Phased research show when equal calories are taken, blood sugar rise of pregnant women eating pistachio nuts is far lower than pregnant women eating whole-wheat bread. The research is the first research to evaluate effect of pistachio on gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). The phased research result is published in the 10th Oriental Congress of Endocrinology and Diabetes held in Shanghai from April 21 to April 22, and the 13th China Nutrition Science Congress held by Chinese Society of Nutrition in Beijing during May 22 through May 24.

“Our research is the first one to prove that pistachio may help pregnant women suffering GDM to control postprandial blood sugar control”, said Dr. Ge Sheng, Director of Clinical Nutrition Dept. of the Sixth People’s Hospital attached to Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Doctor of Medicine and Chief Researcher of the project. Ge mentioned research findings show for GDM patients, if they want to better control disease conditions, pistachio will be more ideal health snacks compared with whole-wheat bread.

Nuts such as pistachio have lower Glycemic index (GI), and meanwhile are rich in dietary fiber, healthy fat, Vietnam and phytochemicals which are anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant. All those elements can help diabetic patients control blood sugar. Pistachios affect little on rise of postprandial blood sugar. Thus, if pistachios are added to a meal with rich carbohydrate, the postprandial blood sugar can be reduced effectively.