Table 3.
Effects of pistachio consumption on health outcomes.
| First Author (Year) | Number and Characteristics of Participants (M/F) and (Age) | Study Design (Length of the Intervention) | Control Group | Intervention Group(s) | Health Outcomes of Nut Consumption |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hernández-Alonso et al. (2014) [36] | 54 prediabetic subjects (29/25) (25–65 years) | Randomized, crossover study (8 weeks/period) and 2 weeks of washout) | No pistachio, normocaloric diet with 50% CHO, 15% PRO, and 35% total fat | 57 g/day of pistachio and the same control diet | ↓ FBG (5.17 mg/dL), insulin (2.04 mU/mL), and HOMA-IR (0.69); ↓ mRNA SLC2A4, IL-6, and resistin; ↑ Fibrinogen (2.24 ng/mL), oxidized-LDL-c (2.64 ng/mL), platelet factor 4 (0.07 ng/mL), and GLP-1 (4.09 pg/mL); ↑ Lutein-zeaxanthin (222.53 nmol/L) and γ-T (684.53 nmol/L). |
| Parham et al. (2014) [37] | 48 diabetic individuals (11/37) (53 ± 10; 50 ± 11) | Double-blind, crossover study (12 weeks/period) and 8 weeks of washout | Control meal without nuts | Snack with 25 g pistachio nuts twice/day = 50 g/day of pistachio | ↓ FBG (16 mg/dL) and HbA1C (0.4%). |
| Baer et al. (2012) [38] | 18 healthy individuals (9/9) (29–64 years) | Randomized controlled crossover trial (3 weeks/period) and 2 weeks of washout | No pistachio | Pistachio doses were 42 g (1.5 oz/day) and 84 g/day (3.0 oz/day) | ↑ Fecal wet weight in 1.5 oz/day, dry weight, fat, and energy in both intervention groups; ↓ Fat, energy, total CHO digestibility in both intervention groups; ↑ Total dietary fiber digestibility with 3.0 oz/day; ↓ LDL-c (6%) after both intervention groups. |
| Gulati et al. (2014) [39] | 60 individuals with MS (37/31) (42.5 ± 8.2 years) | Randomized, double-blind control trial (24 weeks) | Normocaloric diet according to guidelines for Asian Indians | 20% of total energy of normocaloric diet of pistachio/day | ↓ WC (1.5 cm), FBG (3.9 mg/dL), TC (10.0 mg/dL), LDL-c (8.9 mg/dL), hs-CRP (0.8 mg/dL), TNF-α (3.7 pg/mL), FFA (34.2 µM), and TBARS (0.8 µM); ↑ Adiponectin (10.6 ng/mL). |
| Hernández-Alonso et al. (2015) [40] | 54 prediabetic individuals (29/25) (55 years) | Randomized crossover clinical trial (4 months/period) and 2 weeks of washout | Control diet (55% CHO, 30% total fat) | 57 g/day of pistachios (50% CHO and 33% total fat) | ↓ sLDL-P; ↑ sHDL-P (2.23%); ↓ non-HDL-P (36.02 nM); Overall size of HDL-P was significantly lower (0.13 nM). |
| Kasliwal et al. (2015) [41] | 56 mild dyslipidemia adults (46/10) (39.3 ± 8.1 years) | Randomized parallel-group study (3 months) | Lifestyle modification (LSM) alone | LSM with 80 g (in-shell) of pistachios (equivalent to 40 g or 1.5 oz shelled pistachios) | ↑ HDL-c (2.1 mg/dL) ↓ LDL-c (9.6 mg/dL), TC/HDL-c ratio (0.5 mg/dL), and FBG (2.2 mg/dL); ↓ Left baPWV (27.7 cm/s). |
| Sauder et al. (2014) [42] | 30 well-controlled type 2 diabetic adults (15/15) (40–74 years) | Randomized, crossover study (4 weeks/period) and 2 weeks of washout | Control meal without pistachio | 20% of total energy of normocaloric diet of pistachio/day | ↓ Systolic 24-h blood pressure (3.5 mmHg); ↓ TC/HDL-c ratio (3.7%), total peripheral resistance, and systolic 24-h blood pressure (3.5 mmHg); ↑ Cardiac output and improvement of some measurements of heart rate variability. |
| Kendall et al. (2011) [43] | 10 healthy individuals (3/7) (48.3 ± 6.4 years) | Randomized, parallel-group clinical trial | White bread | Sudy 1: Dose–response effect of 28, 56, and 84 g/day pistachios consumed alone or co-ingested with white bread (50 g available carbohydrate); Study 2: 56 g/day of pistachio and carbohydrate foods (50 g available carbohydrate) | Dose–dependent reduction in the relative glycemic response in diet with CHO for both 56 and 84 g/day interventions; Pistachios consumed alone had a minimal effect on post-prandial glycemia. |
| Wang et al. (2012) [44] | 90 metabolic syndrome individuals (41/49) (25–65 years) | Randomized controlled clinical trial (12 weeks) | No pistachios (DCG) | 42 g/day pistachios (RSG) or 70 g/day pistachios (HSG) | ↓ Glucose (1.13 mmol/L) after OGTT in HSG; ↓ TG (0.38 mmol/L) in RSG; ↑ LDL-c (0.31 mmol/L) in HSG; ↓ AST (7.81 U/L) in RSG and (5.52 U/L) in HSG. |
Age was presented in mean ± standard deviation or range. M: male; F: female; ↓: reduction; ↑: increase; CHO: carbohydrate; PRO: protein; FBG: fasting blood glucose; HOMA-IR: homeostasis model assessment; SLC2A4: solute carrier family 2 member 4; IL: interleukin; LDL-c: low-density lipoprotein cholesterol; GLP1: glucagon-like peptide-1; HDL-c: high-density lipoprotein cholesterol; TC: total cholesterol; baPWV: brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity; HbA1C: glycated hemoglobin; MS: metabolic syndrome; WC: waist circumference; hs-CRP: high-sensible C-reactive protein; TNF-α: tumoral necrosis factor alpha; FFA: free fatty acids; TBARS: thiobarbituric acid reactive substances; OGTT: oral glucose tolerance test; TG: triglycerides; AST: aspartate transaminase; sLDL-P: small low-density lipoprotein particle; sHDL-P: small high-density lipoprotein particle; non-HDL-P: non high-density lipoprotein particle.