Pistachios vs Cashews – Which is Healthier?

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Our Verdict

When comparing pistachios to cashews, we picked the pistachios.

Why?

In terms of macros, both are great sources of protein and healthy fats, and considered head-to-head:

  • pistachios have slightly more protein, but it’s close
  • pistachios have slightly more (health) fat, but it’s close
  • cashews have slightly more carbs, but it’s close
  • pistachios have a lot more fiber (more than 3x more!)

All in all, both have a good macro balance, but pistachios win easily on account of the fiber, as well as the slight edge for protein and fats.

When it comes to vitamins, pistachios have more of vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B6, B9, C, & E.

Cashews do have more vitamin B5, also called pantothenic acid, pantothenic literally meaning “from everywhere”. Guess what’s not a common deficiency to have!

So pistachios win easily on vitamins, too.

In the category of minerals, things are more balanced, though cashews have a slight edge. Pistachios have more notably more calcium and potassium, while cashews have notably more selenium, zinc, and magnesium.

Both of these nuts have anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, and anti-cancer benefits, often from different phytochemicals, but with similar levels of usefulness.

Taking everything into account, however, one nut comes out in the clear lead, mostly due to its much higher fiber content and better vitamin profile, and that’s the pistachios.

Want to learn more?

Check out:

Why You Should Diversify Your Nuts

Enjoy!

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  • Beat Food Addictions!

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    When It’s More Than “Just” Cravings

    This is Dr. Nicole Avena. She’s a research neuroscientist who also teaches at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, as well as at Princeton. She’s done a lot of groundbreaking research in the field of nutrition, diet, and addition, with a special focus on women’s health and sugar intake specifically.

    What does she want us to know?

    Firstly, that food addictions are real addictions.

    We know it can sound silly, like the famous line from Mad Max:

    ❝Do not, my friends, become addicted to water. It will take hold of you and you will resent its absence!❞

    ~ “Immortan Joe”

    As an aside, it is actually possible to become addicted to water; if one drinks it excessively (we are talking gallons every day) it does change the structure of the brain (no surprise; the brain is not supposed to have that much water!) causing structural damage that then results in dependency, and headaches upon withdrawal. It’s called psychogenic polydipsia:

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    But back onto today’s more specific topic, and by a different mechanism of addiction…

    Food addictions are dopaminergic addictions (as is cocaine)

    If you are addicted to a certain food (often sugar, but other refined carbs such as potato products, and also especially refined flour products, are also potential addictive substances), then when you think about the food in question, your brain lights up with more dopamine than it should, and you are strongly motivated to seek and consume the substance in question.

    Remember, dopamine functions by expectation, not by result. So until your brain’s dopamine-gremlin is sated, it will keep flooding you with motivational dopamine; that’s why the first bite tastes best, then you wolf down the rest before your brain can change its mind, and afterwards you may be left thinking/feeling “was that worth it?”.

    Much like with other addictions (especially alcohol), shame and regret often feature strongly afterwards, even accompanied by notions of “never again”.

    But, binge-eating is as difficult to escape as binge-drinking.

    You can break free, but you will probably have to take it seriously

    Dr. Avena recommends treating a food addiction like any other addiction, which means:

    1. Know why you want to quit (make a list of the reasons, and this will help you stay on track later!)
    2. Make a conscious decision to genuinely quit
    3. Learn about the nature of the specific addiction (know thy enemy!)
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    5. Get support (especially from those around you, and/but the support of others facing, or who have successfully faced, the same challenge is very helpful too)
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    7. Lean into how you will better enjoy life without addiction to the substance (it never really made you happy anyway, so enjoy your newfound freedom and good health!)

    Want more from Dr. Avena?

    You can check out her column at Psychology Today here:

    Psychology Today | Food Junkie ← it has a lot of posts about sugar addiction in particular, and gives a lot of information and practical advice

    You can also read her book, which could be a great help if you are thinking of quitting a sugar addiction:

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    Enjoy!

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    Ok, some of these are trends; some are more perennial to human nature. For example, while asceticism is not a new idea, the “dopamine detox” is, and “bed rotting” is not a trend that this writer has seen recommended anywhere, but on the other hand, there are medieval illustrations of it—there was no Netflix in sight in the medieval illustrations, but perhaps a label diagnosing it as “melancholy”, for example.

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    For more on all of these, enjoy:

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    Want to learn more?

    You might also like to read, and yes these are pretty much one-for-one with the 5 items above, doing a deeper dive into each in turn,

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    Yes, yes, we know, unplug once in a while. But what else do this highly-qualified pair of neuroscientists have to offer?

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