Cashew
nut nutrition facts
Mildly
sweet yet crunchy,
delicious cashew nuts are packed with full of
nutritious compounds, antioxidants, minerals that are essential for
robust health.
Botanically,
cashews belong to
the family of anacardiaceae
of
the genus of Anacardium
and named as Anacardium
occidentale.
The
cashew is an average sized,
evergreen tree native to Brazil’s
Amazon rain forest which spread all over the world by Portuguese
explorers. Today, it is grown commercially in Brazil, Vietnam, and
India and in many African countries.
Cashew
tree bears numerous,
edible, pear
shaped false fruits or
“accessory fruits” called "cashew apples". A small bean shaped, grey
color “true fruit” is firmly adhering to lower end of these apples
appearing like a clapper in the bell. This true fruit is actually a
drupe featuring a hard outer shell enclosing a single seed or “cashew
nut”. The outer shell contains a phenolic resin, which is a potent skin
irritant toxin. It is therefore, the outer shell is subjected to
roasting in the processing unit in order to remove this resin, urushiol
and then,
the cashew nut is taken out.
The nuts feature kidney or bean shape, cream white color, smooth
surface with firm yet delicate in texture.
Health
benefits of Cashew nuts
-
Cashews are packed with
soluble dietary fiber, vitamins, and minerals and packed with numerous
health
promoting phyto-chemicals; that help to protect against diseases and
cancers.
-
Cashews are rich in energy
and nutrients. They are rich in “heart friendly” monounsaturated fatty
acids like oleic
and palmitoleic acids
that help to lower LDL or bad
cholesterol and increase HDL or good cholesterol. Research
studies
suggest that Mediterranean diet that is rich in monounsaturated fatty
acids helps to prevent coronary artery disease and strokes by favoring
healthy blood lipid profile.
-
Cashew
nuts are very rich
source of minerals like manganese, potassium, copper, iron, magnesium,
zinc and selenium. Eat just a handful of cashew nuts every day to avoid
minerals deficiencies. Selenium
is an important micro-nutrient which
functions as co-factor for antioxidant enzymes such as Glutathione
peroxidases, one of the most powerful antioxidant in the body.
Copper
is a cofactor for many vital enzymes, including cytochrome
c-oxidase and superoxide dismutase (other minerals function as
co-factors for this enzyme are manganese and zinc). Zinc
is a co-factor in many enzymes that regulate growth and
development, sperm generation, digestion and nucleic acid synthesis.
-
Cashews are also rich in
many essential vitamins such as pantothenic acid (vitamin B5),
pyridoxine (vitamin B-6), riboflavin and thiamin (vitamin B-1). These
vitamins are essential in the sense that our body requires them from
external sources to replenish and essential for metabolism of protein,
fat and carbohydrates in the body.
-
The nuts are also
containing
good amount of Zea-xanthin,
an important flavonoid antioxidant, which
selectively absorbed into the retinal macula lutea in the eyes. It is
thought to provide antioxidant and protective light-filtering
functions, help prevent age related macular degeneration.
See the table below for in depth analysis
of nutrients:
Cashew nut (Anacardium occidentale),
Nutrition value per 100 g.
(Source: USDA National
Nutrient data base)
| Principle |
Nutrient
Value |
Percentage
of
RDA |
| Energy |
553 Kcal |
28% |
| Carbohydrates |
30.19 g |
23% |
| Protein |
18.22 g |
32.5% |
| Total Fat |
43.85 g |
146% |
| Cholesterol |
0 mg |
0% |
| Dietary
Fiber |
3.3 g |
8.5% |
| Vitamins |
|
|
| Folates |
25 mcg |
6% |
| Niacin |
1.062 mg |
6.5% |
| Pantothenic
acid |
0.864 mg |
17% |
| Pyridoxine |
0.417 mg |
32% |
| Riboflavin |
0.058 mg |
4.5% |
| Thiamin |
0.423 mg |
35% |
| Vitamin A |
0 IU |
0% |
| Vitamin C |
0.5 |
1% |
| Vitamin E |
5.31 mg |
35% |
| Vitamin K |
4.1 |
28% |
| Electrolytes |
|
|
| Sodium |
12 mg |
1% |
| Potassium |
660 mg |
14% |
| Minerals |
|
|
| Calcium |
37 mg |
4% |
| Copper |
2.195 mg |
244% |
| Iron |
6.68 mg |
83.5% |
| Magnesium |
292 mg |
73% |
| Manganese |
1.655 mg |
72% |
| Phosphorus |
593 mg |
85% |
| Selenium |
19.9 mcg |
36% |
| Zinc |
5.78 mg |
52.5% |
| Phyto-nutrients |
|
|
| Carotene-β |
0 mcg |
-- |
| Crypto-xanthin-β |
0 mcg |
-- |
| Lutein-zeaxanthin |
22
mcg
|
-- |
Selection and
storage
Cashew
nuts are available in
the markets year around. In the store,
only un-shelled cashews are made available since shell contains
phenolic resin, urushiol which is a potent skin
irritant toxin.
Different
forms of cashews are
available like raw, salted,
sweetened or grounded etc. Buy whole un-shelled raw nuts instead of
processed ones. The nuts should feature bright ivory-white in color,
compact, uniform in size and feel heavy in hand. They should be free
from cracks, molds, and spots and free of rancid smell.
Store unshelled nuts inside airtight container and place in the
refrigerator to avoid them turn rancid.
Culinary use
- Cashews
are eaten as a
snack either on its own, salted or sweetened.
- Cashews
are nutty yet
pleasantly sweet in taste. They are relished as garnish in sweets and
desserts.
- Cashews,
along with
almonds and other dry fruits are being used in various rice dishes hyderbadi-biriyani,
pulao etc and in curry
preparations in Indian, Pakistani
and middle east region.
- Along
with almonds, they
often sprinkled over desserts, particularly sundaes and other ice cream
based preparations.
- They
are widely used in
confectionery, as an addition to biscuits, sweets and cakes.
- "Cashew apples" are
popular fruits; eaten on its own in many regions of the world. They are
also being used to make liquors.
Safety profile
Cashew nut allergy is common in some individuals, especially in
children. The reaction symptoms may range from simple skin itching
(hives) to severe form anaphylactic manifestations including breathing
difficulty, pain abdomen, vomiting and diarrhea.
The allergic manifestations are due to chemical compound anacardic acid
(urushiol) that is present in cashew apples, shells and nuts. Cross
reactions also occurs with some other nuts and fruits of anacardiaceae
family such as mango, pistachio etc.
Individuals with known allergic reactions to nuts and fruits may
observe caution while eating cashews.
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Further reading:
Refer Stanford School of Medicine
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information Page-
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to Reduce Cancer Risk (Opens
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