This article discusses the beneficial effects of pistachios on after-meal blood sugar.
Post-prandial hyperglycemia, the spike in blood sugar after a meal, has been found to increase the risk of forming atherosclerosis.
A previous article showed that post-prandial high blood sugar predicts atherosclerosis better than fasting blood sugar and hemoglobin A1c – After-meal high blood sugar predicts Atherosclerosis better than Fasting blood sugar and HbA1c
One way to lower the after-meal blood sugar is by pistachios with the meal. This was the finding from a study published by the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.[1]
The study had two parts. The first showed that higher amounts of pistachios (28, 56, and 84 gm) eaten with white bread (50 gm of carbohydrates) decreased the blood sugar response.
The second part showed that adding 56 gms of pistachios to parboiled rice, pasta, or mashed potatoes decreased the after-meal blood sugars.
- Parboiled rice (72.5±6.0) versus rice and pistachios (58.7±5.1) (P=0.031)
- Pasta (94.8±11.4) versus pasta and pistachios (56.4±5.0) (P=0.025)
- Mashed potatoes (109.0±6.6) versus potatoes and pistachios, (87.4±8.0) (P=0.063)
They conclude that adding pistachios to carbohydrate meals can decrease after-meal blood sugars.
Pistachios and Pregnant Women with Diabetes
Another study was conducted on pregnant women with diabetes and those with gestational diabetes. Gestational diabetes is when glucose intolerance happens during pregnancy.
Diabetes in pregnancy can result in complications for both the mother and baby, which is why blood sugar control is mandatory.
The study showed that adding 42 gm of pistachios to 100 g of whole-wheat bread lowered the post-prandial glucose and insulin levels and the gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP). In contrast, the glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) response increased.
GIP and GLP-1 are incretins that increase insulin response. Diabetes medications that mimic incretins are typically prescribed to lower post-prandial blood sugar.
How can pistachios lower the blood sugar?
In pregnant women with gestational diabetes, GLP-1, and insulin secretion is impaired. Higher GLP-1 lowers insulin by facilitating its transport into skeletal muscles, the fat, and the liver.
In pregnancy, the net effect of the decrease in the GIP and the increase in the GLP-1 resulted in a moderated insulin response that is just enough to lower the blood sugar but not too high to cause hyperinsulinemia.
The pistachios’ low carbohydrate and high-fat content helped lower blood sugar levels. Fat slows the transit of food from the stomach to the small intestines and results in slower glucose absorption, preventing its sudden rise in the blood.
Another mechanism is that the digested glucose adheres to the pistachios’ surfaces instead of the stomach’s walls and delays their absorption until they reach the small intestine. This is the same way eating vegetables before proteins and carbs helps lower post-prandial hyperglycemia.
You can learn more about it at Veggies Meat Carbohydrate Sequence Prevents After Meal Sugar Spike.
Also, the carotenoids and ellagitannins in pistachios have been shown to improve blood sugar responses to carbohydrates and decrease the risk of diabetes.
Pistachios have other health effects that will be discussed in the next installment.
Related:
- After-meal high blood sugar predicts Atherosclerosis better than Fasting blood sugar and HbA1c
- How often do you do the post-prandial sugar test?
- Blood Glucose Spike and its Prevention
- Testing Post Prandial Glucose Level after a Feast
- After-meal blood sugar spikes as a cause of vascular failure
- Veggies Meat Carbohydrate Sequence Prevents After Meal Sugar Spike
- A Healthy Lifestyle is as effective as Voglibose and Nateglinide in Lowering 10-year Cardiac Mortality
- Intermittent fasting Reverses Endothelial Dysfunction
- Walk After Meals to Prevent Sky High Blood Sugars
Reference:
- Kendall CW, Josse AR, Esfahani A, Jenkins DJ. The impact of pistachio intake alone or in combination with high-carbohydrate foods on post-prandial glycemia. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2011 Jun;65(6):696-702. doi: 10.1038/ejcn.2011.12. Epub 2011 Mar 2. PMID: 21364607. [Abstract]
- Feng, Xiaohui & Liu, Haili & Li, Zhaoping & Carughi, Arianna & Ge, Sheng. (2019). Acute Effect of Pistachio Intake on Postprandial Glycemic and Gut Hormone Responses in Women With Gestational Diabetes or Gestational Impaired Glucose Tolerance: A Randomized, Controlled, Crossover Study. Frontiers in Nutrition. 6. 186. 10.3389/fnut.2019.00186.
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