Our extra large whole raw cashews make for a great heart healthy snack. The delicately flavored cashew nut makes a wonderful nut butter or a special addition to salads and stir-fry dishes. Cashew nuts are actually the kidney-shaped seeds that adhere to the bottom of the cashew apple, the fruit of the cashew tree, which grow natively in tropical climates.

Cashews have a lower fat content than most other nuts, approximately 75% of their fat is unsaturated fatty acids, plus about 75% of this unsaturated fatty acid content is oleic acid, the same heart-healthy monounsaturated fat found in olive oil. Studies show that oleic acid promotes good cardiovascular health, even in individuals with diabetes. Studies of diabetic patients show that monounsaturated fat, when added to a low-fat diet, can help to reduce high triglyceride levels. Triglycerides are a form in which fats are carried in the blood, and high triglyceride levels are associated with an increased risk for heart disease, so ensuring you have some monounsaturated fats in your diet by enjoying cashews is a good idea.

Cashews are a good source of magnesium. Magnesium plays an important role in maintaining a healthy blood pressure and is an important mineral for diabetics because it reduces insulin resistance. Studies have also shown that people who have low magnesium levels are at higher risk of heart disease. Like calcium, magnesium plays an important role in building and maintaining bone health.

Cashews are also rich in copper which is needed for maintaining healthy collagen, a substance that lines blood vessels and supports the skin and joints. Copper is also important for helping the body use iron and for production of melanin, the pigment that gives hair its color. Copper is a mineral that the body can’t produce on its own so copper rich foods such as cashews are required for good health.

Oh and not to mention, our extra large whole cashews are absolutely delicious.

Suggested Use: Eat by the handful or add to homemade trail mix.

Botanical Name: Anacardium occidentale

Other Names: Cashew Nut, cashu, caju, cajou, gajus, , maranon, merey, Kaju, East Indian Almond

Origin: India

Z Natural Foods strives to offer the best raw and organic products available. Our Whole Raw Cashews pass our strict quality assurance which includes testing for botanical identity, heavy metals, chemicals, and microbiological contaminants. ZNaturalfoods.com offers Whole Raw Cashews packaged in airtight stand-up, resealable foil pouches for optimum freshness. Once opened, just push the air out of the pouch before resealing it in order to preserve maximum potency. We recommend you keep your Whole Raw Cashews refrigerated.