Eating pistachios as a nighttime snack can “shift the gut microbial landscape in adults with prediabetes”, new research has claimed.
A recent study has found that consuming pistachios at night can improve markers of diet quality among people with prediabetes.
Experts are now urging people with the condition to replace their typical nighttime snack with pistachios to improve their metabolic health.
Senior author Terrence Riley said: “A common dietary recommendation for individuals with prediabetes is to consume a nighttime snack consisting of 15 to 30 grams of carbohydrates to help regulate overnight and morning blood glucose levels. As an example, you could eat one or two slices of whole grain bread.”
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Participants who consumed roughly two ounces of pistachios each night for 12 weeks had more “good” bacteria that produces beneficial short-chain fatty acids like butyrate compared to those who consumed the recommended 15 to 30 grams of a carbohydrate snack, the study reports.
Butyrate serves as a primary energy source for colon cells, supports anti-inflammatory processes and helps maintain the gut barrier, the researchers have said.
Corresponding author Professor Kristina Petersen said: “Pistachios seem to be able to meaningfully shift the gut microbial landscape in adults with prediabetes especially when consumed as a nighttime snack.
“These microbiome changes may offer other long-term health benefits – potentially helping to slow the development of type 2 diabetes or to reduce systemic inflammation – which we hope to explore in future research.”
During this trial, a total of 51 adults took part, all of whom had prediabetes. Each participant received both treatments and the scientists looked at their stool sample to classify bacteria based on their genetic makeup.
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Professor Petersen noted: “Participants who ate pistachios also experienced reductions in several bacterial groups that have been linked to less favourable metabolic outcomes.
“Levels of Blautia hydrogenotrophica – a bacterium that helps produce compounds that can build up in the blood and harm kidney and heart health – were lower after pistachio consumption.”
She added: “Levels of Eubacterium flavonifractor, which breaks down beneficial antioxidant compounds from foods like pistachios, also decreased.”
Read the study in the journal Current Developments in Nutrition.
