has 159 calories, 13 grams of total fat and nearly 6 grams of protein. Protein is a filling nutrient, which may help explain why individuals who eat nuts tend to have lower body weights even though nuts are high in calories, according to the Linus Pauling Institute Micronutrient Information Center. The nuts have 8 grams of carbohydrates. Pistachios are naturally sodium free, but salted pistachio nuts may have 121 milligrams of sodium per ounce.
Healthy Fats
Of the 13 grams of total fat in 1 ounce of pistachio nut meats, only 1.6 grams are from cholesterol-raising saturated fat. Healthy adults should get no more than 10 percent of total calories from saturated fat, or 22 grams of saturated fat on a 2,000-calorie diet, according to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Pistachios have 6.6 grams monounsaturated fat, which may help control your blood pressure and blood sugar levels, according to MayoClinic.com. Other good sources of monounsaturated fat are hazelnuts, macadamias, pecans, peanuts, avocados, olives and canola oil.
Dietary Fiber
An ounce of pistachio nuts provides 2.9 grams of dietary fiber, which is more than the amount in the same-size serving of most nuts, such as Brazil nuts, macadamias, pecans, pine nuts and cashews, according to the Linus Pauling Institute. Dietary fiber comes from the parts of plant foods your body cannot absorb and lowers your cholesterol levels and may reduce risk of constipation. Healthy adults on a 2,000-calorie diet should aim for at least 28 grams of fiber per day.
Other Nutrients
Each ounce of pistachio nut meats has 291 milligrams of potassium, which is an essential nutrient for regulating blood pressure. Healthy individuals on a 2,000-calorie diet should aim for at least 4,700 milligrams potassium per day, according to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines. Pistachios have 61 milligrams of phytosterols, which are plant-based nutrients that may lower your cholesterol, according to the Linus Pauling Institute. Pistachios provide 0.5 milligrams of vitamin B-6, or 25 percent of the daily value.
References
- Linus Pauling Institute Micronutrient Information Center; Nuts; Jane Higdon; December 2005
- U.S. Department of Agriculture: Nut and Seed Products
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010; January 2010
- MayoClinic.com; MUFAs: Why Should My Diet Include These Fats?; Katherine Zeratsky; November 2010
- Linus Pauling Institute Micronutrient Information Center; Phytosterols; Jane Higdon; August 2005
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