Thanks to their “hearty” nutrient profile that includes antioxidants, phytosterols, unsaturated fats and various vitamins and minerals, pistachios make a heart healthy snack.

Nuts including pistachios can help support a healthy cardiovascular system. In fact, pistachios are included in the qualified health claim for nuts which states: 

"Scientific evidence suggests but does not prove that eating 1.5 ounces per day of most nuts, such as pistachios, as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol may reduce the risk of heart disease. [See nutrition information for fat content.]”

Antioxidant Superfoods

According to the USDA Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) database, pistachios have a total antioxidant capacity of 7983 Trolox Equivalents per/100 grams, making them one of the highest in antioxidants among all snack nuts.

The Skinny on Fats

While pistachios provide 14g of fat per 30g serving and almost 90% of that fat is the healthy unsaturated type, mono- and polyunsaturated. Monounsaturated fat, mostly as oleic acid, comprises 55% of the fat in pistachios. Polyunsaturated fat, primarily linoleic acid, comprises 32% of the fat in pistachios.

The Truth about Trans Fat

Pistachios are naturally free from trans-fat, which is found mainly in foods cooked with partially-hydrogenated oils such as baked goods including pastries, biscuits, cookies and crackers and fried foods including doughnuts and French fries.