Cashews are packed with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. These include vitamins E, K, and B6, along with minerals like copper, phosphorous, zinc, magnesium, iron, and selenium, all of which are important for maintaining good bodily function.
Hanging from the branches are large juicy apples at the bottom of which are attached the cashew nut. Made available round the year, the nut has a great shelf life if stored properly. The nut and the fruit, both have multiple uses.
The nut, often known as the poor man’s plantation although now it is sold for steep prices is used to make delectable and rich curries and also roasted and eaten dry.
Contrary to the popular belief that it can make you gain fat, a considerable amount of cashews in your diet can provide you with many health benefits:
Here are the 6 benefits of eating cashew nuts below:
1. Improves your heart health
Eating more cashews can lower your risk of heart diseases. This happens by reducing blood pressure and “bad” cholesterol. Nuts are naturally cholesterol-free and contain good amounts of heart-healthy fats, fibre, and protein.
They also contain arginine, which protects the inner lining of artery walls. Other vitamins and minerals in nuts, like potassium, vitamins E and B6, and folic acid, also help to fight heart disease.
2. Helps you lose weight
Two servings of nuts is helpful in fighting against cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer. Eating cashew is an excellent way to manage your weight and reduce the build-up of fat and cholesterol in the heart.
3. Prevents blood disease
The consumption of cashews on a regular basis and limited manner may help in avoiding blood diseases. Cashew nuts are rich in copper, which plays an important role in the elimination of free radicals from the body. Copper deficiency can lead to iron deficiencies such as anemia. Hence our diet should contain recommended quantity of copper. And cashew nuts are a good source.
4. Blood health
Copper and iron found in cashews help the body form and utilize red blood cells which in turn keeps blood vessels, nerves, the immune system, and bones healthy and functioning properly.
5. Helps reduce the risk of diabetes
The low amounts of sugar and cholesterol in cashews makes them safe for diabetic patients and even helps in lowering the risk of type 2 diabetes.
6. Anti-Cancer agent
Research has shown that the wealth of antioxidants like anacardic acids, cardanols, and cardols in cashews make them effective for people undergoing treatments for tumour and cancer.
