Pistachio Health Benefits Help Control Glucose Levels in People with Metabolic Syndrome

People with metabolic syndrome generally have high levels of fasting blood glucose and are glucose intolerant, which can often lead to the development of type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

4/13/2011 --- A recent study conducted by the University of Toronto found that pistachios limit blood sugar response in the body of people with metabolic syndrome. This study shows that pistachios are a smart snack choice, not only for healthy individuals, but also for those struggling with certain health problems. This study is being presented at the Experimental Biology meeting.

Recently published research has shown that pistachios help limit blood glucose responses in healthy individuals, but this is the first pistachio study that was conducted on people who have previously been diagnosed with metabolic syndrome.

Metabolic syndrome has become increasingly common in the United States. It's estimated that over 50 million Americans have this dangerous disease. Metabolic syndrome is defined as having three of the following: elevated blood pressure, increased waist size, low HDL-cholesterol, elevated fasting triglycerides and elevated fasting blood glucose.

"People with metabolic syndrome generally have high levels of fasting blood glucose and are glucose intolerant, which can often lead to the development of type 2 diabetes and heart disease," said Cyril Kendall, PhD, lead researcher at the University of Toronto and author of the study. "Pistachios may help reduce the risk of developing these conditions by limiting the rise in blood glucose when eaten with high-carbohydrate meals."