Share

Pistachios may reduce diabetes risk

accreditation

For people who may be headed for type 2 diabetes, regularly eating pistachios might help turn the tide, according to a new trial from Spain.

Significant drops in blood sugar


People with so-called pre-diabetes have blood sugar levels higher than normal but not yet in the diabetes range. If they do nothing, 15 to 30 percent will develop diabetes within five years, according to the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the new Spanish study, people with pre-diabetes who ate about two ounces of pistachios daily showed significant drops in blood sugar and insulin levels and improvements in insulin and glucose processing. Some signs of inflammation also dropped dramatically.

Although the trial specifically involved pistachios, many previous studies have found encouraging evidence that eating nuts may be linked to a lower risk of heart disease and lower cholesterol, the authors write in Diabetes Care.

Read:
Do you have pre-diabetes?

The study team divided 54 pre-diabetic adults into two groups. Both groups were instructed to keep to a calorie-regulated diet with 50 percent of energy from carbohydrates, 35 percent from fat and 15 percent from protein, using provided menus and seasonal recipes.

One group was given 57 grams of pistachios, about two ounces, daily to add to their diets. To match those calories, the comparison group added olive oil and other fats for the four months of the study.

By the end of the study, fasting blood sugar levels, insulin and hormonal markers of insulin resistance had decreased in the pistachio group while they rose in the comparison group.

Bioactive compounds

Participants' weight did not significantly change by the end of the study in either group. But glucose-use by immune cells involved in inflammation, as well as circulating inflammatory signalling molecules both dropped in the pistachio group, the authors note.

"Although pistachios were examined in this work, I believe that any beneficial effects on glucose metabolism are shared by all nuts, as they have a general composition with lots of bioactive compounds liable to beneficially affect biological pathways leading to insulin resistance and diabetes," said Dr. Emilio Ros, director of the Lipid Clinic of the Endocrinology and Nutrition Service at Hospital Clínic in Barcelona. He was not part of the new study.

Researchers from the Universitari Hospital of Sant Joan de Reus, in Reus, and the Instituto de Salud Carlos III in Madrid collaborated on the trial, which was funded by American Pistachio Growers and Paramount Farms.

Read:
Whole grains linked to lower pre-diabetes risk

"The nut industry always supports clinical or experimental studies with their nuts, otherwise no such studies would be carried out," Ros told Reuters Health by email.

He believes the evidence is strong enough for people with pre-diabetes to add pistachios, or other nuts like peanuts, to their diet, and recommends about "a handful" per day, or around one serving.

Lowers fasting glucose

"This particular study builds on previous research on pistachios," said Dr. Joan Sabate, professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the School of Public Health at Loma Linda University in California.

Sabate has also researched nuts, principally walnuts, but was not involved in the new study.

"There are some indications that eating pistachios on a regular basis lowers fasting glucose and lowers insulin and hormone ratio, which is particularly relevant in pre-diabetic subjects because unless they do a change in lifestyle they will end up being diabetic," he told Reuters Health by phone.

"So the fact that eating nuts on a regular basis seems to improve some of the critical parameters is very relevant."

Results with almonds and walnuts have been similar, he said.

Pistachio allergies are rare, but nut allergies generally would be the only deterrent to adding them to the diet, Ros said.

Typically people with pre-diabetes are adults so they already know if they have a nut allergy, Sabate said.

Pistachios are very rich in energy, he noted, so it would be better to incorporate the nuts into the diet without increasing your total calorie intake.

Read more:
Low birth weight may increase diabetes risk
Millions on verge of diabetes and dont know it
For pre-diabetics just 3000 steps a day cuts heart disease risk

Image: Pistachios from Shutterstock

See breaking news and the hottest health tips before anybody else by joining South Africa’s biggest and best health community, like health24 on Facebook now!
We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE