When you want something healthy, crunchy and easy to nosh on-the-go, nuts of all kinds — almonds, peanuts, pistachios, cashews — are an easy go-to. And, given that nuts are good sources of fat, fibre and protein — along with a slew of different vitamins and minerals — you can feel pretty darn good about your choice.

Not to mention, research suggests that eating nuts can help protect you from cardiovascular issues like heart disease and high blood pressure, along with type 2 diabetes. They may even help you maintain a healthy weight.

Some nuts have more of a health halo than others, though. Almonds, in particular, pretty much dominate the nut aisle these days. (And the dairy aisle, thanks to all the almond-based milk and yoghurt alternatives out there these days.) Peanuts — which are technically legumes, BTW — meanwhile, get the side-eye from many healthy eaters.

What about often-forgotten pistachios, though?

Though they might not be as trendy as almond-everything, pistachios are actually really darn good for you. “Pistachios have a lot going for them health-wise,” says registered dietician Kim Larson. Not to mention, they’re just straight-up delicious.

Before you pass over bright green pistachios the next time you’re in the bulk aisle, keep the following impressive health benefits in mind.

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Let’s talk about pistachios’ nutrition information…

When you want to stock up on pistachios, you’ve typically got two different options: shelled or unshelled.

Here’s the nutrition info for 28g shelled pistachios (about 49 kernels), per the USDA Nutrition Database:

Calories: 159
Fat: 12.8 grams
Protein: 5.72 grams
Carbs: 7.7 grams
Fibre: 3 grams
Sugars: 2 grams

And the nutrition info for 28g pistachios still in their shells, per the USDA Nutrition Database:

Calories: 85
Fat: 7 grams
Protein: 3 grams
Carbs: 4 grams
Fibre: 1.5 grams
Sugars: 1 gram

According to dietician and spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Sonya Angelone, pistachios are a good source of fibre, protein, the minerals magnesium and copper, vitamin E, folate and natural cholesterol-lowering compounds called plant sterols. “They’re also a good source of healthy monounsaturated fats,” she adds.

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Yep, pistachios offer some pretty legit health benefits…

Pull up a chair, take a seat, and prepare to be floored. Pistachios are seriously good for you. Here are six noteworthy benefits.

1. They’re a solid source of fibre

Fibre is important for a slew of different aspects of your health, like keeping your GI tract working properly and helping you maintain a healthy weight. And, oh hey — pistachios provide plenty of it. Since fibre enhances satiety, pistachios can ultimately help with weight control, if eaten in the appropriate amounts, Larson says.

2. Pistachios are lower in calories than most nuts

Since many nuts contain serious calories, this is kind of a BFD. While pistachios contain 159 calories per 28g on paper, recent research by the Agricultural Research Service suggests they might actually contain five percent fewer calories that we thought.

3. They’re packed with antioxidants

“Because of their unique purple and green colour, pistachios may have more antioxidants and anti-inflammatory effects than other nuts,” says Angelone.

Those colours are caused by nutrients lutein (which is related to beta-carotene and vitamin A) and anthocyanin. “Most other nuts lack anthocyanin,” says dietician Julie Upton, co-founder of nutrition website Appetite for Health.

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4. Pistachios may help you sleep better

Surprising fun fact about pistachios: They contain melatonin, a hormone that regulates the sleep-wake cycle. In fact, according to Angelone, they are the most melatonin-rich nut in the game. “Eating a handful of pistachios is like taking a melatonin supplement,” she says. Apparently some people even snack on pistachios to help with jet lag.

5. They aren’t as easy to overeat as other nuts

Compared to other nuts, pistachios have a nice balance of protein and fat, which can help fill you up and keep you satiated, Upton says. Plus, eating them in-shell also helps prevent overeating. “I like that they come in the shell, which helps slow you down,” Larson says. Basically, with all the time you spend cracking pistachio shells to get to the nuts, you’ give yourself a beat to feel full before you’ve gone too far.

6. Pistachios’ healthy fats support long-term health

Thanks to their healthy fats (mostly monounsaturated and polyunsaturated), eating pistachios can do your health a solid in the long run. Experts believe these fats can help lower your LDL (a.k.a. bad) cholesterol, reducing your risk of heart attack and stroke in the process. They also and help develop and maintain your cells. Plus, polyunsaturated fats also contain essential fatty acids that your body needs for brain function. “Eating them may help slow age-related cognitive decline,” suggests Larson.

I’m sold. So what’s the healthiest way to enjoy pistachios?

There are so many different ways to get your pistachio fix. For starters, you can always just sit down with a handful.

If you want to get a little more creative, though, Upton recommends crushing up a bunch of pistachios and using them as a crust for meat instead of traditional breading. They also make a great addition to pretty much any healthy biscuit recipe you’d usually add nuts to.

Pistachios are also a great way to make homemade trail mix and muesli feel fancy, Larson says. Plus, they add a nice crunch (and protein!) to vegetarian dishes and salads.

^{This article was originally published on www.womenshealthsa.co.za} 

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Susan Barrett

A mother whose baby got meningitis because of Group B Strep says all pregnant women should be tested.

One consequence of the government’s limited role in regulating cosmetics is that questionable products may stay on store shelves and e-commerce sites despite complaints. Even when consumers report problems, the US Food and Drug Administration can’t issue a recall – it can only recommend one.

Also, the FDA doesn’t require cosmetics companies to tell it about consumer complaints, and people who experience problems may not realise that they should contact the FDA as well as the cosmetics company. This explains how one manufacturer received 21 000 direct complaints about a hair care product, yet the FDA got only a fraction of that number.

Report problems

To help increase consumer awareness and encourage reporting, the FDA created the Adverse Event Reporting System, a database that the public can access online, with reports going back to 2004.

But a review of this information by Northwestern University researchers found that, even though the number of annual reports has grown over the years, there were just 1 591 in 2016, the year they studied. Researchers suspect that doesn’t fully reflect the issues consumers were experiencing.

What can you do? If you have a reaction or problem with a cosmetic product, first stop using it and contact your doctor to see if you need medical attention. Then, report the problem to the FDA.

Tell the FDA about reactions to a cosmetic such as a rash, burn, hair loss, headache, infection or illness, or any other unexpected reaction, whether or not it required treatment. Also tell the FDA about any problems you notice with a cosmetic itself, such as a bad smell, colour change, signs of contamination or foreign material in it.

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HealthDay

Playing cards and board games like chess, bingo and Scrabble might be the mental workout you need to keep your wits as you age, Scottish researchers suggest.

People in their 70s who regularly play board games score higher on tests of memory and thinking skills than those who don’t. And 70-somethings who step up their game-playing are more likely to maintain thinking skills as they age, researchers say.

The challenge of the games

“Playing board, card and word games may protect people from cognitive decline, but this study wasn’t an intervention, so we can’t say that for sure,” said lead researcher Drew Altschul, a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Edinburgh. “But it, at very least, is fun, inexpensive, and it certainly won’t hurt you.”

He doesn’t think it’s the social aspect of these activities that provides this brain-protective effect, but rather the challenge of the games themselves.

Unlike reading, writing, taking classes, visiting museums, libraries or friends and relatives, games appear to more actively engage abilities like memory, thinking speed and reasoning, Altschul said.

“So, this fits with what we call the ‘use it or lose it’ theory, that exercising your mental abilities more keeps them in better shape,” he said.

For the study, Altschul and his colleagues tested the memory, problem-solving, thinking speed and general thinking ability in nearly 1 100 70-year-olds. The tests were repeated every three years until participants reached age 79.

Less decline in mental skills

The researchers also asked how often participants played games such as cards, chess, bingo or crossword puzzles.

To isolate the effect of game playing, they took into account results of IQ tests participants took at age 11, as well as their income, education and physical activity levels.

People who played more games as they got older had less decline in mental skills in their 70s, particularly in memory function and thinking speed, researchers found. However, the study only found an association, not a cause-and-effect link.

How the brain changes with this type of activity is unknown, but researchers are working hard to learn more, said Rebecca Edelmayer, director of scientific engagement at the Alzheimer’s Association.

“There’s actually a lot of research that’s happening in this particular area right now focused on cognitive challenge, cognitive engagement and how we can use this as potentially a way to reduce our risk for cognitive decline,” she said.

Changing and modifying our lifestyle

Just like keeping the body active helps keep heart disease at bay, being mentally active may have the same effect on dementia, Edelmayer said.

“It seems that challenging and complex tasks, or even things like games of strategy, may require multiple cognitive functions that may be most beneficial for individuals as they age,” she said.

Edelmayer predicted that Alzheimer’s and other dementias will one day be treated much like heart disease. “You will see not only medications that are approved to treat dementia, but also ways that we could be changing and modifying our lifestyle to decrease our risk for cognitive decline,” she said.

A large trial is testing whether a combination of social and cognitive engagement, along with healthy nutrition, physical activity and effective management of heart health might help preserve mental function, Edelmayer said.

“Those factors, tested together, can potentially help us understand better what a recipe for beneficial lifestyle intervention would be,” she said.

The report was published in the Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences.

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Scientists working on the next frontier of weather forecasting are hoping that weather conditions 3-to-4 weeks out will soon be as readily available as seven-day forecasts. Having this type of weather information — called subseasonal forecasts — in the hands of the public and emergency managers can provide the critical lead time necessary to prepare for natural hazards like heat waves or the next polar vortex.

We all know that having a good relationship with your family is important for a lot of reasons, but what if you were told that one of them was to maintain good physical health as you grow older? Well, this is a suggestion a new study published in the Journal of Family Psychology is making…

According to the study, individuals who have a strained relationship with their extended family (including mom, dad, siblings, aunts, uncles and grandparents) are more likely to develop a chronic illness than those who have a strained relationship with their intimate partner(s)s/spouse(s).

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“Most often, researchers focus on romantic relationships, especially marriage, presuming they likely have more of a powerful effect on health,” said Prof. Sarah Woods, lead author of the study and assistant professor of family and community medicine at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Centre, in a statement.

“Family relationships are long and emotionally intense. These are people you are connected to you forever. If you are sensitive to emotional stress, then being bathed in that stress would over time wear and tear on your body.”

How did they reach that conclusion?

To get to this conclusion, researchers looked at data from just under 3 000 individuals collected between 1995 and 2014. On three occasions over these years (between 1995 and 1996, 2004 and 2006, 2013 and 2014), the participants each rated the state of their interactions with their families and spouses.

On family, the respondents were asked questions like: “How often do members of your family criticise you?” and “How much can you rely on your family if you have a serious problem?”

On spouses, the respondents were asked questions like: “How often does your spouse or partner argue with you?” and “How much does your spouse or partner appreciate you?”

The participants’ health was measured looking at the total number of chronic conditions suffered 12 months before each of the three times their data was collected.

Through this analysis, the researchers found that there was a strong association with strained family interactions and a greater number of chronic illnesses.

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“We found that family and emotional climate had a big effect on overall health, including the development or worsening of chronic conditions such as stroke and headaches over the 20-year span of midlife,” Prof. Woods said.

Interestingly, they found no significant link with intimate partner relationships and later health. This was something that “stunned” the researchers.

As alluded to earlier in the article, the researchers believe that this is the case because family relationships go on forever, versus intimate relationships which can simply end.

“The vast majority of the people in the study had living parents or siblings, thus their relationship with a spouse or intimate partner was less likely to be as long as that of their family members,” Prof. Patricia Robertson, co-author of the study, said in a statement. “Therefore, the emotional intensity of these relationships may be greater, so much so that people experience more of an effect on their health and wellbeing.”

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Why does this matter?

The researchers believe that these findings are critical particularly for healthcare practitioners because they highlight the importance of considering family relationships when assessing and treating patients.

“For adults who already have a chronic condition, a negative family emotional climate may increase their poor health and, conversely, supportive family members may help improve their health outcomes,” Prof. Woods concluded.

^{This article was originally published on www.womenshealthsa.co.za}

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Yamkela Mdaka

When does something healthy, such as exercise, become an unhealthy obsession? And can apps make things worse?

The use 21 separate electronic record systems in NHS hospitals across England ‘could lead to errors’.

Three years after being told he has a terminal illness, rugby legend Doddie Weir refuses to give it an inch.

Reductions in air pollution yielded fast and dramatic impacts on health-outcomes, as well as decreases in all-cause morbidity, according to findings in “Health Benefits of Air Pollution Reduction,” new research published in the American Thoracic Society’s journal, Annals of the American Thoracic Society.