Cashew Nut: Benefits, Recommendations, History and Quick Consumption Ideas

With delicate flavor is one of the favorites among the food snacks.

They can be easily found at your local market throughout the year. It is also a wonderful nut butter and unique addition to salads and stir-fry dishes.

Cashews are kidney-shaped seeds that stick to the bottom of the cashew nut, the fruit of the cashew tree, which is native to the coastal areas of northeastern Brazil.

Although cashew apples are not appreciated in the United States, they are considered delicacies in Brazil and the Caribbean.

Cashews are always sold in shells because the inside of the bodies contains a caustic resin, known as cashew balsam, which must be carefully removed before the nuts are ready for consumption.

This caustic resin is used in industry to make varnishes and insecticides.

Benefits in health

Protein monounsaturated fats of the heart

Cashews not only have a lower fat content than most nuts, but approximately 82% of their fat are unsaturated fatty acids, plus about 66% of this content of unsaturated fatty acids are heart-healthy monounsaturated fats, similar to those found in olive oil.

 

Studies of diabetic patients show that monounsaturated fat, when added to a low-fat diet, can help reduce high triglyceride levels.

Triglycerides are a way fats are transported in the blood, and high triglycerides are associated with an increased risk of heart disease, so make sure you have some monounsaturated fats in your diet while enjoying cashews is a good idea, especially for people with diabetes.

Several types of research around the world have identified that several nuts are among the plant foods with the highest total antioxidant content, suggesting that the nuts’ high antioxidant content may be critical to their cardioprotective benefits.

The high antioxidant content of nuts helps explain the observed results. The risk of death from cardiovascular and coronary diseases showed substantial and constant reductions with increased nut/peanut butter consumption.

Total mortality rates decreased by 11% and 19% for nut/peanut butter intake once a week and 1-4 times per week, respectively.

A review study of the evidence linking nuts and the lower risk of coronary heart disease was even more impressive.

When the evidence from the four most important studies conducted by leading-edge countries was combined in this type of technology, subjects who consumed nuts at least four times per week showed a 37% lower risk of coronary heart disease than those who never or rarely ate nuts.

Each additional serving of nuts per week was associated with an average risk of 8.3% coronary heart disease.

Practical tip: To reduce the risk of cardiovascular and coronary heart disease, enjoy a handful of cashews or other nuts, or a dollop of nut butter, at least four times a week.

Antioxidant defenses

An essential component of many enzymes, copper plays a role in a wide range of physiological processes, including iron, eliminating free radicals, the development of bone and connective tissue, and the production of pigment for skin and hair. Melanin.

For example, copper is an essential component of the enzyme superoxide dismutase, which is critical to producing energy and antioxidant defenses.

Copper is also necessary for lysyl oxidase, an enzyme involved in cross-linking collagen and elastin, which provide the fundamental substance and flexibility in blood vessels, bones, and joints.

The low dietary intake of copper may also be associated with increased production of fecal free radicals and alkaline phosphatase activity in fecal water, risk factors for colon cancer.

Numerous health problems can develop when inadequate copper intake, including iron deficiency, anemia, rupture of blood vessels, osteoporosis, joint problems such as rheumatoid arthritis, brain disorders, high (bad) cholesterol, and reduced cholesterol levels ( good), irregular heartbeat and increased susceptibility to infections.

Cashews help bone health.

Everyone knows calcium is necessary for our bones, but magnesium is vital for healthy bones.

About two-thirds of the magnesium in the human body is found in our bones.

Some help give the bones their physical structure, while the rest is on the surface of the bone where it is stored so that the body turns to the need.

Magnesium, by balancing calcium, helps regulate muscle and nervous tone.

In many nerve cells, magnesium acts as a blocker of calcium channels in nature, preventing calcium from entering the nerve cell and activating the nerve.

By blocking calcium entry, magnesium keeps our nerves relaxed (and the blood vessels and muscles weakening).

However, if our diet gives us too little magnesium, calcium can gain space, and the nerve cell can become overactive, sending too many messages and causing excessive contraction.

Insufficient magnesium intake can contribute to high blood pressure, muscle spasms (including spasms) of the heart muscle, or asthmatic airway spasms) and migraine headaches, muscle cramps, tension, pain, and fatigue.

Because of these effects, it is not surprising that studies have shown that magnesium helps reduce the frequency of migraine attacks, lowers blood pressure, helps prevent heart attacks, promotes standard sleep patterns in women with menopausal sleep disorders, and reduces the severity of asthma.

Prevention of gallstones

Twenty years of dietary data collected in 80,000 women from the Nurses’ Health Study show that women who eat less than 1 ounce of walnuts, peanuts, or peanut butter each week have a 25% lower risk of developing gallstones.

Since 1 ounce contains only 28.6 nuts or about two tablespoons of nut butter, preventing gallbladder disease can be as easy as preparing a cashew butter and jelly sandwich (be sure to use whole wheat bread for your fiber, vitamins, and minerals) for lunch every week, eat a couple of cashews in the afternoon, pick me up or pour cashews over the oatmeal or salad.

Eating nuts reduces the risk of weight gain.

Although walnuts are known to provide various cardiovascular protection benefits, many avoid them for fear of weight gain.

A prospective study published in “Obesity” shows that these fears are unfounded.

People who eat nuts at least twice a week are much less likely to gain weight than those who rarely eat nuts.

The 28-month study involving 8,865 adult men and women in Spain found that participants who ate walnuts at least twice per week were 31% less likely to gain weight than participants who never or rarely ate walnuts.

And among the study participants who gained weight, those who never or rarely ate walnuts gained more (an average of 424 g more).

The authors concluded that “frequent consumption of nuts was associated with a lower risk of weight gain (5 kg or more).

These results support the recommendation of nut consumption as an essential component of a cardioprotective diet and dispel fears of possible weight gain.

Do not let worry about gaining weight keep you from enjoying the delicious flavor and many health benefits of nuts.

recommendations

  • Spread some nut butter in your morning meal. Remember how many childhood lunches involved a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?
  •  Update your children’s lunchbox by spreading organic peanut butter and concord grape gelatin on whole-wheat bread.
  • Fill a stick of celery with walnut butter for an afternoon pick-up.
  • Sprinkle a handful of nuts on your morning cereal, salad for lunch, and steamed vegetable dinner.
  • Enjoy a handful of lightly roasted nuts as a healthy snack.

History

The Cashew is native to the coastal areas of Brazil.

In the 16th century, Portuguese explorers took cashew nuts from this South American country and introduced them to other tropical regions such as India and some African countries, which are now also cultivated.

Cashew has always been an appreciated resource due to its precious wood, Cashew and Cashew, but the cashew tree did not gain popularity until the 20th century.

Some quick ideas

  • Combining cashews with other nuts and dried fruits is a healthy snack.
  • Just before removing the heat, add cashews to the sautéed healthy vegetables. Sautéed healthy cashews with shrimp, basil, and green beans for a delicious Thai-inspired dish.
  • Cashews with a bit of maple syrup are an excellent complement to hot cereals.
  • Add the cashew butter to the breakfast of soy milk or rice to increase its protein content (a quarter-fruit of cashews provides more than 5 grams of protein) and gives them a creamy, nutty flavor.
  • In a pan over medium-low heat, mix the cashew butter with soy sauce, cayenne pepper, garlic, ginger, and water to make a wonderful sauce for fish, vegetables, tofu, or rice. To roast cashew nuts at home, do so carefully, in an oven (around 75 ° C) for 15-20 minutes to preserve healthy oils.

Individual concerns

Oxalis content

It has been consistently determined that algae have a high oxalate content.

Oxalates are natural organic acids found in a wide variety of foods. In the case of certain medical conditions, they must be very restricted in a meal plan to prevent excessive accumulation within the body.

Our complete article on oxalates will provide practical and detailed information about these organic acids, food, and health.

Food allergies

Walnuts, like cashew nuts, are among the eight food types considered the world’s leading food allergens that require identification on food labels.