Cashew nuts - useful properties and harm. Exotic cashew: health and beauty secrets Gastritis and pancreatitis

Small, comma-shaped cashew nuts can be found in every store today. They have a pleasant sweetish taste and may appear oily. Unique in their composition, these nuts are often used as the main source of vitamins and minerals, replacing complex preparations. However, cashew is not a simple product, it can have both benefits and harms, has its own contraindications and features of use.

Useful properties of cashews

Speaking about the beneficial properties of cashews, you need to start with its nutritional value: the nut contains a large amount of nutrients and vitamins that a person needs in the daily diet. It has a positive effect on the functioning of the brain and the cardiovascular system due to the high content of unsaturated fatty acids. Regular consumption of cashews improves bowel function, blood composition, stimulates the brain, lowers cholesterol, improves eyesight and strengthens the immune system and forget about seasonal colds forever.

Walnut improves the condition of the gums and teeth due to its antiseptic properties. In some countries, cashew nuts are used as a medicine for diseases of the upper respiratory tract (asthma and bronchitis).

Depending on the type of processing, the calorie content of the product also fluctuates.

For women

Cashew is very useful for women and has many irreplaceable properties:

• reduces the activity of proteins that provoke the development of breast cancer;
• normalizes the functioning of the reproductive system;
• reduces discomfort in premenstrual syndrome;
• improves the condition of the skin, hair, nails and helps to look younger;
• relieves anemia during pregnancy;
• helps to prevent pathologies in the development of the bone and circulatory system in the fetus during pregnancy.

For men

For men, the use of cashews is no less important than for women. He helps:

• restore the hormonal background of a man, eliminating gynecomastia;
• improve the quality and quantity of sperm;
• improve sexual activity;
• stimulate the production of testosterone.

For children

A few nuts in the absence of contraindications will be an excellent snack for the baby.

In baby food, cashews are used as a source of vitamins and minerals necessary for the normal growth and development of the child. Walnut has the following effects on the children's body:

• stimulates digestion and metabolism;
• regulates the development and growth of the skeletal system.

Comparison table with hazelnuts: calories and nutrients

A few words about the benefits of the video

Cashews in the daily diet

Cashew nuts are always sold in the processed form without the shell.

Which one to choose: raw or fried

This question usually arises among those who only intend to introduce this vitamin-rich nut into their daily diet. Raw cashews are not found on sale at all; heat treatment is necessary for the product to remove toxic substances. But there are really many ways of roasting - with sugar, salt, honey, hot pepper. These nuts can be eaten as a snack, dessert or added to salads.

Daily allowance for adults

During early and late pregnancy

Do not forget that it is easy to gain weight from an overabundance of nuts, which is not recommended during pregnancy.

How much can you breastfeed

When breastfeeding, you should carefully introduce a new product into the diet, first using three to four kernels per day and carefully monitoring the baby's reaction. If there are no allergies and problems with the stool, then you can gradually increase the dose to 20-25 g per day.

In baby food: at what age to give

Babies under 2 years old are not recommended to offer nuts at all. If the child does not have a food allergy, then for the first time you can try one or two nut kernels. If there is no allergic reaction, then after two or three days you can give a little more nuts. The maximum daily dose is not more than 20 g of cashews.

Cashew and disease

Diabetes mellitus type I and II

Doctors recommend using cashews for diabetes: a large amount of vitamins and minerals maintain normal blood glucose levels. The glycemic index of the product is 15, which is a low indicator. At the same time, do not forget that you can easily get fat from abuse. The daily norm of cashews for diabetics is 30 g.

Gastritis and pancreatitis

In case of pancreatitis, use with caution and it is better to get a doctor's permission

Roasted cashews, especially with salt or pepper, can cause discomfort in gastritis and pancreatitis. However, some experts claim that the oil contained in the nut promotes the healing of ulcers. However, during an exacerbation of gastritis, it is necessary to refrain from eating cashews.

Oncological diseases

On the one hand, the latest research has shown that cashew nuts can stop the development of cancer due to the presence of a special element - proanthocyanidin, which belongs to the class of flavonoids. The substance stops the division of cancer cells and, accordingly, the growth of the tumor. On the other hand, there is evidence that this nut is harmful in oncology, which is confirmed by many scientific works and sources of medical literature. In each case, you should consult with your doctor.

Diet food, do you get fat from a nut

Spanish scientists came to the conclusion that cashews during dietary nutrition will help not only make up for the lack of vitamins and minerals in the body, but also maintain the results achieved. Three or four nut kernels satisfy hunger for several hours, so dieters who are losing weight can use cashews as a snack.

Products based on it: the nuances of consumption

Cashew oil has a dense, viscous structure and a specific nutty smell.

Cashew oil is a viscous liquid with a specific odor. It is widely used in medicine and cosmetology, as it has a nourishing, antiseptic and tonic property and is used for:

• treatment of certain diseases, including respiratory organs, skin, rheumatism, diabetes mellitus;
• strengthening immunity;
• pressure normalization;
• improvement of the skin condition (treatment of cracked heels, nutrition of dry skin, improvement of complexion);
• treatment and healing of wounds;
• relief of toothache.

Sometimes cashew oil is also used in cooking, it has a high calorie content (700 kcal / 100 g), so it is recommended to consume no more than 50 g per day.

Cashew nut butter helps in the treatment of many diseases

Surprisingly tasty, sweet paste - cashew urbech - is used:

• in the treatment of anemia, depression, asthma and bronchitis;
• when restoring metabolism;
• when strengthening the cardiovascular system;
• in the prevention of osteochondrosis and atherosclerosis.

The product also improves eyesight, attention and memory. The calorie content of nut butter is 643 kcal / 100 g, so the recommended daily intake is 50 g.

Cashew with honey

Nuts with honey are a healthy delicacy that helps to strengthen the immune system and get rid of colds.

Crushed nuts mixed with honey are great for strengthening teeth and gums and getting rid of bleeding. Whole nuts roasted in honey are not only a delicious treat, but also a great way to strengthen the immune system and get rid of colds. An adult is recommended to consume 70-100 g of this delicacy per day.

Contraindications

The main contraindication when using cashew nuts is an allergic reaction, which usually manifests itself in the form of skin rashes, itching, or other negative reactions. In addition, it is not recommended to use nuts for people suffering from diseases of the liver and excretory system. With caution, introduce a new product into the diet of nursing mothers and children, carefully monitoring the reaction of the body.

Peeling nuts is carried out by specially trained people manually or using simple equipment: the toxic substance contained in the shell of the kernel can severely burn hands and cause an allergic reaction

Since ancient times, cashews have been known not only for their medicinal properties, but also for some features of use and processing, ignoring which can lead to negative consequences. So, touching an unpeeled nut and even more so using it is extremely dangerous. Between the shell and the cashew kernel is a thin oily shell containing cardol. This substance causes severe burns and blistering on the skin, and if it enters the body, laryngeal edema and suffocation.

Cashew is a unique product containing a whole complex of vitamins and minerals necessary for human health. Healthy and tasty nuts diversify the daily diet, eliminating the need to additionally take vitamin complexes.

With the onset of the crisis, the quality of products sold in Russia cashew nuts it got worse and worse. More and more come across crushed and stained: sometimes these are traces of mold, sometimes, probably, the same caustic poisonous resin contained in the shell of the nut. Also, sometimes I came across wormy games. In stores, you can also buy good quality cashew nuts produced by some companies, but they are a little expensive. Therefore, I turned my attention to the online store and, as usual, found a high-quality natural product there at an affordable price. I will talk about it in this review. I will also supplement my review with information on how best to fry cashews, how to soak them correctly, how much you can eat per day and in what form it is best to do it.

And if you like almonds, then take a look at mine - they are also on iHerb and very inexpensive.

Organic Whole "Raw" Cashews from the company Now Foods(released under their trademark Now Real Food):

Really very good quality. They also come across with spots, but there are very few of them in the package. Basically, nuts for a feast for the eyes.

I knowingly put the word "raw" in quotation marks. Yes, the manufacturer indicated “raw” on the packaging. However, he did this, and I quote: "to distinguish the product from fried cashews" - they say, this is generally accepted. In reality, nuts are pasteurized before being removed from the shell, that is, they are steamed to neutralize that very caustic dangerous resin. So, in fact, Now Foods cashews are not raw in the sense in which, for example, raw foodists understand it, but cooked.

I will also talk about really raw cashews in this review.

However, they were not treated with chemicals. And these nuts organic i.e. environmentally friendly. Available for sale in Russia often have a chemical aftertaste.

Speaking of taste. These cashews are delicious on their own and precisely because they have been pasteurized. Really raw, as far as I know, have practically no taste - it begins to appear as a result of heat treatment. And, besides, it is better not to use any nuts in their raw form - they must either be fried or soaked, or even better, germinated. More on this a little later.

Let's talk about the price now. The cheapest option in Russia is to buy cashews from the market. At our local they stand 1000 rubles per kilogram. The quality, as I said, is seriously suffering, and of those that I bought (until I started ordering them on iHerb), I threw away up to half. Thus, the cost grew sometimes up to 2000 per kg.

The price on iHerb for this product (at the time of writing this review) in terms of kilograms is in the region 1500 rubles. Given the good quality of Now Foods cashews, as well as their organic origin, I find the price quite attractive and I'm willing to pay it. In addition, Now Foods is the cheapest product on iHerb. By the way, let's talk about them.

Other Whole Cashews at iHerb

All cashew producers are more expensive than Now Real Food. The closest analogue in terms of cost is presented by the company Navitas Naturals- here it is on iherb. The price is about the same, but the weight is less. It is written that they were dried at a low temperature, but “raw” is not indicated anywhere, so, apparently, the shell was also processed with steam.

Firm Wilderness Poets claims that their cashews are raw by printing "living raw foods" on the packaging. However, we managed to find out that they are again treated with steam when they are still in the shell. Nevertheless, according to the manufacturer, after such processing, the nuts remain viable, which is why they write "raw". Nuts come from Brazil, Naufudovskie, by the way, from Vietnam.

Along the way, the world's only real, real raw cashews are made by only one company - Big Tree Farms. However, at retail they do not sell them in their pure form, only in the form of a snack - a mixture with raw cocoa beans, coconut nectar and Balinese sea salt (this product used to be on sale on iHerb, but then disappeared). Apparently, just due to the fact that real raw cashews have practically no taste. Nevertheless, they distribute them in bulk, and deliver them, in particular, to the online store "Gifts of the Earth" (ex-Raw Lunch). I checked with the manufacturer - there are definitely their nuts. You can buy from them if it is important for you that the product is 100% raw food.

Company Ojio offers to buy major selected cashew. After manually extracting the cores, Ojio sort for themselves just such and are happy to indicate on their packaging: Extra Large. Here they are on iherb.

Well, some dishonestly expensive cashews are sold by the company sun food. In connection with what such a cost, I did not understand. Here's their product page if you're interested. You can order them in containers and more - here. It will be a little cheaper, but still expensive. Although the reviews are good - mostly five stars.

Is there some more inorganic cashew from the company Bergin Fruit and Nut Company. But I see no reason to buy them, because, having calculated the price per kg, it becomes clear that they are more expensive than Now Foods organics. Plus, I read in the reviews that they are by no means the best in iHerb. And what are the best - you can find out only by trying everything yourself, because each product has enough laudatory reviews.

You can on iHerb and fried buy cashew. But for some reason it was added to everything. They just don't like fried in America, apparently.

In general, here is a page dedicated to cashews on iHerb. Maybe you will like something else. Although there are by no means all the products available on iHerb with these nuts. There is, for example, no snack from Big Tree Farms, which I wrote about above, no bars and much more. But oil ( cashew butter- pasta, urbech in our opinion) is in a separate subsection -. Therefore, go to the "Food" section and there, in the search for the section, enter: cashew. And this is what we see: 150 products - not all of them, but some of them with cashews, including whole or halves.

And if you switch the site iherb.com to English and do a similar search for the word "cashew", then even more results will appear.

Now I will give some useful information regarding these delicious nuts.

Cashews: how to fry, soak, how much to eat per day and how best to do it

Why and why any nuts need to be fried or soaked, and not eaten raw or dried, and how to do it all right, but wrote in. There are also details about how to wash them, how much you can eat per day, when and how best to eat them. Here I will talk about the features that relate directly to cashews.

How to Roast Cashews

I roast cashews in the oven at 150 degrees. I don’t do a higher temperature - I’m careful, because I don’t know what his oil is like. 10 minutes is enough to bring the nuts to the degree of roasting I need.

They are fried, or rather baked quite evenly, which is difficult to do if you fry cashews in a pan.

How to soak cashews

They write that it is enough to soak raw or dried cashews for 3-4 hours to get rid (hardly complete, but at least some) of inhibitors. Maximum - 6 o'clock otherwise they will become very soft and lose their wonderful taste. I don’t soak fried ones - roasting also contributes to the destruction of inhibitors.

How much cashew can you eat per day

I also heard about another daily allowance: just 10-12 pieces a day. But they proceeded from the high calorie content of these nuts, but I am guided by their effect on digestion and the load on the liver. Being not prone to fullness, I do not count calories.

What is the best way to eat cashews

Or chew thoroughly, or chop. I make cashews yogurt”, Grinding fruits or berries in a blender with it. It tastes best with prunes (fresh, not), a little less tasty with regular plums, including frozen ones.

I use roasted nuts for “yogurt” with prunes / plums - then it tastes with a chocolate note. I especially like it, because, having started, I refused to use cocoa products, but sometimes I want them. And if carob powder is added to the resulting “yogurt”, then the taste becomes completely chocolate. You can also do with persimmon-chocolate.

Another delicious recipe: roasted cashews, some sweet pear and blueberries (I use frozen). Tastes like eating blueberry pie. A find for those who have given up baking, but sometimes miss it.

From dried non-roasted cashews, you can cook “yogurt” with many fruits and berries, since its taste is softer, more neutral. The main tone in this case will be set by fruits / berries, while nuts will bring a yoghurt consistency.

I also sometimes make vegan out of these wonderful nuts. ice cream. Ingredients: roasted or dried cashews, coconut milk and ingredients of your choice. I use coconut milk like this:

Sold in the "Crossroads" inexpensively, also in the "Ecotopia" once bought. It has the best composition of all that I have seen in such a product: only coconut pulp and water, no thickeners, stabilizers, etc., like other brands.

I made both "chocolate" ice cream - that is, again adding carob powder, and cherry, strawberry, I'm going to stir up blueberry - all from frozen berries, because it's winter outside. In terms of fat content, this even ice cream is more likely to turn out.

After turning all the ingredients into a homogeneous mass, put in the freezer. Before eating ice cream, I take it out of the freezer and let it stand at room temperature for about 5 minutes to soften. Hearty high-calorie nyamushka! 🙂

Well, that's all about cashews. Eat them to your health! Be sure to follow the rules.

Useful shopping!

If you've never shopped at the iHerb online store, check out the section. There are a number of features.

Roasted cashew properties

Roasted cashews appeared on the shelves of stores in our country relatively recently, so for many residents this product may turn out to be quite unusual and exotic. Cashew nuts grow on evergreen trees and their peculiarity is that they do not ripen inside the fruit, but outside. The nuts themselves are not fruits, but seeds, they hang on a stalk, the appearance of which may resemble a pear. The stalks are also edible, they are used in the preparation of various compotes, jams and even some alcoholic drinks.

Cashew nuts are eaten both raw and fried, but the second option is more preferable, because when roasted, the cashew becomes soft and its flavor intensifies, which attracts even the most fastidious nut lovers. Roasted cashews go well with many other foods, which is why it is added to many gourmet dishes that will not disappoint anyone. Also, the properties of fried cashews are known as an aphrodisiac not only for women, but also for men. Its fleshy stalk is also used in cooking, not only drinks are made from it, but also added to salads.

Benefits of Roasted Cashews

The benefits of roasted cashews are due to the rich nutritional composition of nuts. They contain vitamin A, vitamin B, and roasted cashews are rich in calcium, zinc, phosphorus and other minerals, including carbohydrates, proteins and many others. With the help of vitamin E contained in roasted cashews, I will forgive the body to fight various skin diseases. However, the benefits of roasted cashews are most clearly manifested in the ability to lower blood cholesterol levels, as well as prevent heart disease, and reduce the risk to a minimum. These properties of roasted cashews exist due to the content of fatty acids. Roasted cashews have fewer calories than peanuts or walnuts, so the risk of obesity is also reduced.

Roasted cashew has a positive effect on the gums and teeth, helps to strengthen the human immune system and has a protective effect against various infections. Roasted cashews are known for their antimicrobial, stimulating, bactericidal, antiseptic and tonic effects on the human body. It is worth paying attention to the diuretic effect of roasted cashews, sometimes really necessary in various situations. From the bark of the tree on which the cashew grows, tea is made, which becomes very useful for disorders of the gastrointestinal tract.

Harm of roasted cashews

It is no secret that many fruits, vegetables, cereals and other products are grown with the use of large amounts of nitrites and nitrates, as well as intensive heat treatments are carried out on them. The harm of roasted cashews is that this product can easily cause an allergy in a person who is predisposed to this disease. An allergic reaction to cashews is especially severe and occurs suddenly, so allergy sufferers are strictly prohibited from eating this product.

Calorie Fried cashew 536 kcal.

The energy value of the fried cashew product (Proportion of proteins, fats, carbohydrates).

Staying in India and having collected a bunch of cashew nuts, we naturally wanted to fry them. Searching the Internet, we did not find a clear guide to cooking cashew nuts anywhere. This alignment does not suit us in any way, so we decided to resort to the help of the Indians, from whom we are renting a house, and fry all the cashew nuts. And at the same time write a detailed guide on how to do this with photos and comments.

First, let's talk a little about what cashews are and how they are eaten. In India, especially in Goa, there are a lot of cashew trees that have very interesting fruits. In shape and color, they resemble bell peppers (yellow, orange, red), with a large green bean attached to the bottom. Now, this pepper-like fruit is the cashew apple, and the bean underneath is the nut itself. The ripe fruit is very watery, sweetish-tart, spoils the next day, so it is practically not sold in the markets, and it cannot be taken away from India. Cashew apples are used to make local moonshine - Feni.

Now about nuts. Cashew nuts are not so easy to obtain, which explains the price of this product. Firstly, one fruit corresponds to one nut, so it takes a lot of time to get at least a pound of cashew nuts. Secondly, between the shell and the kernel of the nut is an acid that corrodes the skin, leaving unpleasant burns and pain. Thirdly, to avoid chemical burns, you need to evaporate the acid and fry the cashew nuts on an open fire, which requires a certain amount of responsibility and the ability not to turn the extracted nuts into embers.

So, having obtained cashew nuts (collected in the forest or bought in the market), first leave them for two or three days to sunbathe in the sun. They should take on a purple hue. From now on, nuts can be roasted. This requires the following equipment: a grate (preferably with a wooden handle), bricks or stones, dry palm branches with leaves - more, depending on the number of nuts, a long stick, matches or a lighter.

NUTS ARE ROASTED ONLY IN THE FRESH AIR! Because acid evaporates during frying, and if this is done in the kitchen or in another room, then soon the whole space will be in an unpleasant acrid bitter smoke.

Step one. We create a brazier from bricks or stones, 10-20 cm high. We put a grate on the brazier on top, cashew nuts on the grate. We put a dry palm branch in the brazier itself.

Step two. We set fire to the branch. The fire should spread to the nuts and ignite them. As soon as the nuts begin to burn, a thick smoke is emitted from them, the shell turns black, becomes oily - the acid evaporates. Since the acid is organic, after a couple of minutes fiery tongues begin to shoot out of the nuts - combustible decay products. With a large stick, you can control the nuts so that they do not run away due to all the reactions that are taking place.

prepared cashew nuts