Scientists say eating a handful of pistachio nuts a day can help reduce the damage done to the body by acute stress. Experts at Pennsylvania State University have claim that the nuts help lower blood pressure and heart rate in difficult situations. In a study participants were given a variety of healthy diets, some containing pistachios, some without. The scientists then measured their subjects’ cardiovascular responses, first as they took a challenging mental arithmetic test and again as they immersed their feet in cold water. The largest drop in blood pressure was associated with eating about 1.5oz of nuts a day. “Daily events, such as a tight deadline or public speaking can increase blood pressure,” a newspaper quoted Dr Sheila West, lead author of the study published online in the journal Hypertension, as saying. “These results are significant because they show that physiological responses to stress are affected by the foods we eat,” she noted.