Health Benefits
Heart-Protective
Monounsaturated Fats
Not only do cashews have a lower
fat content than most other nuts, approximately 82% of their fat is unsaturated
fatty acids, plus about 66% of this unsaturated fatty acid content 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 to reduce high triglyceride levels. Triglycerides are
a form in which fats are carried in the blood, and high triglyceride levels are
associated with an increased risk for heart disease, so ensuring you have some
monounsaturated fats in your diet by enjoying cashews is a good idea,
especially for persons with diabetes.
Crazy about Your Heart? Go Nuts
Research
published in the British Journal of Nutrition (Blomhoff R,
Carlsen MH), which identified several nuts among plant foods with the highest
total antioxidant content, suggests nut's high antioxidant content may be key
to their cardio-protective benefits.Nuts' high antioxidant content helps explain results seen in the Iowa Women's Health Study in which risk of death from cardiovascular and coronary heart diseases showed strong and consistent reductions with increasing nut/peanut butter consumption. Total death rates decreased 11% and 19% for nut/peanut butter intake once per week and 1-4 times per week, respectively.
Even more impressive were the results of a review study of the evidence linking nuts and lower risk of coronary heart disease, also published in the British Journal of Nutrition. (Kelly JH, Sabate J.) In this study, researchers looked at four large prospective epidemiological studies—the Adventist Health Study, Iowa Women's Study, Nurses' Health Study and the Physician's Health Study. When evidence from all four studies was combined, subjects consuming nuts at least 4 times a week showed a 37% reduced risk of coronary heart disease compared to those who never or seldom ate nuts. Each additional serving of nuts per week was associated with an average 8.3% reduced risk of coronary heart disease.
Practical Tip: To lower your risk of cardiovascular and coronary heart disease, enjoy a handful of cashews or other nuts, or a tablespoon of nut butter, at least 4 times a week.
Copper
for Antioxidant Defenses, Energy Production, Bones and Blood Vessels
An essential component of many
enzymes, copper plays a role in a wide range of physiological processes
including iron utilization, elimination of free radicals, development of bone
and connective tissue, and the production of the skin and hair pigment called
melanin. For example, copper is an essential component of the enzyme, superoxide
dismutase, which is important in energy production and antioxidant
defenses. Copper is also necessary for the activity of lysyl oxidase,
an enzyme involved in cross-linking collagen and elastin, both of which provide
the ground substance and flexibility in blood vessels, bones and joints. Low
dietary intake of copper may also be associated with increased fecal free
radical production and fecal water alkaline phosphatase activity, risk factors
for colon cancer.Numerous health problems can develop when copper intake is inadequate, including iron deficiency anemia, ruptured blood vessels, osteoporosis, joint problems such as rheumatoid arthritis, brain disturbances, elevated LDL (bad) cholesterol and reduced HDL (good) cholesterol levels, irregular heartbeat, and increased susceptibility to infections.
Bone
Up and Relax with Cashews
Everyone knows that calcium is
necessary for strong bones, but magnesium is also vital for healthy bones.
About two-thirds of the magnesium in the human body is found in our bones. Some
helps give bones their physical structure, while the rest is found on the
surface of the bone where it is stored for the body to draw upon as needed.Magnesium, by balancing calcium, helps regulate nerve and muscle tone. In many nerve cells, magnesium serves as Nature's own calcium channel blocker, preventing calcium from rushing into the nerve cell and activating the nerve. By blocking calcium's entry, magnesium keeps our nerves (and the blood vessels and muscles they ennervate) relaxed. If our diet provides us with too little magnesium, however, calcium can gain free entry, and the nerve cell can become overactivated, sending too many messages and causing excessive contraction.
Insufficient magnesium can thus contribute to high blood pressure, muscle spasms (including spasms of the heart muscle or the spasms of the airways symptomatic of asthma), and migraine headaches, as well as muscle cramps, tension, soreness and fatigue. Given these effects, it is not surprising that studies have shown magnesium helps reduce the frequency of migraine attacks, lowers blood pressure, helps prevent heart attacks, promotes normal sleep patterns in women suffering from menopausal sleep disturbances, and reduces the severity of asthma.
Help Prevent Gallstones
Twenty
years of dietary data collected on 80,000 women from the Nurses' Health Study
shows that women who eat least 1 ounce of nuts, peanuts or peanut butter each
week have a 25% lower risk of developing gallstones. Since 1 ounce is only 28.6
nuts or about 2 tablespoons of nut butter, preventing gallbladder disease may
be as easy as packing one cashew butter and jelly sandwich (be sure to use
whole wheat bread for its fiber, vitamins and minerals) for lunch each week,
having a handful of cashews as an afternoon pick me up, or tossing some cashews
on your oatmeal or salad.
Eating Nuts Lowers Risk
of Weight Gain
Although
nuts are known to provide a variety of cardio-protective benefits, many avoid
them for fear of weight gain. A prospective study published in the
journal Obesity shows such fears are groundless. In fact,
people who eat nuts at least twice a week are much less likely
to gain weight than those who almost never eat nuts.The 28-month study involving 8,865 adult men and women in Spain, found that participants who ate nuts at least two times per week were 31% less likely to gain weight than were participants who never or almost never ate nuts.
And, among the study participants who gained weight, those who never or almost never ate nuts gained more (an average of 424 g more) than those who ate nuts at least twice weekly.
Study authors concluded, "Frequent nut consumption was associated with a reduced risk of weight gain (5 kg or more). These results support the recommendation of nut consumption as an important component of a cardioprotective diet and also allay fears of possible weight gain."
Practical Tip: Don't let concerns about gaining weight prevent you from enjoying the delicious taste and many health benefits of nuts.
- Spread some nut
butter on your morning toast or bagel.
- Remember how
many great childhood lunches involved a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?
Upgrade that lunchbox favorite by spreading organic peanut butter and
concord grape jelly on whole wheat bread.
- Fill a celery
stick with nut butter for an afternoon pick-me-up.
- Sprinkle a
handful of nuts over your morning cereal, lunchtime salad, dinner's
steamed vegetables.
- Or just enjoy a
handful of lightly roasted nuts as a healthy snack.
Description
Cashew nuts are actually seeds
that adhere to the bottom of the cashew apple, the fruit of the cashew tree,
which is native to the coastal areas of northeastern Brazil. Cashew apples,
while not known in the U.S., are regarded as delicacies in Brazil and the
Carribean. The seed we know as the kidney-shaped cashew "nut" is
delicate in flavor and firm, but slightly spongy, in texture.You have probably noticed that cashews in the shell are not available in stores. This is because these nuts are always sold pre-shelled since the interior of their shells contains a caustic resin, known as cashew balm, which must be carefully removed before they are fit for consumption. This caustic resin is actually used in industry to make varnishes and insecticides.
Cashews, known scientifically as Anacardium occidentale, belong to the same family as the mango and pistachio nut.
History
The cashew tree is native to
coastal areas of Brazil. In the 16th century, Portuguese explorers took cashew
trees from this South American country and introduced them into other tropical
regions such as India and some African countries, where they are now also
cultivated. The cashew tree has always been a prized resource owing to its
precious wood, cashew balm and cashew apple, but the cashew nut itself did not
gain popularity until the beginning of the 20th century. Today, the leading
commercial producers of cashews are India, Brazil, Mozambique, Tanzania and
Nigeria.
How to Select and Store
Cashews are generally available
in prepackaged containers as well as bulk bins. Just as with any other food
that you may purchase in the bulk section, make sure that the bins containing
the cashews are covered and that the store has a good product turnover so as to
ensure its maximal freshness. Whether purchasing cashews in bulk or in a
packaged container, make sure that there is no evidence of moisture or insect
damage and that they are not shriveled. If it is possible to smell the cashews,
do so in order to ensure that they are not rancid.Due to their high content of oleic acid, cashews are more stable than most other nuts but should still be stored in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator, where they will keep for about six months, or in the freezer, where they will keep for about one year. Cashew butter should always be refrigerated once it is opened.
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