Can eating cashews improve your health and fill you with joy? I truly believe they can, and they are also quite delicious. Sadly, many people avoid eating these healthy and delicious seeds because they are told that they are full of fat and should be avoided.
Nonsense!
In fact, eating cashews can improve your health in more ways than one! Cashews are not only loaded with essential nutrients that your body needs, but you can use them to create some of the most delicious foods you have ever had!
Cashew Benefits
Monounsaturated Fats: There is no need to be scared of the F-Word (Fat) when eating cashews. Cashews are loaded with these good fats that when eaten as part of a healthy diet can actually help decrease harmful LDL cholesterol in your body, while raising beneficial HDL cholesterol.
Antioxidants: Cashews contain copper and copper is an essential part of a healthy body. Copper from food sources can help your body build strong tissue and help your cells produce energy.
Magnesium: one quarter of a cup of cashews have almost 30% of the recommended daily intake of magnesium that you need in order to have optimum health. It is believed that low levels of magnesium in the human diet may contribute to hypertension (high blood pressure) and heart attacks.
It is important to realize that not just any cashew will do. Roasted and salted cashews are loaded with unhealthy processed sodium and other chemicals that may interfere with the original goodness of the cashew. If you are going to munch of cashews, be sure to buy organic raw and unsalted cashews for the best benefits these wonderful seeds have to offer.
One final thing that cashews can do is allow you to enjoy dessert again! Below is a recipe for a sweet shake using cashews that will blow your mind. This shake is very healthy, very sweet and really easy to make. Oh, and I promise you will love it!
Chocolate Cashew Shake:
– 1 cup ice
– 1 frozen banana
– 1 cup almond milk (unsweetened)
– 1 tbsp raw cacao powder (Optional)
– 1 cup carrot juice
– 2 pitted dates
– 1 small handful of cashews
– 1 scoop vegetable protein powder (optional)
– 1 TBSP organic peanut butter (Optional but mandatory)
Simply mix all ingredients in a powerful blender for 20 seconds and enjoy. It helps if the bananas are frozen or the shake may be too liquidy, but will still be delicious.
There you have it. Cashews don’t have to be taboo and you don’t have to avoid them because they are high in fat. The fat in a cashew is healthy and the benefits and uses are only limited by your imagination.
Resources
http://www.health.harvard.edu/fhg/updates/update1004d.shtml
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=nutrient&dbid=53
http://theweightlosslie.com/weight-loss/9-awesome-things-about-cashews-that-will-improve-your-life/
