Many emotional eaters/ drinkers more often than not tend to consume ‘feel-good snacks’ that provide very little nutritional value and are loaded with calories, which when abused would lead to weight gain.
There is a direct correlation between eating and moods, but these unhealthy (junk) foods just elicit a temporary feel good emotion.
What if I told you, there is a healthier snack alternative which will not give you a temporary emotional high but a long-term one?
Enter cashew nuts. I’ve been snacking on cashew nuts a lot lately and not only are they delicious, protein-filled snacks, but they also contain powerful, health-enhancing nutrients that may keep us from going nutty.
Cashew nuts are a natural antidepressant. With all of their goodness, some might think these tiny moon-shaped nuts were sent from above, but the truth of the matter is that the average person probably doesn’t even know where cashews really come from, nor all of the benefits they offer.
Originating from tropical regions of Brazil, cashews sprout from the bottom of a strangely shaped-fruit, called a cashew apple, which looks a lot like a small pear. The cashew nut is actually a seed of this fruit.
Unlike other popular nuts such as peanuts, pistachios and chestnuts among others, cashews are sold without the shell because the shell is poisonous in its natural state. But even the shell has other beneficial uses: the acidic elements of the cashew nut shells are harvested as natural medicines for conditions like diabetes and tooth decay. Today, cashew trees are grown in other tropical regions throughout Africa and the sub-continent.
Cashews nuts are good for depression
Serotonin is the chemical responsible for maintaining mood balance, so depression is often the result of reduced levels of serotonin and the amino acid required to produce serotonin, called tryptophan.
So where do cashew nuts come in? Cashews contain mood-stabilizing vitamins: B6, magnesium, niacin, and even tryptophan. B6 helps convert the tryptophan into serotonin and helps magnesium enter into the body’s cells. It is the synergy of these nutrients that helps with depression. Researchers claim that if you eat two or more handfuls of cashews per day, you will get enough tryptophan to alter and elevate your mood.
Cashews may be a natural solution for depression and anxiety, and don’t carry the price tag or side effects of prescription antidepressants.
There are other benefits:
● Weight loss: If you can eat cashews even just twice a week, it can help slow weight gain. Cashews contain heart-healthy fats, so replacing your typical junk food snacks with nuts can help increase weight and fat loss even if the number of calories and the total amount of fat you consume stays the same. Nuts are also high in protein and low in carbohydrates which helps manage your body mass index.
● Disease prevention: Cashews are rich in antioxidants that fight off toxins and diseases like cancer. They are also rich in vitamins like riboflavin, pantothenic acid, thiamin, and niacin that help prevent medical conditions like sideroblastic anaemia and pellagra.
These, of course, are not even all of the benefits of cashew nuts. There are many more but this column alone reminds us of the importance of a diet rich in whole foods like cashews and other nuts.
