11 Health Benefits of Cashew Nuts
Cashew seems to be the most nutritious nuts in the world. Cashew nuts are delicious, sweet and crunchy in taste. Its shape is similar to human organ known as kidney. It is used as raw, baked, roasted, shakes, juices, sauces, desserts, cakes and cookies. Its fruit contains five time more vitamin C than oranges.
Cashew is a tree crop of considerable economic importance to Nigeria and other tropical countries. Apart from being a source of useful products and byproducts for food, medicinal and industrial applications, cashew gives also a useful shade, while ornamental and alley trees are suitable for the control of soil erosion, particularly for the protection of watersheds and dams. Cashew nuts are packed with Vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B9, E, K, beta-carotene, calcium, sodium, magnesium, selenium, phosphorus, iron, zinc, potassium, copper and oleic acid. That’s why cashew nuts possess a large number of health benefits, which can be read below:
1. Cashew nuts are very low in fat. The presence of fat in cashew nuts are mostly unsaturated fatty acids, in which 75% are oelic acid similarly found in olive oils. These types of fat helps to decrease the LDL (Bad) cholesterol level of the body and increase the HDL (Good) cholesterol level of the body to protect from heart attack, strokes and clots.
2. The presence of copper in it, required for the production of hemoglobin thus preventing anemia. It also needed for the production of melanin, which is responsible for the color of your skin and hair. It also protect our body to fight with free radical damages.
3. The presence of magnesium in cashew nuts is required for the proper functions of your nerves, muscles and immune system. It also helps to regulate the blood pressure and good for strong and healthy bones development.
4. Calcium and phosphorous in it, required for the building of healthy bones and teeth.
5. Potassium in it helps to lowering the high blood pressure and relax the blood vessels.
6. They are the excellent source of iron, which is required for the formation of hemoglobin (Red blood cells) and work as a transporter to carry oxygen from the lungs to throughout the body.
7. Cashew nuts are ripe with a strong flavanoid called proanthocyanidins, which combat with the growth of cancer and tumor cells to reduce the risk of colon cancer.
8. Eating 8 to 10 cashew nuts on daily basis helps to reduce the risk of developing gallstones.
9. Cashew nut contains high quality fat other than almonds, peanuts, pecans and walnuts in the ratio of 1:2:1 for saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated respectively, which seems to be very good for health. They are energy dense and high in dietary fibers also, so they are the best for weight watchers. So it is the best for those who want to lose weight.
10. Cashew nuts contains zinc, which is beneficial for the growth or development of the body, sperm production, better digestion system and nucleic acid synthesis.
11. According to clinical researches done in India, it is clear that the high amount of mono-unsaturated fat is also found in diabetic patients to work beneficially for their lipid profile. Cashew nuts also helps to reduce the further sugar and cholesterol related complications in the patients, thus cashew nuts protect from developing type 2 diabetes.
You can also check the nutritional values of cashew nuts as follows:
