Cashew can be consumed in various ways – raw cashews, fried/roasted/steamed cashews, cashew butter, cashew oil, salted cashews, cashew milk, cashew kernels, and so on. To clear the confusion among nuts, you should know, are cashews healthy? This is a common query as the nut consumption is increasing.
The health benefits of cashews are numerous based on the form that you are consuming. It helps maintain a healthy weight, blood sugar, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and bone health. Cashew nuts can also help prevent cardiovascular disease, boost your immune system and brain health, and maintain systolic blood pressure.
The cashew tree is the truly raw cashews provider. Eating cashews are undoubtedly healthy, but cashew nut consumption must be controlled. Consuming nuts should be a dietary habit with precautions!
What Is Cashew?
Cashew, mostly known as ‘cashew nuts’ though they are not precisely nuts, is a seed from an evergreen tree or shrub belonging to the sumac family. These seeds are rich in oil and famous for their distinctive flavor.
They are commonly used in the cuisine of South and Southeast Asia. South Indians use them in numerous vegetarian and chicken dishes. However, in the western part of the world, people take cashew nuts as a snack rich in premium quality protein.
The fruit that contains the seed is called Cashew Apple and looks like a bean or kidney-shaped nuts. It consists of 2 shells. The outer one is thin and smooth, while the inner one is hard. This inner shell needs to be cracked to get the edible seed. Cashew apples can be used in preparing jams, jellies, and even beverages!
Food Value Of Cashew
People use cashew on a topping, in a sauce, or butter as a popular snack item. People prefer them for their versatile flavor. Eat nuts to make your diet rich.
Not only the taste but the nutritional value of cashew is also mentionable. They are a great source of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated varieties, healthy fats, etc.
These are also a decent source of protein. You may also find necessary Magnesium, Manganese, Phosphorus, Vitamin B6, Vitamin K, Zinc, and so on in cashew nuts.
However, 01 ounces (~28 grams) of unsalted and unroasted cashews will contain the following nutrients:
- Calories: 157
- Carbs: 9 grams
- Copper: 67% of the Daily Value (DV)
- Fat: 12 grams
- Fiber: 1 gram
- Iron: 11% of the DV
- Magnesium: 20% of the DV
- Manganese: 20% of the DV
- Phosphorus: 13% of the DV
- Protein: 5 grams
- Selenium: 10% of the DV
- Thiamine: 10% of the DV
- Vitamin B6: 7% of the DV
- Vitamin K: 8% of the DV
- Zinc: 15% of the DV
Are Cashews Good For Weight Loss?
According to Consultant Nutritionist Dr. Rupali Datta, Cashew nuts do not contribute to weight gain unless taken in excess. Instead, it helps lose weight.
The basic limit is 5-10 cashew nuts a day based on your body and food habits. Though most nuts with fat are considered to contribute to fattening, Cashew carries healthy fats to keep your cholesterol low and heart healthy.
Moreover, the fiber content in Cashew keeps a person satiated for quite a while and also prevents hunger cravings, which ensures less food consumption.
Are Cashews Good For Your Heart?
You may consider cashew nuts for maintaining your heart health. The healthy fats (triglycerides) help you keep your cholesterol low. Hence, as they contain copper, that might help you reduce the potential risk of generating heart diseases (developing blood clots).
Cashew consumption may even work on maintaining your blood pressure levels. The responsible ingredients for these are omega-3 fatty acids, unsaturated fats, fiber, and vitamin E in Cashew. They also help you improve the arteries lining health.
Cashew Nuts Benefits For Male
As zinc is abundant in Cashew, consuming Cashew significantly impacts a male. Zinc is vital to increase your sperm count and even fertility chances.
Again, regular consumption of cashews also helps control your weight and diabetes, which eventually improves male fertility.
Apart from these, eating cashews may also help a man generate erections. And this will no doubt make sex life better.
Cashew also works on maintaining healthy muscle for men, including preventing the potential threat of prostate cancer. If you want to boost testosterone levels, you may take cashews into your diet.
Other Benefits
Prevention of cardiovascular diseases, maintaining blood pressure, controlling diabetes, helping in weight control, and preventing prostate cancer are only some of the miraculous benefits of consuming cashews.
Besides increasing testosterone levels and fertility chances, there are many more positive sides to eating cashew nuts.
They also take part in boosting your immunity, helping strengthen bones, and promoting brain functions to some great extent. Cashew is also beneficial for eye health, hair growth, and skincare if appropriately taken.
You may think, ‘are roasted cashews good for you?’. The answer is yes! Rather it is recommended not to take raw Cashew as one of the ingredients of raw Cashew may result in skin allergy.
What Happens If You Eat Cashews Every Day?
Eating cashews on a daily basis is a good habit of diet, provided that the limit must be maintained. Intake of excess Cashew might leave you in an unwanted situation like low blood pressure at a sick level and so on.
Cashew is healthy enough if and only if consumed correctly. Roasted and salted Cashew from different providers may contain mentionable fat. So, you have to keep your eyes open.
Considering your body and dietary habits, the answer to how many cashews I can eat a day is roughly 5-10 pieces a day.
However, if you take excess cashews, the answer for are cashews fattening will appear positive. But if taken in a controlled way, cashews are not fattening.
Are Cashews Bad For You?
The side effects of eating too many cashew nuts are based on different circumstances. But if the consumption is controlled, Cashew won’t harm you.
Is Cashew bad for cholesterol? – No! Rather it helps maintain cholesterol.
On the other hand, if you have a nut allergy, it is recommended not to take cashew nuts. It may affect your skin and digestion.
Hence, raw Cashew might be toxic. It is preferred to roast, steam, or fry cashews before consumption. The best way is to roast cashews at home without oil.
The fat in cashews is healthy but must be maintained at low consumption. Be aware of salt and oil from salted and roasted cashews from different brands.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Is Cashew a nut or fruit?
The cashews we refer to are basically seeds, neither truly nuts nor fruits.
Is Cashew an apple?
The cashew fruit is called the cashew apple. And the seed inside the cashew apple, we call it cashew nut.
Can cashews be eaten daily?
The answer is yes! But maintain the consumption and try not to exceed one ounce (28.35 grams) of Cashew a day unless you depend on Cashew for a particular reason and as suggested by a nutritionist.
