Last week, we attended the sixth annual Nutrition and Health: State of the Science and Clinical Applications conference in Chicago.  PistachioHealth.com was a premier sponsor.  Co-presented by the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine, the conference assembled more than 500 internationally-recognized researchers, clinicians, educators, and chefs, all of whose work focuses on the interface between nutrition and healthful living.

The attendees were there to learn more about the links between nutrition, disease and health, so that they can better advise their patients on nutritional recommendations.  One recommendation: Eat more pistachios!  Dr. Andrew Weil, Founder and Director of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona, Tucson, and leader of the conference spoke highly of pistachios as an excellent snack choice for good nutrition, weight management, disease prevention and let’s not forget… taste! 

We made a big hit with the snack packs of pistachios that we gave away, along with some delicious recipes featuring pistachios.  It was interesting to learn that many attendees were unaware of how pistachios stack up against other nuts.  An especially popular resource is the Pistachio Health tree nut comparison chart.  Several attendees asked about the salt content of pistachios -- a hot topic these days – and were delighted to learn that a 30 gram serving of pistachios (about 1-ounce) only contains 7% of the daily value of sodium.  People were also interested to learn that pistachios have the greatest antioxidant capacity, vitamin B6 and plant sterols of all tree nuts.  Check out the nut comparison chart (http://www.pistachiohealth.com/health-care-professional/client-resources/patient-materials/tree-nut-comparison-chart) for yourself and see why pistachios are a smart prescription for good health.

Kelly Plowe, MS, RD

Although she still remains a Boston sports fan, Kelly has changed her east-coast ways, adapting to the California lifestyle.