There is no doubt that nut consumption improves blood lipid levels, particularly LDL cholesterol. Walnuts are praised for their omega-3 fatty acid composition, whereas almonds are beloved for their vitamin E content. If taking wagers, it is best to include both in your diet.

Pistachios seem to have an advantage beyond that of their lipid profile alone, but this is only beginning to be uncovered.

There is certainly a case, however, that many of these effects could be negated by ice cream consumption. (Last time I checked there were no pistachios in macaroons). This is something I totally support, so long as you follow my advice the rest of the time

Thank you for the link!

I commend you for asking about the mechanism of action. In fact, in this study the scientists found the LDL lowering effect of pistachios is 7 times greater than would be predicted by the lipid profile alone (for those of you who don’t know, mono- and polyunsaturated fats have been proven to improve cholesterol measures in humans, so you may expect a benefit from adding any nuts to your diet).

To address this they tested the effect of pistachios on lipid metabolism enzymes (cholesteryl ester transfer protein and stearoyl-CoA desaturase). Both were improved by pistachios, and the authors suggest that this may explain the additional benefit of pistachios that they observed.