Besides being delicious as a snack, cashews have a myriad of health benefits. With a variety of nutrients contained in it, cashew nuts trusted to be ablemreduce bad cholesterol and protect the body from disease.
Cashews are often found as a filling for chocolate bars, used as an ingredient in pastries, or baked to be eaten as a snack snacks. Eating cashews is not only filling, but also provides good benefits for your body's health.
Various Benefits of Cashew Nuts
Nuts taken from cashew fruit aka monkey guava have quite high calories, and contain carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber. Cashews also contain vitamin K, vitamin E, folate, and B vitamins, calcium, sodium, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, and iron.
Many studies say that cashew nuts can reduce the risk of various diseases, and are good for maintaining a healthy body. The following are some of the health benefits of cashew nuts:
1. Reducing the risk of heart disease
High levels of bad cholesterol (LDL) are associated with an increased risk of heart disease and stroke. Cashew nuts are believed to lower bad LDL cholesterol levels. All that thanks to the fiber, vitamins, potassium, folate, vitamin E, and vitamin B6 contained in cashews.
2. Prevent blood loss (anaemia)
The content of iron and copper in cashews can optimize the body's work in producing and using red blood cells. In addition to preventing anemia, this will also improve bone health, the immune system, nerves, and blood vessels.
3. Good source of energy
Just like other nuts, cashews are also rich in calories and good fats. In 30 grams of cashews, contained about 150 calories and 12 grams of fat. These two nutrients are a source of energy for the body.
In addition, vitamin B6, vitamin E, iron, and protein contained in cashews are also useful for making the body not tired easily.
4. Maintain bone health
Cashews contain calcium in large quantities, in 100 grams of cashews there are about 45 mg of calcium. This makes cashews one of the recommended foods to maintain bone strength and health.
5. Maintain eye health
Cashews contain antioxidants called lutein and zeaxanthin. Both of these substances are known to protect the eyes from damage that can cause blindness. In fact, eating cashews is also believed to reduce the risk of cataracts.
6. Prevents gallstones
A study says that people who regularly eat nuts, including cashews, have a lower risk of developing gallstones. This is thought to be thanks to the good fat and fiber content in cashews which are beneficial for lowering bad cholesterol levels that cause gallstones.
7. Maintain weight
Cashew nuts are often used as food for diets. The reason is because the protein and fiber contained in cashews can make you full longer. That way, you can lose weight faster.
However, because they are high in calories, cashews are enough to be consumed as snacks, and choose cashews that do not contain high salt.
Some of the benefits of cashew nuts make it a good food source for health. But be careful, some people are at risk of having an allergic reaction if they eat nuts, including cashews.
If you have certain health problems, you should consult further with your doctor to determine whether cashew nuts are safe for you to consume.