Split Cashews / Gram

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Split Cashew

Origin: Indonesia

Cashews are the seeds of the cashew tree, Anacardium occidentale. The seeds are often mistakenly classified as nuts, and most cooks treat cashews like nuts, especially since they behave like nuts in the kitchen. Cashew nuts are technically not nuts. They grow inside the seeds that hang from cashew apples from the cashew tree.
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Suggested Uses

For cashew milk, granola, cashew butter, salads, trail mixes

Benefits

Compared to other nuts, cashews are one of the lowest-fiber, highest carbohydrate nuts, but they€™re packed with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that support healthy blood and immune system function.

Contraindications/Toxicity

Raw cashews contain urushiol, a resin that is toxic if ingested and can cause rashes or burns if it contacts the skin. It is the same ingredient as in mango plants and in poison ivy.

To remove this substance, cashews must go through a rigorous roasting or steaming process to ensure they are safe to eat.

The health benefits of Cashew :

Heart Health: Around 75% of the fat present in cashews are unsaturated fatty acids, moreover, 75% of this unsaturated fat is the monounsaturated fat: oleic acid. Studies reveal that oleic acid promotes heart health, thereby keeping cardiovascular diseases at bay.

Diabetes: Several studies reveal that when monounsaturated fat is added to a low-fat diet, it helps reduce high triglyceride levels. Triglyceride is the fat form in which fats are carried in the blood, thus, high triglyceride levels are known to increase the chances of heart diseases. Consuming a diet with some monounsaturated fats is good for people with diabetes.

Gallstones Prevention: A study done on 80,000 women by the Nurses' Health Study reveals that women who ate about 1 ounce of nuts a day had 25% lower risk of developing gallstones.

Weight Control: Often people shun away from eating cashews due to fear of weight gain. However, a study conducted and published in the journal 'Obesity', reveals that people consuming nuts at least 2 times a week are less likely to gain weight. Besides cashews have zero cholesterol content.

Dental Care: Cashews destroy the bacteria responsible for tooth decay, gum diseases, etc. and thus it helps the process of dental care and maintaining healthy teeth.

Antioxidants: The antioxidants present in the body help eliminate all free radicals that destroy cell membranes and act as free radical scavengers. Free radicals are harmful, as they destroy cell membranes, thereby, conducing to some form of cancer.

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