Wednesday 27 March 2013

Cashew Nut Nutrition Facts

Delicately sweet yet crunchy and delicious cashew nut is packed with energy, antioxidants, minerals and vitamins that are essential for robust health! Cashew, or “caju” in Portuguese, is one of the popular ingredients in sweet as well savory dishes worldwide. Botanically, cashew is an average size tropical evergreen tree belonging within the Anacardiaceae family of the genus: Anacardium. Scientific name: Anacardium occidentale.
Cashew nut measures about an inch in length and 1/2 inches in diameter with kidney or bean shape, and smooth curvy pointed tip. Each nut has two equal halves as in legumes. The nuts are cream white color with the firm yet delicate texture and smooth surface. Cashews have buttery texture with a pleasant sweet fruity aroma. 

Health Benefit

The cashew tree’s leaves and bark as well as the popular cashew apple possess herbal health benefits that include killing bacteria and germs, stopping diarrhea, drying secretions, increasing the libido, and reducing fever, blood sugar, blood pressure and body temperature,
Cashews are high in calories. 100 g of nuts provide 553 calories. They are packed with soluble dietary fiber, vitamins, minerals and numerous health-promoting phyto-chemicals that help protect from diseases and cancers.
Cashews are a good source of magnesium and phosphorus. Magnesium plays an important role in the strengthening of the bones and in the activity of enzymes. They also contain iron. Iron is an important part of haemoglobin, an elementary component of red blood cells. Red blood cells transport oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body.

Blood pressure lowering magnesium:

A quarter cup of cashews supplies almost twenty-five percent of the daily requirement for magnesium. Magnesium plays an important role in maintaining a healthy blood pressure and is an important mineral for diabetics because it reduces insulin resistance. Studies have also shown that people who have low magnesium levels are at higher risk of heart disease. Like calcium, magnesium plays an important role in building and maintaining bone health.

Eating Cashews can control weight

 Cashews are high in protein, monounsaturated fats and fiber, they're both filling and satisfying. Studies have shown that people who eat nuts on a daily basis are less likely to gain weight and have a tendency to be thinner, on average, than those who don't. It may be that eating nuts like cashews is so filling that it reduces overall calorie consumption. Cashews should be eaten in moderation since they're energy dense and relatively high in calories.

They're a source of antioxidants

Antioxidants, those free radical scavengers that help to protect cells from damage, are found in abundance in cashews. 

They're rich in copper

Copper is a mineral that the body can't produce so copper rich foods such as cashews are required for good health. A quarter cup of cashews supplies a third of the daily requirement for copper which is needed for maintaining healthy collagen, a substance that lines blood vessels and supports the skin and joints. Copper is also important for helping the body use iron and for production of melanin, the pigment that gives hair its color.

Prevent Gallstones

Data collected on 80,718 women from the Nurses' Health Study demonstrates that women who eat at least an ounce of nuts each week, such as cashews, have a 25% lower risk of developing gallstones.



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