Got skinny nuts?

Fat Found In Pistachios May Not Be Readily Absorbed By The Body

A new study in the British Journal of Nutrition finds that fat in pistachios nuts might not be completely absorbed by the body.

The calorie information you see on the side of a food packet is obtained by 'burning' the food in a device called a calorimeter. From this the boffins can tell how much is protein, carbohydrate or fat. All well and good, but the human digestive system isn't a simple piece of lab equipment. There are far too many factors that come into play, including the persons gut health, and what else is being ingested at the time.

Once you go black...

Image of black & white peppercorns from Wikipedia

Did you know that black pepper contains an active ingredient called piperine, which helps you get more nutrients from food? It is believed to stimulate production of stomach acid, which is necessary for the digestion of protein.
It has been shown to dramatically increase the absorption of the nutrients selenium, vitamin B, beta-carotene and circumin, amongst other nutrients. Extracts of black pepper have been found to have antioxidant and cancer fighting properties. 
As if this wasn’t enough good news, piperine also increases the production of seratonin and endorphin (feel-good chemicals) in the brain. 
The final piece of good news about black pepper is that the outer layer speeds up energy metabolism in the body, mainly due to its breaking fats down and producing heat. 

So while salt may be bad for you, it seems pepper is not to be sneezed at!