5 Reasons To Stop Eating Cashews Right Now

With the vegan trend, this nut has become one of the most popular heroes on the alternative eating habits menu. It is used to make pates and cakes, pastries and sauces. Many nutritionists say that cashews are very healthy and contain a high dose of omega-3 fatty acids. But there is also an alternative point of view. BeautyHack columnist Vita Liasota on why you need to stop eating cashews right now.

Educational program

Cashews are the fruit of an evergreen tree that grows up to 12 meters high. Brazil is considered his homeland. The largest plantations for the cultivation of this nut are still there.

The name cashew comes from the Latin word kardia, which means heart. The beloved vegan treat got its "name" from a shape that really resembles it remotely.

Nuts are valued by nutritionists for their high content of polyunsaturated fatty acids, magnesium (one nut contains up to 73% of the daily value), zinc, phosphorus, vitamins A and B.

In Brazil, cashews are used as a preventive measure against asthma, flu, indigestion, and in Venezuela, they are used to treat sore throats. It would seem that everything is perfect, if not for a couple of fly in the ointment.

Oh - danger

“Cashews, like peanuts, are not nuts,” Vita says. “This is an ordinary bean, hanging separately from the fruit. In India, in cooking, only the so-called "apples" are most often used - the upper part from which the traditional chutney sauce is made."

“Apples” do not reach us, because due to the high tannin content they spoil too quickly. In most countries, only the core is sold. And if the fruits can be safely eaten fresh, without fear for their health. With nuts, not everything is so simple. Have you ever noticed that they are always sold without shells? There is a very good reason for this.

“Between the shell and the shell is a very poisonous substance - cardol, which can cause chemical burns on contact with the skin. Nature provided for this to scare away pests from the trunk. Nuts are collected only with gloves, and the shells are used for technical purposes,”explains Vita.

To avoid poisoning, nuts are thoroughly roasted before being sold. This removes poisonous resin residues. Such measures do not always help. In dermatology, more and more cases are described when a person has a rash after eating nuts.

Recently, it has become fashionable to use cashew oil in cooking - it gives dishes a slightly tart taste and a peculiar aroma. But it is not entirely harmless either.

“The cashew tree belongs to the poison ivy family and the oil contains 12 antigens. If you are allergic, it is categorically contraindicated. And also in cashews there are lectins that cause inflammatory processes in the intestines. These proteins also cause agglutination bond - the adhesion of erythrocytes in conjunction with carbohydrates,”the expert sums up.

And the last argument against. Cashews are very high in calories. 100 g is one third of the daily calorie intake for a 55 kg person. If you use them as a snack, they are more likely to gain weight.

Total

There is medicine in a spoon, poison in a cup - a rule that works in 90% of cases. They say that even breathing is harmful today, but this does not mean that you need to stop doing it. When asking the question “to eat or not to eat?”, Do not rush to extremes. If you do not have an individual intolerance to this bean or nut, you can quite afford to eat several of them once a week.