Pistachio nuts are good for heart health

The origin of the pistachio was in the regions of Western Asia, from which they migrated to the eastern Mediterranean countries some 4,000 years ago. These trees belong to the Pestachia family, which extends from about 80 million years ago and includes many species of pistachio trees.

Interestingly, the United States' interest in the cultivation of pistachios is late. Its production began in California in the mid-1970s. Three decades later, the second country in the production of pistachios on the global level, this achievement was achieved, and in a short period of time, a long list of countries famous for the cultivation of pistachios, some produced some 3,500 years ago.

The pistachios are two types: masculine and feminine, whose flowers need to be pollinated to produce fruits. One male tree is able to pollinate flowers for about 12 female trees. The pistachios of Aleppo give fruits of the type of single core (drupe) coated with a semi-solid crust. The nucleus contains an almost oval seed, which is eaten.

In the language of culinary arts, pistachio nuts are considered nuts. However, the precise definition of nuts, in the language of plant biology, is confined to the seeds or dried fruits of some plants. Thus, nuts are dry fruits that contain mostly one seed.





In the past, eating pistachio nuts or other nuts has been thought to increase body weight, high cholesterol, and cause diseases in the arteries of the heart and brain.

It has recently been proven that this belief was wrong, and the advice of the American Heart Association and other relevant international bodies has explicitly encouraged them to eat these nuts, and to devise ways to add them to the various dishes that people eat daily.

The pistachio nuts are a seed with concentrated contents of nutrients, minerals and vitamins, and have many health benefits, in addition to their tasty taste. It also has a higher antioxidant content than other types of nuts or seeds. According to the scientific bodies of the US Department of Agriculture, the ounce (about 28 grams) of pistachios contains a higher amount than a cup of green tea. According to other scientific sources, compared to other nuts, pistachios contain an amount of antioxidant lutein, more than 13 times the amount found in hazelnuts, which is second only to pistachios.

It is scientifically known that taking this type of antioxidant reduces the risk of deterioration of the dark spots of the retina in aging. This type of injury is the leading cause of blindness among those over the age of 65 in developed countries.

The pistachios contain milky minerals and vitamins such as manganese, magnesium, phosphorus, folic acid, vitamin B6, niacin and thiamine. In addition to this, the pistachios do not contain sodium (salt). Here you should be careful not to add this substance (salt) to peanuts, because this raises your blood pressure. If you need to add something to taste pistachio, it is best to add lemon, or other substances that do not contain sodium.