Eating Pistachios Reduces Impact of Carbohydrates

[dina1957]

Eating Pistachios Reduces Impact of Carbohydrates


Pistachios, when eaten with some common high-carbohydrate foods, may actually slow the absorption of carbohydrates into the body, resulting in a lower than expected blood sugar level according to a study.

Pistachios have been shown to decrease risk factors for heart disease, however little has been known about the specific effects of pistachios on blood glucose until now. Our preliminary findings demonstrate that suppressing the glycemic (blood sugar) response of high carbohydrate foods may be part of the mechanism by which pistachios contribute to cardiovascular health and to the prevention and control of diabetes. More research is definitely warranted.”

“Glycemic Response of Pistachios – A Dose Response Study and Effect of Pistachios Consumed with Different Common Carbohydrate Foods on Postprandial Glycemia was presented to more than 10,000 scientists at the Experimental Biology Conference in Washington, DC. The study is the first of its kind to examine the effects of pistachios and glucose levels in combination with carbohydrates. The research was led by University of Toronto’s Dr. Cyril Kendall and Dr. David Jenkins - researchers well known for their studies of the glycemic index which measures how rapidly sugars from foods are absorbed into the blood stream. Certain carbohydrates elevate blood sugar levels more quickly than other foods – like pistachios – that contain higher levels of protein, fiber and monounsaturated fat. In general, foods that do not quickly raise blood sugar are often considered healthier than their more processed counterparts.

Drs. Jenkins and Kendall and their research colleagues studied 10 healthy individuals who participated in a number of acute dietary studies over the course of two months. After an overnight fast, participants were given a one-, two- or three-ounce serving of pistachios alone or served with a slice of white bread and blood sugar levels were measured over a two-hour period. The findings suggest that consumption of pistachios with a carbohydrate-rich meal significantly lowered the d blood glucose response. As consumption of pistachios increased, the blood sugar lowering response was enhanced. In addition, when pistachios were consumed alone, the rise in blood glucose was minimal.

The researchers also monitored the effect of pistachios consumed with different common carbohydrate foods on postprandial glycemia, or blood sugar levels after eating. The addition of pistachios to a number of other commonly consumed carbohydrate-rich foods – such as mashed potatoes, pasta and rice – also resulted in significant reductions in the blood sugar response, compared to when these foods were eaten alone.

In July 2003, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a much-awaited qualified health claim for nuts and heart disease prevention. The claim 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." According to the California Pistachio Commission, the University of Toronto’s research findings are important for individuals who are living a heart-healthy lifestyle and those that monitor their blood sugar levels.

“Most people with diabetes have other risk factors – such as high blood pressure and cholesterol that increase one's risk for heart disease and stroke. When combined with diabetes, these risk factors can add up to serious health problems,” explains Constance Geiger, PhD, RD, and consultant to the California Pistachio Commission. “Recent research has suggested that pistachios are a heart-healthy, high-protein snack. Now people have yet another reason to grab a handful – they may blunt the blood sugar response of meals and may be beneficial for assisting with long-term blood glucose control.”

Study conducted by the University of Toronto and funded by a grant from the California Pistachio Commission.





This article came from
http://www.diabetesincontrol.com/results.php?storyarticle=4786

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[greenshamr]

Wow- that's really interesting!

Glad I love pistachios!

[LStump]

Its a shame that I never know when to STOP eating those things... I end up stalling.

[dina1957]

Its a shame that I never know when to STOP eating those things... I end up stalling.
it is very easy to overdo with nuts, there is something about crunchy food that makes it so irresistable.
I make individual serving portion size, bag it and take it to work ( only one serving a day), this is how I control it. Or you can also buy individual servings size bags.
I also found it easy if add nuts to salads, beans, etc. This is another way to control portion size.

[greenshamr]

Where I live overseas, they sell tiny bags with less than 10 nuts in them at the little convenience stores. Perfect for portion control.

[Nancy LC]

What a coinsidence, I bought a huge bag over the weekend and utterly gorged myself. Unfortunately it sort of replaced a meal or two.

I thought I was over my nut addiction. I guess not the pistachio one. :p

[Cajunboy47]

Originally posted by Dina1957:

Pistachios, when eaten with some common high-carbohydrate foods, may actually slow the absorption of carbohydrates into the body, resulting in a lower than expected blood sugar level according to a study.

The flaw in this theory is that your body still has to metabolize the carbohydrates, no matter how slowly it does it. When your body is metabolizing carbs, you're burning sugar for energy, not fat and when your body runs out of the energy intake (carbs in this case), your body will continue to burn glucose for energy, thereby you will keep being fat!

If that theory is put to a test in comparison to a group who did not eat the carbohydrates in the first place, I feel positive the non-carb/non-pistachio eating group will have lower cholesterol levels, if all other things were equal.

Your body is either in a "fat" or "glucose" burning mode. It does not switch modes on its own. You have to feed it properly to determine which mode in which it will burn. Keep it in a "glucose" burning mode and you'll fight diabetes. Keep it in a "fat" burning mode and diabetes will go away.

I didn't make this stuff up. The research is out there, but biased research as "pistachios reduce ...etc..." is out there also.

Diabetes is a metabolic disorder in which our bodies cannot properly metabolize carbohydrates. Anyone advocating a way we can eat more carbs, I am fairly sure is biased in favor of whatever the gimmic is........ This is all of course my opinion, although at this time, my opinion is not albeit so humble... :)

Cajunboy47

[justleah]

I love any nuts but unfortunately they aren't the same without the salt and as we know salt makes us retain water and increases our weight. On the good side I do buy unsalted mixed nuts and still enjoy them but don't go overboard on them like I do with salted ones.

[dina1957]

Originally posted by Dina1957:



The flaw in this theory is that your body still has to metabolize the carbohydrates, no matter how slowly it does it. When your body is metabolizing carbs, you're burning sugar for energy, not fat and when your body runs out of the energy intake (carbs in this case), your body will continue to burn glucose for energy, thereby you will keep being fat!
Ummmm, I did not 'create" the theory to begin with, but how do you explain that many "sugar burners" are slim and many "fat burners" ( atkins followers) remain fat despite following the diet to the t.

If that theory is put to a test in comparison to a group who did not eat the carbohydrates in the first place, I feel positive the non-carb/non-pistachio eating group will have lower cholesterol levels, if all other things were equal.
if you care to look at the Cholertsrol thread, you will see how many Low carber strugglr with skyrocketing cholesterol. Some still have very low HDL and high LDL, and even high TRG and VLDL after months on Atkins diet. How do you explain this phenomenon?

Your body is either in a "fat" or "glucose" burning mode.
wrong, we can burn both, glucose and fat, just depending what is prevalent: we still use some dietary glucose in "fat burning miode" and utilize fat in "glucose burning mode", you approach is oversimplified. if you reduce your calories below your maintenance level, you will start burning fat even if the diet is not ketogenic, simply to make up for calories deficit, masically if you spend more than you intake. We also "burn fat" during sleep, between meal, etc. without any diet.
It does not switch modes on its own. You have to feed it properly to determine which mode in which it will burn.
again, wrong, it will deep into the fat stores if you go without meal for prolonged period of time. it depends how deep into ketosis you want to get, ketones are present in out vody at any given period of time, but in different amounts. Our body is highly sophisticated biological machine pre-programmed for surviving, if it will depend on our behavior and habits and decision making, we all be dead in our childhood, consider that most kids have bad appetite and spend lots of time in ketosis without even knowing it.
Keep it in a "glucose" burning mode and you'll fight diabetes. Keep it in a "fat" burning mode and diabetes will go away.
Diabetes will never "go away" regardless, sorry, you confuse diabetic control via gluconeogenesis and lipolysis with being able to cure the disorder by diet alone. Once a diabetic, always a diabetic, try to increase your carbs, and you will see.

I didn't make this stuff up. The research is out there, but biased research as "pistachios reduce ...etc..." is out there also.
Indeed you made this stuff up, read more on endocrine system and metabolism, or provide some links supporting it.
The article was posted for those who happend to like pistachios and would be happy to know that they slow down absorbtion of carbs. I personally like to eat nuts with some fruit, and I have no problem with spikea, since any food containing protein and fat and as hard as digest as most nuts, will delayed stomack emptying and slow absorbtion of dietary glucose. Same goes for cheese and fruit combo. it is all about how fast glucose enters portal vein in liver, and if you delay it by any means, you will avoid spike.
BTW, all researches are biased since someone has to finance the studies, and who would be those ppl if they have no financial interests.;)

Diabetes is a metabolic disorder in which our bodies cannot properly metabolize carbohydrates and fat, don't forget it. Diabetes is an endocrine disorder when body can't letabolise glucose and fat. Anyone advocating a way we can eat more carbs, I am fairly sure is biased in favor of whatever the gimmic is........ This is all of course my opinion, although at this time, my opinion is not albeit so humble... :)
Everything is gimmic, even controlling diabetes with high fat diet in my not so hamble opinion;), but again, the article is about pistachios, and not aimed for those who prefer to avoid carbs all together.
BTW, pistachios are very heart friendly, contain lutein, that fights macular degeneration and cataract; they also fight gallstones, they are on a top of antioxidant rich food along with blackberries and blueberries, and very low in carbs too.
JMO

[dancinbr]

I love mixed nuts too.

But I agree, we must go low carb and portion contro the carbs rather than increasing carbs. THis is why I am losing weight now as opposed to weightwatchers where I was not losing weight and also becoming more and more diabetic with high bg numbers over 300.

It is terrible that my Doctor in 2006 didn't say anything to me about a 6.6 a1c and a 127 fasting blood glucose level. I was already diabetic over a year ago.

Fortunately, I changed Doctors and this one jumped on it immediately.

I hope as I continue low carbs and lose weight I can eliminate meds.

Ralph

[dina1957]

I love any nuts but unfortunately they aren't the same without the salt and as we know salt makes us retain water and increases our weight. On the good side I do buy unsalted mixed nuts and still enjoy them but don't go overboard on them like I do with salted ones.
I believe it is the salt that makes us want to overeat nuts. I am a sucker for salty food of any kind, I know it. I can eat sashimi without rice, just raw fish, and be hungry in no time because of the soy sauce alone, and definetely it helps to retain water. But I learned to drink tons of green tea and water, so it has lesser appetite promoting effect.

[eddiemcm]

Yeah,right
I'll eat about 10 pistachios before each meal.
NOT!!!
Eddie

[Cajunboy47]

I ate 3 ounces of pistachios yesterday. It was good, but I readjusted my day's eating plan accordingly and didn't eat them all at one time......

Posted by Dina1957 in reply to Cajunboy47:

Ummmm, I did not 'create" the theory to begin with, but how do you explain that many "sugar burners" are slim and many "fat burners" ( atkins followers) remain fat despite following the diet to the t.

I didn't think you created the theory. Your original post clearly indicates it was from a study conducted at the University of Toronto and funded by the California Pistachio Commission. To explain about fat burners being fat while sugar burners are slim: It is just a guess, but I think it has to do with the amount of calories consumed by either group.....

.......... Thanks for disecting my post so thorougly ............

Indeed you made this stuff up, read more on endocrine system and metabolism, or provide some links supporting it.


Read the book "Eat Fat, Get Thin" and I think it will support every comment I made. I'll gladly read every link you provide for all of your comments, although I am certain you didn't make the stuff up.... :) I apologize for ruffling your feathers.

Cajunboy47

[NYNikki]

I believe it is the salt that makes us want to overeat nuts. I am a sucker for salty food of any kind, I know it. I can eat sashimi without rice, just raw fish, and be hungry in no time because of the soy sauce alone, and definetely it helps to retain water. But I learned to drink tons of green tea and water, so it has lesser appetite promoting effect.

Sushi is Japanese raw fish wrapped in vinegared rice and usually soy sauce (FYI: sushi means rice): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sushi
Sashimi is Japanese raw fish, thinly sliced and served with dipping sauces (no rice): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sashimi

It maybe your choice to have sashimi with soy sauce as your dipping sauce because you like it but there are other sauces you can have that are not soy or salt based. Truly good fresh Japanese raw fish is excellent but it's the rice and soy that downgrades the nutritional value. You can also request your vegetables made without soy - I do each and every time in different restaurants.

** UNsalted raw pistachios are great as a snack or mixed with other foods. They are such a full bodied nut that they add so much flavor to anything.

[Cajunboy47]

Posted by Dina1957:

But I learned to drink tons of green tea and water, so it has lesser appetite promoting effect.

--------------------------------------------------------
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learned

Learning is the acquisition and development of memories and behaviors, including skills, knowledge, understanding, values, and wisdom. It is the goal of education, and the product of experience.
-------------------------------------------------------------

I am curious about where you obtained the knowledge and understanding that "tons of green tea and water" has a lesser appetite promoting effect. Could you furnish a reference about the tonage please?
-------------------------------------------------------------
source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_tea

The major concern with drinking too much green tea is the caffeine it contains. Too much caffeine can cause nausea, insomnia or frequent urination.
-------------------------------------------------------------
My question is this: What do you think is meant by "too much"
green tea? Apparently, you are satisfied with drinking tons of it. I am hoping you can furnish a link so I and others can learn of the benefits you've discovered from drinking "tons of green tea"...

Cajunboy47

[Lisa N]

if you care to look at the Cholertsrol thread, you will see how many Low carber strugglr with skyrocketing cholesterol. Some still have very low HDL and high LDL, and even high TRG and VLDL after months on Atkins diet. How do you explain this phenomenon?

There are several explanations:

1) Many people refuse to give up alcohol when they low carb. Alcohol with any frequency = higher triglycerides, whether it contains carbs (beer and wine) or not (hard liquor). So does continued use of products that contain transfats. It's an individual's choice to consume transfats or alcohol or not and in what frequency, but I'd be willing to bet that many do so while being unaware of the impact they can have on their triglyceride levels.

2) We don't know everything about a person's health history. I'm sure at least some of those whose cholesterol doesn't improve much are smokers (I was one of them until 18 months ago). Smoking decreases HDL and increases LDL and triglycerides and contributes to insulin resistance. Since I quit smoking, my LDL came down and my HDL went way up. Tris were never a problem since I avoid transfats like the plague and consume alcohol only rarely.

3) Some people are sensitive to arachidonic acid found in higher concentrations in red meat and egg yolks. Those that are can continue to reap the benefits of a low carb lifestyle, but must restrict intake of red meat and egg yolks (note I said restrict, not cut out completely) to see any significant improvements in cholesterol fractions.

4) Lots of people become unduly alarmed about LDL going up but fail to ask to be tested to determine the predominent pattern (type A or type B); if Triglycerides are low, it's a fairly certain bet that any increases in LDL are coming from the more favorable large particle sized LDL, so an increase is a good thing in that instance, not an omen of disaster.

5) If overall cholesterol goes up but the increase is caused by higher HDL and greater large particle LDL, how is this a problem?

[eddiemcm]

"The major concern with drinking too much green tea is the caffeine it contains. Too much caffeine can cause nausea, insomnia or frequent urination."
Green tea has considerably less caffeine than
coffee but way too much of almost anything
can,I suppose,create problems.
Tons??
Eddie

[Cajunboy47]

..........Basically, high cholesterol might not be as bad for our health as we have been led to believe.....

according to Barry Groves, PhD... In his book "Eat Fat, Get Thin", I have this quote in regards to his summary of high cholesterol levels:

Summary

Although the media and food companies still warn against cholesterol in diet, it has been repeatedly demonstrated that the amount of cholesterol you eat has little or no effect on the level of cholesterol in your blood. This book does not have the scope to discuss all the trials and studies in detail. However, what it all boils down to is this: high cholesterol is said to be dangerous for Americans and Britons but not for Canadians, Stockholmers, Russians, Japanese or Maori; high cholesterol is said to be dangerous for men, but not for women; high cholesterol is said to be dangerous for healthy men, but not for coronary patients; high cholesterol is said to be dangerous for men of thirty, but not for those older than forty-seven;
and that high cholesterol is beneficial for older people of both sexes. ‘Such discrepancies’, says Dr Ravnskov, ‘indicate that the association between high cholesterol and CHD is not due to simple cause and effect. The most likely interpretation is that high cholesterol is not dangerous in itself but that it is a marker for something else.’
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[shaagu]

Too much emphasis is placed on the Glycemic Index and the spike. Total amount of carbs consumed per meal is what's important, not the rate of their absorbtion. The insulin requirment will be similar whether the carb source is a complex "low impact" carb or a simple carb such as sucrose.

[eddiemcm]

"Too much emphasis is placed on the Glycemic Index and the spike."
Theory from some of the "experts" says that
large insulin spikes blow out beta calls at worst
and have bad effects on insulin resistance as a
second worst.Atkins was one of the people who
advocated that theory.Not sure about Bernstein.
Eddie

[eddiemcm]

Okay,the big relevant question.
Has anyone tried eating pistachios before dinner
(or any meal,for that matter) and noted any
significant effect?
Eddie

[pauleo]

Okay,the big relevant question.
Has anyone tried eating pistachios before dinner
(or any meal,for that matter) and noted any
significant effect?
Eddie

This study was funded by the Pistachio Council or some such body. The reality is that any fat (not just pistachios) will slow carbohydrate uptake e.g.

http://www.diabetesincontrol.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=3079

So this study lies by omission.

[kuukuu]

As a pistachio addict I'm very glad to see this.

[shaagu]

"
Theory from some of the "experts" says that
large insulin spikes blow out beta calls at worst
and have bad effects on insulin resistance as a
second worst.Atkins was one of the people who
advocated that theory.Not sure about Bernstein.
Eddie

Right, Your kind of agreeing with me.
Large amounts of insulin doesn't really have to do with the GI of a food. It has more to do with the amount of glucose in the system. For X amount of glucose Y amount of insulin will be needed, regardless of the GI.