Calories in Cashew Nut

Munching cashews might be your favorite pastimes but do you have any idea about the number of calories they contain? Cashews are the kidney shaped nuts that comes from the cashew apple. Cashew apple trees are found in Brazil, southern part of India, Nigeria and Tanzania. The cashew nuts are actually seeds that is attached at the bottom most part of a cashew apple. One seed grows on each cashew apple and so cashews are rather expensive. The cashew has a very distinctive buttery and nutty flavor with a soft crumbly texture. It is eaten whole roasted with salt and butter or is used in making a variety of dishes like cashew nut chicken as well as nut butter. Cashews have a tendency to go rancid if stored for a long period of time. So cashews should be ideally stored in air tight containers and consumed within a short span of time. Although cashews are delicious and it is really impossible to control the amount of cashews you consume, cashews calories is considerable and so you should keep your portion in control.

Calories in Raw Cashews

Raw unsalted and unflavored cashews which has not been dry roasted is considerably less in calories than salted cashews. Although cashews have considerably lower fat content than any other nuts like almonds and peanuts. The majority of fat content in cashews is in the form of unsaturated fatty acids which is great for your heart health. Cashews also do not contain any cholesterol and is low in both sodium and sugar. A single raw cashew nut contains about 8 calories. A single serving of raw cashew nuts i.e. around 100 grams of cashews contain about 553 calories, 30.16 grams of carbohydrates 47.77 grams of fat and 3.3 gram of fiber. Although the fat content of a cup of cashews at 47.77 grams can seem like a lot, around 25.9 grams of it is monounsaturated fat (MUFAs) which helps to lower LDL or bad cholesterol and increase HDL or good cholesterol.

Calories in Roasted Cashews

Cashews calories for the dry roasted one or salt roasted variety is considerably higher than raw unprocessed cashews. Calories in dry roasted and unsalted cashew nuts is 580 per 100 grams. It contains about 47.77 grams fats, 29.87 grams carbohydrates and 3.3 gram of fiber. Roasted and salted cashews contain about 582 calories but it also contains a very high amount of sodium. Oil roasted cashew nuts which are the most delicious to eat has the highest cashews calories at 749. It is best to avoid oil roasted as well as salted cashew nuts as they can lead to an increase in blood pressure.

Cashew nuts are not only a good source of fiber but also has high levels of potassium, folate, vitamin K and vitamin B. It also has trace amounts of magnesium, phosphorous, selenium and copper which is required for proper functioning of the body. As about 75 percent of the fat content in cashew nuts comes from monounsaturated fats or oleic acid, it lowers triglycerides fats. Triglyceride fats which is carried through the blood stream is known to raise the risk of heart disease. Cashews nutrition must have made it clear to you that it is beneficial to eat cashews. However you should have them in moderate amounts so as not to pile on the kilos.

Cashew nuts are great to eat and there are many cashews health benefits. Just make sure that you exercise portion control and have the unsalted variety to gain maximum health benefit from these delicious nuts.