Articles by Rebecca Whittaker

Health

The tasty snack that you can eat before bed to ease inflammation

The world has gone nuts for pistachios, with the obsession for Dubai chocolate triggering a supply crunch. But there could be a good reason. The tasty green snack is also a powerhouse of nutrients that help to boost gut health, and could be especially beneficial to reduce inflammation and support immunity if you eat them at night. That’s according to one US study on 51 adults that found nighttime pistachio consumption affects gut bacteria, but only in adults with pre-diabetes. The findings, published in the journal Current Developments in Nutrition in July, suggest replacing a carbohydrate-based snack, such as toast, with pistachios may help reshape the gut microbiome - the ecosystem of microbes that live in your intestines. Another 2023 study, published in the journal Foods, found that pistachio consumption generally increases the number of beneficial bacteria in the gut more than other nuts. But what makes pistachios so good for our guts? "They’re packed with fibre and polyphenols - the kind of nutrients your gut microbes thrive on. Think of them as feeding the good bacteria that help keep your gut happy,” Dr Federica Amati, head nutritionist at ZOE, told The Independent. “People who regularly eat pistachios tend to have more of the microbes that produce short-chain fatty acids, such as butyrate, which is beneficial for reducing inflammation and maintaining a healthy gut lining.” The microbes living in the gut are thought to keep the body healthy, from supporting digestion to boosting the immune system. Everyone’s gut microbiota is unique, and diversity is key to a healthy gut. Pistachios are high in fibre, with just one small serving containing about 3g out of the recommended 30g a day. This type of dietary fibre is beneficial for gut health because it reduces inflammation. “These nuts contain dietary fibre and specific types of carbohydrates that act as prebiotics, meaning they feed beneficial gut bacteria such as Bifidobacteria and Lactobacillus,” Registered nutritionist Rob Hobson told The Independent. “When these fibres are fermented in the colon, they produce short-chain fatty acids like butyrate, propionate, and acetate, which help maintain a healthy gut lining, reduce inflammation, and support immune function.” In addition to fibre, pistachios also release compounds such as polyphenols, tocopherols (a type of E vitamin) and lutein (an antioxidant) - which all boost gut health. “Polyphenols and antioxidants are metabolised by gut microbes, and they modulate the composition and activity of the microbiota,” Mr Hobson explained. The healthy fats and protein in pistachios help to slow digestion, which means the nutrients travel further down the gut where fermentation occurs and helps balance the microbiome, he added. Opting for a handful of pistachios over biscuits or crisps in the evening will also lower sugar and salt consumption - another way of boosting gut health. Mr Hobson concluded: “Unlike high-risk snacks, pistachios don’t contain added sugars or emulsifiers that can disrupt your microbiome. Having a handful of pistachios as a snack or sprinkling them on your meals is a simple and delicious way to support your gut health."

Technology

Why being ‘skinny-fat’ could be just as risky as being overweight

Being overweight has long been linked to heart conditions and type 2 diabetes, but even people who look thinner could be at risk, researchers suggest. A new study led by researchers at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, explains there is such a thing as being “skinny-fat” - someone who appears to be healthy and slim but in fact has hidden fat deep inside their organs. The findings, published in Communications Medicine, suggest the fat hidden in the abdomen and liver may quietly damage arteries. It challenges the long-standing reliance on body-mass index (BMI) as a measure of obesity and offers fresh insight into how hidden fat contributes to heart disease. Visceral fat, which wraps around internal organs, and hepatic fat stored in the liver are known to increase the risk of type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease – but their effects on artery health are less known. “This study shows that even after accounting for traditional cardiovascular risk factors like cholesterol and blood pressure, visceral and liver fat still contribute to artery damage,” said co-lead author Russell de Souza. “The findings are a wake-up call for clinicians and the public alike.” Excess weight can lead to fatty material building up in the arteries. If the arteries that carry blood to the heart get blocked, this can lead to a heart attack. But it’s not just the fat under the skin that can cause problems - fat that sits around the organs also affects the way the heart and blood vessels function. Researchers used MRI imaging and data from over 33,000 adults in the UK and Canada and found that visceral and hepatic fat are strongly linked to the thickening and clogging of carotid arteries in the neck. These arteries supply blood to the brain, and their narrowing is a key predictor of stroke and heart attack. Importantly, these associations held even after the researchers adjusted for lifestyle and metabolic risk factors. “You can’t always tell by looking at someone whether they have visceral or liver fat,” said vascular medicine specialist Sonia Anand, corresponding author of the study. “This kind of fat is metabolically active and dangerous; it’s linked to inflammation and artery damage even in people who aren’t visibly overweight. That’s why it’s so important to rethink how we assess obesity and cardiovascular risk.” Researchers suggest that because this fat is not visible and cannot be measured with BMI or waist circumference, doctors should consider using imaging-based assessments of fat distribution. Alex Miras, professor of endocrinology at Ulster University, told The Independent: “Visceral adiposity can cause coronary artery disease even in people with a normal or near-normal BMI. This is more common in specific ethnic groups like south Asians.” Although this fat is not visible from the outside, it can still be tackled the same way as people who are overweight - through diet and exercise or medication. He added: “Any form of weight loss, through behavioural interventions or obesity pharmacotherapy, is likely to have a positive effect in reducing cardiovascular disease. They also need to have their cholesterol and blood pressure aggressively treated.”

Why being ‘skinny-fat’ could be just as risky as being overweight

Visceral fat, which wraps around internal organs, and hepatic fat stored in the liver increase the risk of heart disease