Who knew that a tiny morsel that grows on trees in California, Arizona, New Mexico, and West Texas could pack such a punch against a common malady in pregnant women?

A study about pregnant women who consumed a diet of pistachios compared blood glucose levels to those who ate controlled amounts of wheat bread for breakfast. The purpose was to see how those women with gestational diabetes were affected by a diet including pistachios.

The results are part of a online study available at http://tinyurl.com/y7ymgg7a.

In short, the study suggests that gestational diabetes can be effectively managed by eating pistachios.

In a summary, nut consumption in general, and pistachios in particular, “improve how cells use glucose and how insulin responds to a carbohydrate-containing meal.”

Let’s hear it for tree nuts!

This is certainly good news for those marketing the healthful benefits of American pistachios. Let’s not forget just how tasty they are.

According to the study, gestational diabetes can affect 10-25 percent of women worldwide.

Aside from the obvious study results, this suggests another thing I’ve long-been impressed with as it relates to the various commodity-specific groups out there. Groups including the American Pistachio Growers are willing to fund research that points to the healthful benefits these commodities provide in the human diet.

In the case of pistachios – the aforementioned study used only American-grown pistachios. We see how including them in our diet has positive health benefits. Pistachios also hold the American Heart Association “heart heathy” certification which is a positive in this day of focused attention on heart health.

It’s too easy in our age of networking and multitasking to eat properly. We graze the tables at the conventions and drive in for a quick bite from a fast-food joint while driving to a meeting.

Though not an easy driving snack, I recently opted to grab a one-pound bag of pistachios from my kitchen drawer prior to a six-hour road trip rather than later buying something from a mini mart. This could be a call for the pistachio industry to create healthy snacks that include pistachios. Make them easy to grab and go. I’ll buy that.