Effects of Pistachios on Cardiovascular Responses to Stress in Type 2 Diabetes

This study will last approximately 12 weeks and will require you to make ten visits to the
Research Clinic on the University Park campus: 1 screening exam, 3 ultrasound visits each
lasting one hour, 3 glucose tolerance test visits lasting 2 hours, and 3 stress visits
lasting 2.5 hours. It will also require you to eat one meal on campus every day, Monday
through Friday. For this study, you will be consuming a run-in diet (western diet) for two
weeks then two different diets for 4 week periods at a time. All meals and snacks will be
provided to you throughout the course of the study and no foods outside of those provided
can be consumed during the diet period. Also, there are limits on both alcohol and caffeine
consumption during the study. There is a 2 week break between the diet periods (not between
the run-in and first diet period), during which you can eat whatever you would like.

Inclusion Criteria:

- Healthy, nonsmoking adults, aged 30-70 years (women must be post-menopausal)

- Diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes at least six months prior

Exclusion Criteria:

- Insulin, blood pressure lowering, daily aspirin, NSAID therapy, oral steroids within
the last 6 weeks, oral contraceptives, and hormone replacement therapy

- Chronic disease such as cardiovascular disease or any complications of diabetes
(retinopathy, neuropathy, etc).

- Allergies or aversions to pistachios

- Unwillingness to consume all foods provided and no other meals or snacks for the 8
weeks of diet intervention