The Nuts that Can "Fool You Full"

November 9, 2015
Written by Elise

Are you interested yet? Check out these five facts about pistachios to see why they've been called the nuts that can "fool you full".






1. The pistachio tree is native to the Middle East, particularly Syria, but today it grows in over 20 countries. Here in the U.S., it grows in California, Arizona, and New Mexico. Our pistachios come from California.

2. Recent archaeological evidence dates the existence of the pistachio tree to pre-7000BC, and they are one of three nuts mentioned in the Bible. It is said that the Hanging Gardens of Babylon featured some of the trees. The oldest one in the world is in Iran and is said to be over 700 years old.

3. Female pistachio trees produce 10x as many nuts as male trees, but pistachio trees are wind pollinated so one male pistachio tree is required for every 30 trees.

4. Pistachios have less fat, and more potassium and vitamin K than any other nut.

5. Dr. James Painter (PhD, Registered Dietician) wrote a principle after performing two behavioral studies called the ‘Pistachio Principle’, that says you eat significantly slower when you eat pistachios that you have to shell. This slowed speed of eating helps you to avoid overeating better. Seeing the shells also tricked people into thinking they’d eaten more than they really had and they ate 18% less than people who did not see the shells of the nuts they were eating. Essentially, they “fooled themselves full”.