Pistachios
Food · Fat & Oil · Food, Typed Supps
One of the lower-calorie nuts, and unusually good for the eye pigments.
Stage by stage
- Intake (Shelling slows intake): Shelling them naturally slows down how quickly they are eaten.
- Stomach (Fat & protein digestion begins): Fat and protein digestion begins.
- Small intestine (Fat, protein & carotenoids absorbed): Unsaturated fat, protein, and carotenoids are absorbed together.
- Eye tissue (Lutein & zeaxanthin concentrate): Absorbed lutein and zeaxanthin concentrate in the retina over time.
Timing
Buying them in-shell can naturally slow down intake, since a standard serving is around 1oz or roughly 49 kernels.
Time to effect
- Weeks: Regular intake is linked to modest improvements in cholesterol markers over weeks of consistent intake.
Allergens
Contains: Tree nuts. Derived from what this food is, not from a product label.
Eating patterns
Fits: Vegan, Vegetarian, Pescatarian, Halal, Kosher, Gluten-free. Depends on the product: Keto, Low-FODMAP.
Satiety
75 on the satiety index, where white bread is 100 — low. Modelled from the Holt et al. (1995) measurements.
Environmental footprint
0.4 kg CO2e and 4134 litres of freshwater per kg, matched to "Nuts" in Poore & Nemecek (2018), Science 360.
Cost band
Mid — roughly £8 per kg, as a band midpoint rather than a price.
Key nutrients
Nutrition per 100g
- Calories: 545.7
- Protein: 17g
- Carbohydrate: 7.8g
- of which sugars: 7.1g
- Fat: 48.6g
- of which saturated: 5.7g
- Fibre: 7.7g
- Sodium: 0mg
Food vs. supplement
Pistachios are an unusual source of lutein and zeaxanthin for a nut, delivered alongside protein and unsaturated fat that an isolated eye-health supplement does not include.
Kitchen tip
Buying them still in the shell is a simple portion control trick — shelling each one by hand naturally slows down how fast a serving disappears.
Common myth
All nuts have basically the same calorie and fat content. In reality: Pistachios are one of the lower-calorie, lower-fat nuts by volume compared to options like macadamias or pecans, largely due to a higher proportion of protein and fibre.
Recipes that use it
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