Raw cashews are a great tasting and satisfying snack. They come packed with goodness and are an excellent snack choice when dealing with sugar levels.

Like with most foods it is important that the right type of cashews are used. It is common that vegetable oil is added to cashews. This is done to increase weight of the nuts making it more profitable for the suppliers. This is most common when cashews are roasted, often with salt added in.

Raw is always the best because it is how nature made it. Cashews have some fantastic health benefits.

These are:

  1. Weight Loss – Cashews are fairly high in fat. This fat is considered a good fat. As far as nuts go Cashews contain less than most other nuts including walnuts, almonds, pecans and peanuts. They are high in dietary fibre and come packed with energy. This makes cashews a great snack for managing weight gain.
  2. Bone Health – Cashews are high in magnesium. It is a well known fact that calcium is required for strong bones. Magnesium is also important. Also the copper found in cashews is vital for for the enzymes that combine collagen and elastin. These provide substance and flexibility in bones and joints.
  3. Nerve Health – Magnesium prevents calcium from rushing into nerve cells and activating them. This helps keep the nerves relaxed and also our blood vessels and muscles.
  4. Hair and Skin Health – Cashews are high in mineral copper which is an essential component of many enzymes. Copper plays an important part in many processes. One of the copper containing enzymes is tyrosinase which converts tyrosine to melanin. Melanin is the pigment that gives our hair and skin its colour.
  5. Heart Health – Cashews are cholesterol free. They are high in antioxidants. This helps to lower the risk of cardiovascular and coronary heart diseases. Magnesium found in cashews helps to lower blood pressure and helps to prevent heart attacks.
  6. Helps Prevent Gallstones – Data collected on 80,718 women from the Nurses Health Study shows that women who consumed at least 29 grams of nuts per week had a 25% lower risk of developing gallstones.
  7. Helps Prevent Cancer – Cashews are packed with proanthocyanidins. This is a class of flavanols that have been shown to starve tumors and stop cancer cells from dividing.

Next time you are after a snack why not try some organic raw cashews?