There’s no such thing as the greatest snack, but I love pistachios and what makes them great lets us talk about some important, albeit overlooked facets of nutrition.
Let’s get nuts!
Why are they great?
Firstly, they taste good; No one snacks on Brussel sprouts for a reason.
Secondly, they’re nutritious. Pistachios are packed with protein, antioxidants, healthy fats, Fiber and are sating (they fill you up). Nobody ever gained a ton of weight eating pistachios.
Pistachio ice cream… maybe.
How about some of the overlooked benefits?
Pistachios, require a little bit of commitment to eat, i.e. You have to shuck the shell before enjoying them. This simple act of shucking the pistachio is akin to Fidgeting. Do you know the most common habit of thin people is?
Fidgeters burn around 300 extra calories a day; in other words about a pound every 11 days. Shucking the pistachio = fidgeting = NEAT (non exercise activity thermogenesis). You’re burning calories while you ingest calories!
It’s like passive income.
Want some more reasons?
The Thermic effect of food
The thermic effect of food (TEF) is basically the amount of energy it takes for your body to ingest, digest, absorb, and metabolise the food you eat. Nuts have “a higher thermogenic effect that can lead to less fat accumulation in the body.”Pistachios are the tastiest nut (imho) and are loaded with protein (highest thermic effect) so BAM! Best snack ever!
Whole Foods in general have a higher thermogenic effect. Meanwhile typical processed snack foods loaded with empty calories have a very low thermic effect.
Like I said, pistachios are great? Are they the best? Who knows? Who cares? What matters is you’re thinking a little differently about the food you eat.
Maybe you’re even thinking about getting some nuts.
