What are the properties of cashews and how do they affect our health?

The cashew is considered a dried fruit. It is a niche product, since its price is high due to its difficulty in extraction. In the film by Nicolas Cage and Bridge Fonda, It Can Happen To You, a policeman (Nicolas Cage) shares a million pound lottery prize with a waitress, and we see that the first whim that the protagonist decides to treat herself when she finds out that she is delicious is a pot of cashews that tastes really special. Beyond this anecdote, cashews have remarkable health properties and benefits.

The cashew fruit has two parts. The first is a yellowish apple-shaped pseudo fruit, and the second is the nut or dried fruit that we know as cashew. This is found in the lower part of the pseudo fruit and is covered by a shell that must be extracted for consumption.

Cashews have properties and contraindications. Let's review them.

Cashew nuts nutritional information

The benefits of eating cashew nuts are many and varied. The dried fruit, for example, is mostly fat. The cashew has an energy value of around 553 kcal per 100 grams. Rich in minerals, vitamins and fatty acids, it is an extra energy supply that reduces cardiovascular risk, helps lower cholesterol and improves the health of the nervous system and performance.

In addition, thanks to those healthy fats (it must be mentioned at all times that it is a healthy product if they are not eaten fried and with salt), most of which are unsaturated and polyunsaturated and are combined with vegetable proteins and fibre, the cashew is a food with a great satiating effect that can help to avoid snacking between meals, being a healthy snack.

They also have a large presence of minerals, such as iron and magnesium, keys to strengthening the immune system and preventing anaemia.

Among the vitamins we are highlighting are group B and E.

Possible contraindications of cashews

The cashew is one of the most popular nuts because of its flavour and because it is very easy to eat it alone or add it to some dishes, most of them oriental. But, as with everything, the cashew also has its negative aspects. It has a great caloric intake and should be eaten in moderation.

On the other hand, among the contraindications of raw cashews, it is noted that they cannot be consumed in that state. This is because the inside of the shell that covers the cashew contains phenolic oil. Consuming it is not beneficial to health, since it is not edible because it contains cardol and anacardial acid, that is why it is always sold cooked with steam (natural) or toasted. The ideal way is to eat them without salts to obtain all their benefits.

Many people are allergic to nuts, so they could be allergic to cashews, which is a precaution to take into account.

The properties of introducing cashews moderately into the diet are very interesting. Thus, we can gain energy and help maintain cholesterol at adequate levels, always supplemented, of course, with other healthy habits such as a varied diet and carrying out some moderate physical activity.