Pistachios May Help Calm Acute Stress Reaction

In a previous entry, I’ve mentioned two heart-healthy reasons for eating pistachios. Aside from that, it has been found that pistachios may also reduce your body’s response to the stresses of everyday life.

“A 10-year follow-up study of young men showed that those who had larger cardiovascular responses to stress in the lab, were more likely to contract hypertension later in life,” says Dr. Sheila G. West, associate professor of biobehavioral health. “Elevated reactions to stressors are partly genetic, but can be changed by diet and exercise. Lifestyle changes can make the biological reactions to stress smaller.”

Isn’t it amazing how a few ounces of pistachios, done regularly and over a long period, can have so much influence?