Could eating a handful of pistachios daily help improve eye health?

[eppur_se_muova]

Eating a handful of pistachio nuts each day can significantly improve eye health, according to a new study from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University.

Adding two ounces of unsalted, shelled, dry-roasted pistachio nuts each day for 12 weeks to participants’ usual diet improved their macular pigment optical density (MPOD).

The study was supported by the American Pistachio Growers and the National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences.
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Pistachios are unusually rich in bioavailable lutein, a plant pigment that protects the macula from damage from blue light. The study found that participants’ lutein levels increased after only six weeks and doubled by the end of the study.
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more: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/eating-pistachios-unsalted-daily-help-improve-eye-health
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S002231662401099X?via%3Dihub#coi0010

[AKwannabe]

1. I am all about food for health BUT

A study backed(funded?) by pistachio growers is suspect to me. Sorry. Not sorry

[littlemissmartypants]

2. Cool...

I have a little snack bin I keep on my bedside nightstand and bag of Pistachios is one of the treats I have in it.

I use them for a quick snack if I start feeling peckish when I'm cuddled up reading in bed. I'm thinking about getting a little fridge for the bedroom, too.

I can get really cozy with my heated mattress pad and a good book on a rainy day. Who wants to disturb that?

They are also very good sprinkled on a salad.



❤️

[speak easy]

3. Aflatoxins are bas news,

Aflatoxins are toxic compounds that can contaminate pistachios and other tree nuts, and are a major source of human dietary aflatoxins. Aflatoxins are produced by Aspergillus fungi and can be carcinogenic, genotoxic, and immunosuppressive. (Google)

[eppur_se_muova]

4. Found in peanuts and rice as well. Solution: avoid all signs of contamination or staleness.

There's nothing particular about pistachios in this regard.

It's like avoiding tuna because of the mercury. It doesn't necessarily mean that ALL fish is an equal danger.

[speak easy]

5. (Google)

Pistachios are considered to be the ones with the highest risk of contamination by aflatoxins, largely due to shell splitting at end of maturation. This shell protects the pistachio kernel and, as a consequence of splitting, pistachios are susceptible to molds and insect invasions.

Like Tuna, it is sensible to be careful about overall intake.