You know plants don’t actually make cholesterol. No plants have cholesterol. But they have something that’s almost cholesterol; it’s called phytosterols. The word “phyto” means plants, so it’s the cholesterol of plants. And what happens with these phytosterols is that when they get into your intestine they actually compete for absorption into your body with cholesterol. So the more phytosterols you’re eating, the harder it is for the cholesterol to get into your body. In fact, because of their content of phytosterols, pistachios can actually help to lower your cholesterol.