cashews nutrition facts: property, benefits, nutritional value, calories, uses and contraindications

Belonging to the category of so-called dry fruits, cashew nuts are an excellent source of vegetable protein and minerals, including calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium and phosphorus. Let's find out the properties of cashew nuts, the health benefits and possible contraindications.

Cashews: general characteristics

Cashews are the seeds produced from the cashew plant, whose scientific name is Western Anacardium. The plant, native to Brazil, belongs to the Anacardiaceae family and its name comes from the Greek word kardia meaning heart and indicates precisely the shape of the fruit which is reminiscent of an inverted heart. To discover this plant were the Portuguese in 1578, who later introduced in the sixteenth century in western India and eastern regions of Africa. The plant cashew, modest in size, reaches an average height of about 8 meters.

Cashew produces two fruits: a fresh, called apple cashew, known in Brazil as apple cashew, and one said dry almond or hazelnut cashew, known in Brazil as the cashew nut or almond cashew . The first is a false fruit, since it is just an extension of the zoomed pedicle, is smooth and has the shape of a small pepper or a small apple color sometimes red, yellow or green. The second is the true fruit, a kind of nut equipped with a with a hard coating that contains inside an oil seed.

The transformation of cashew nuts is complex, and this explains the high cost of cashews on the European market. In fact, the shell nut oil contains an irritant, the caustic and resin, to avoid that this may contaminate the seed if it breaks, which must be eliminated with heat and then extracted with care. Thus, even in the cashew nuts are roasted and then shelled almost every hand. Then he proceeds to the scalding of the fruit to easily eliminate the dark film that covers it. The perfect preservation of the cashew is obtained by placing a vacuum: if you leave for a long time exposed to air rancid quickly.

Cashew Nuts: properties and benefits

Particularly beneficial and significant nutritional and healing properties, cashews are a suitable food for the body's health. Its anti-inflammatory properties, given by the presence of selenium, allow to counteract the joint pain: selenium is in fact a very important micronutrient, while its antioxidant properties, due to the considerable amount of copper, allow to combat free radicals. The action of free radicals is also countered by good amount of iron present in the cashews, which is also very important for the health of the whole organism. In addition, the antioxidant properties of cashew nuts are a great help for the heart and prevent the risk of heart disease. E 'it was found that eating cashews at least 4 times a week by 37% reduces the risk of coronary heart disease. The high copper content and the presence of proanthocyanidins, an important class of flavonols, give the cashew important anticancer properties, and act in particular against colon cancer. And with good source of magnesium, cashew nuts have beneficial properties also in the regulation of blood pressure and controlling effectively high cholesterol.

Finally, the restorative properties act on the nervous system by activating the cells and keeping nerves and blood vessels and muscles relaxed, also thanks to the high magnesium content. Cashews contain zeaxanthin, an important pigment with extraordinary antioxidant properties, which also has the power to filter out UVA rays on the retina, thus preventing the typical old age ocular degeneration.

Notable benefits from cashew nuts, thanks to the good amount of minerals such as potassium, phosphorus, sodium, magnesium, zinc, copper, manganese, selenium, iron, and many vitamins such as those of group B (B1, B2, B3, B5 and B6 ), vitamin K, and a small percentage, vitamin C and vitamin E.

For starters, the cashews are beneficial to patients with type 2 diabetes: In fact, according to a study at the University of Montreal  cashew nuts are beneficial in the case of type 2 diabetes because they are able to help muscle cells to absorb sugars. Cashews also reduce cholesterol, thanks to the significant amount of monounsaturated fatty acids such as oleic acid and palmitic acid, essential components to reduce bad cholesterol and HDL to increase the proportion of good cholesterol LDL. In addition, the tryptophan content in cashew is an essential amino acid precursor of serotonin, the hormone of good mood and one of the most important neurotransmitters in the body. Serotonin gives a feeling of well-being and relaxation and well-being and has a profound effect on mood, sexuality, appetite and body temperature. Why cashew nuts are considered of very effective antidepressants and antianxiety details that help the physical and mental wellbeing. In addition, tryptophan is considered an appetite suppressant, and has the power to calm the appetite, especially for sweets. Always tryptophan is a precursor of melatonin, a substance produced by the brain that acts on the hypothalamus which benefits the regulation of sleep-wake cycle. In this case, the cashews will help you get a better quality of sleep, especially in the period of menopause. Because of their high content of oleic acid (omega-9), cashew nuts also have a beneficial effect on the cardiovascular system and high cholesterol and regulate blood pressure thanks to magnesium.

Cashews: nutritional values ​​and calories

100 g of cashew nuts contain 598 k cal.

For every 100 g of this product, we have:

    Water 3 g
    33 g carbohydrates
    Protein 15 g
    Fat 46 g
    Cholesterol 0 g
    Total fiber 3 g
    Sodium 16 mg
    Potassium 565 mg
    Iron 6 mg
    Calcium 45 mg
    Phosphorus 490 mg
    Magnesium 260 mg
    6mg zinc
    copper 2mg
    selenium 12μg
    Vitamin B1 0.2 mg
    Vitamin B2 0.2 mg
    Vitamin B3 1 mg

Cashews: all uses

In Italy the Cashew is a fruit not well known and is also little used. Instead, in the oriental cuisine, cashew is widespread, such as in Thailand and China where is famous chicken with cashews. Cashews can be used and consumed in various ways: the best known form is that of roasted and salted cashew nuts as a snack, but they are also excellent in the form of cream such as peanut butter, or in addition to salads, rice and lean meats . Used also in the sweet version, they are excellent for the preparation of cakes and cookies.

Also ideal for the beauty of the skin, the cashew bark has astringent and toning, while flowers, which contain cashew, have tonic properties. The sap is instead used in ink production while the root acts as purgative.

For those wishing to taste the cashews in a different role here is a very tasty recipe, risotto with cashew nuts.

Ingredients: 300 grams of rice for risotto, vegetable broth, half a white onion, 150 grams of cashew nuts, extra virgin olive oil, grated rind of two organic lemons.

Procedure: Toast the cashews in the oven and then chop coarsely; chop the onion and put it to fry in the olive oil, toast the rice and stretch with vegetable broth until cooked. Once the rice has reached the cooking, add the cashew nuts and the grated zest of two lemons.
Cashews: contraindications and side effects

There are no specific contraindications in cashew consumption, but in some sensitive people, especially so in children, can develop allergies. Symptoms can be itchy but also severe anaphylactic events that can lead to breathing difficulties, vomiting and diarrhea. The cause of the allergy is due to acid arachidonic, substance present in other fruits belonging to the same family as the mango and pistachio. So, those who are allergic to cashews may also be allergic to these other fruits.