|
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 µg | 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 mg | 1% |
| Vitamin E | 5.31 mg | 35% |
| Vitamin K | 4.1 µg | 3% |
|
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 µg | 36% |
| Zinc | 5.78 mg | 52.5% |
|
Phyto-nutrients |
||
| Carotene-ß | 0 µg | — |
| Crypto-xanthin-ß | 0 µg | — |
| Lutein-zeaxanthin | 22 µg | – |
Heart Health
Research shows that eating more nuts, such as cashews, can lower your risk for cardiovascular disease. This may occur by reducing blood pressure and “bad” cholesterol levels. Nuts are naturally cholesterol-free and contain good amounts of heart-healthy fats, fiber, 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.
Blood Health
The copper and iron in cashews work together to help the body form and utilize red blood cells. This in turn keeps blood vessels, nerves, the immune system, and bones healthy and functioning properly.
Eye Health
We’ve all heard that carrots are good for your eyes, but it might come as a surprise that cashews are too! They contain high levels of lutein and zeaxanthin, which act as antioxidants when consumed regularly. These compounds protect the eyes from light damage (which can turn into blindness in the elderly), and can even help decrease the instance of cataracts.
Weight Loss
According to Harvard research, two servings of nuts a day is helpful in fighting against cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer. Replacing animal fats and proteins with the mono-and polyunsaturated fats found in cashews is an excellent way to manage your weight and reduce the build-up of fat and cholesterol in the heart.
What About the Fat?
Lower Your Diabetes Risk?
Cashews might be beneficial to the health of people with type 2 diabetes, according to one study. Eating more nuts has been shown to reverse and reduce the health risks associated with the condition. Cashews contain a lot of vitamins and nutrients, but they also contain a lot of fat. The good news is that these fats are mostly monounsaturated and polyunsaturated. When substituted for saturated fats and eaten in moderation, mono- and polyunsaturated fats can help improve heart disease as well as reduce the risk for stroke and prevent weight gain.
Polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats also contribute vitamin E to the diet. Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant that is great for promoting positive cell growth and overall health in the human body.
What’s in a Bag of Nuts?
A small bag of cashews (about 40-50grams) contains about 235 calories and 14.5 µg of vitamin K, which is important for blood clotting. It also contains 0.4 mg of vitamin E, which is important for immune system function and can even help protect against prostate cancer.
Health benefits of Cashew nuts
- Cashews are high in calories. 100 g of nuts provide 553 calories. They are packed with soluble dietary fiber, vitamins, minerals and numerous health-promoting phyto-chemicals that help protect from diseases and cancers.
- They are rich in “heart-friendly” monounsaturated-fatty acids like oleic, and palmitoleic acids. These essential fatty acids help lower harmful LDL-cholesterol while increasing good HDL cholesterol in the blood. Research studies suggest that Mediterranean diet which is rich in monounsaturated fatty acids help to prevent coronary artery disease and strokes by favoring healthy blood lipid profile.
- Cashew nuts are abundant sources of essential minerals. Minerals, especially manganese, potassium, copper, iron, magnesium, zinc, and selenium are concentrated in these nuts. A handful of cashew nuts a day in the diet would provide enough of these minerals and may help prevent deficiency diseases. Selenium is an important micronutrient, which functions as a co-factor for antioxidant enzymes such as Glutathione peroxidases, one of the most powerful antioxidants 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 for many enzymes that regulate growth and development, gonadal function, digestion, and DNA (nucleic acid) synthesis.
- Cashews are also good in many essential vitamins such as pantothenic acid (vitamin B5), pyridoxine (vitamin B-6), riboflavin, and thiamin (vitamin B-1). 100 g nuts provide 0.147 mg or 32% of daily-recommended levels of pyridoxine. Pyridoxine reduces the risk of homocystinuria, and sideroblasticanemia. Niacin helps prevent “pellagra” or dermatitis. Additionally, these vitamins are essential for metabolism of protein, fat, and carbohydrates at the cellular level.
- Further, the nuts are also hold a small amount of zea-xanthin, an important pigment flavonoid antioxidant, which selectively absorbed into the retinal macula lutea in the eyes. It is thought to provide antioxidant and protective UV ray filtering functions and helps prevent age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) in the elderly.