Mildly sweet yet crunchy, delicious cashew nut is packed with energy, antioxidants, minerals and vitamins that are essential for robust health! Cashews, or "caju" in Portugese, are a popular ingredient in sweet as well savory dishes.
The cashew tree is 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 Pakistan 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 hard outer shell enclosing a single edible seed or the“cashew nut.” The outer shell contains a phenolic resin, urushiol, which is a potent caustic skin irritant toxin. It is, therefore, the outer shell is roasted in the processing unit in order to destroy the resin, urushioland then, the edible nut is extracted.
Cashew nut measures about a inch in length and 1/2 inches in diameter with kidney or bean shape, and smooth curvy pointed tip. Each nut has two equal halves as in legumes. The nuts are cream white color with firm yet delicate texture and smooth surface. Cashews have buttery texture with pleasant sweet fruity aroma.
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 oleicand palmitoleic acidsthat help to lower or bad LDL cholesterol and increase good HDL cholesterol. Research studies suggest that Mediterranean diet, which 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. Minerals especially manganese, potassium, copper, iron, magnesium, zinc and selenium are concentrated in the nuts. A handful of cashew nuts a day in the diet would provide enough of these minerals and prevent deficiency diseases. Seleniumis an important micronutrient, which functions as co-factor for antioxidant enzymes such as Glutathione peroxidases, one of the most powerful antioxidant in the body.Copperis 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). Zincis 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 at cellular levels.
In addition, the nuts are also containing small 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 UV ray filtering functions and helps prevent age related macular degeneration (ARMD) in the elderly.
The cashew tree is 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 Pakistan 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 hard outer shell enclosing a single edible seed or the“cashew nut.” The outer shell contains a phenolic resin, urushiol, which is a potent caustic skin irritant toxin. It is, therefore, the outer shell is roasted in the processing unit in order to destroy the resin, urushioland then, the edible nut is extracted.
Cashew nut measures about a inch in length and 1/2 inches in diameter with kidney or bean shape, and smooth curvy pointed tip. Each nut has two equal halves as in legumes. The nuts are cream white color with firm yet delicate texture and smooth surface. Cashews have buttery texture with pleasant sweet fruity aroma.
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 oleicand palmitoleic acidsthat help to lower or bad LDL cholesterol and increase good HDL cholesterol. Research studies suggest that Mediterranean diet, which 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. Minerals especially manganese, potassium, copper, iron, magnesium, zinc and selenium are concentrated in the nuts. A handful of cashew nuts a day in the diet would provide enough of these minerals and prevent deficiency diseases. Seleniumis an important micronutrient, which functions as co-factor for antioxidant enzymes such as Glutathione peroxidases, one of the most powerful antioxidant in the body.Copperis 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). Zincis 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 at cellular levels.
In addition, the nuts are also containing small 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 UV ray filtering functions and helps prevent age related macular degeneration (ARMD) in the elderly.
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