Cashews are popular seeds, having an excellent taste and aroma with a silky texture. Cashew apples grow on cashew trees, which prevail in tropical evergreen forests. Cashew nuts are the seeds of cashew apples.

Did you know the cashew tree is native to northeast Brazil? Portuguese people brought it to Goa, India, in the second half of 1500. Afterward, it spread around Southeast Asia and Africa.
In 2017, Vietnam, India, and Ivory Coast were the top producers of cashew nuts.

Steaming And Shelling

The shelled cashews are steamed to soften the shell, making it easier to remove the cashew nuts by hand.

Drying

Cashews are dried at low heat to loosen the skin.

Peeling And Grading

Each cashew’s skin is removed by hand; simultaneously, the nuts are ranked according to their quality. The criteria for grading are the whiteness of the cashew and how broken the kernels are.

Quality Assurance

Cashews are picked by hand, oven-heated, and examined for metal and dust to ensure quality.

Packing

Cashews are packed in a modified atmosphere of low oxygen and high carbon dioxide and nitrogen. This lengthy process is perhaps one of the reasons cashews are so expensive.

The pleasant taste of cashews makes nuts a special ingredient in Indian and Pakistani cuisine. Whether it’s garnishing sweets and desserts or making delightful savory rice dishes like rice-pulao, cashews rock them. Cashew is a charm in Thai and Chinese cuisine as well.

Commonly used as a snack, there are different varieties of cashews on the market, i.e., raw, roasted, salted, and unsalted. Raw and unsalted versions are best, as roasted and salted cashews may contain high added oils or salt levels.

The cashew seed’s shell is used in lubricants, waterproofing, paints, and arms production. Cashew apples are light reddish to yellow in color, edible, and can be served as cashew juice.

Healthy Heart

Cashews contain healthy fats such as monounsaturated and polyunsaturated, which help in reducing the bad cholesterol (LDL) and triglyceride levels that are significant threats to our hearts. A study published in The Journal of Nutrition stated that cashew consumption could increase HDL (good) cholesterol and reduce systolic blood pressure. ¹https://academic.oup.com/jn/article/148/1/63/4823695

The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) established a compelling relationship between nuts intake and the lower possibility of death from major chronic diseases, including heart disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus. ²https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1307352

NEJM also says nuts are nutrient-dense foods rich in unsaturated fats, vitamins, minerals, fiber, and many other bioactive substances, including phenolic antioxidants and phytosterols. ³https://academic.oup.com/jn/article/138/9/1746S/4750850, ⁴https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/british-journal-of-nutrition/article/potential-of-nuts-in-the-prevention-of-cancer/B4C77FDE30835862D02BDD3070EF7B33

Weight Management

Recent evidence has busted the myth that nut consumption is associated with weight gain. In fact, people who eat nuts regularly lose weight faster than those who exclude them from their diet.

According to the research in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, nut consumption is not associated with higher BMI than non-nut consumers. However, nuts are fat and energy-dense foods. ⁵https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/78/3/647S/4690007 Moreover, nuts like cashews are packed with omega-3 fatty acids, which boost our metabolism; thus, we lose body weight.

Cashews are very nutritious and convenient as a snack, especially for those who want to lose weight, as they give a feeling of fullness. As mentioned, raw unsalted cashews are the best option.

Bone Health

Cashews are high in trace minerals, which are vital for bone health. ⁶https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8409100/ Only a handful of foods have an adequate amount of copper. One ounce of cashews completes 67% of our DV. The Food and Nutrition Board advocates a daily intake of 900 mcg of copper for adults ages 19 and over.

Copper deficiency is connected with low bone mineral density and an increased risk of osteoporosis. ⁷https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Copper-HealthProfessional/ Also, a lack of copper in the daily diet can affect connective tissues, leading to joint dysfunction. ⁸https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6118903/#:~:text=Copper%20functions%20in%20the%20oxidative,structural%20integrity%20of%20these%20proteins.

Magnesium in cashews helps absorb calcium into bone, which triggers bone formation. Manganese, one more mineral in cashews, is helpful in the prevention of osteoporosis.

Skin Well-Being

Copper’s benefits are not limited to bone health; it also has a role in skin well-being. Copper is responsible for skin generation and the creation of collagen and elastin, two proteins that promote skin strength and elasticity. ⁹https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4556990/

It is critical to maintaining ideal collagen levels to ensure optimal skin health; a deficit of collagen can lead to skin aging. It is no surprise that different civilizations used copper and copper compounds to cure skin maladies for over two millennia. By adding foods like cashews to our diet regularly, we can ensure our recommended daily intake of copper is met.

Prevention Of Eye Damage

Lutein and zeaxanthin, antioxidants found in cashews, may prevent our eyes from developing cellular damage caused by free radicals, which are highly unstable molecules. ¹⁰https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20387832/

After a 26-year study of over 102,000 adults ages 50 years and older, researchers found those who ingested lutein and zeaxanthin regularly were 40% less likely to develop age-related macular degeneration disease. ¹¹https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26447482/

Another study claimed the intake of these antioxidants reduces the risk of cataracts by 42%. ¹²https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22005336/ Low consumption of lutein and zeaxanthin is also linked with poor retinal health. ¹³https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30260964/

There is a reason cashews are one of the most liked go-to pocket snacks. When we talk about nutrition, cashews are abundant in vitamins and minerals and other nutrients. A great taste, aroma, and texture give them a special place in different cuisines.

This incredible nut is a route to many health gains, like reduced risk of heart and other chronic diseases, eye health, the well-being of the skin, bone health, weight loss, and more.

I add cashews to my diet regularly. Just remember to pick the raw and unsalted versions. Adding this gem into your daily eating habits is a win-win situation for all of us.

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