According to a new study published in the Journal of Nutrition published by Madras Diabetes Research Foundation (MDRF) regular consumption of raw cashews can result in a decrease in systolic blood pressure and increase in HDL cholesterol levels.

The study was conducted by Dr. V Mohan, a Padma Shri awardee and an acclaimed Indian diabetologist, and his colleagues.The study proved that regular consumption of cashew nut may be beneficial for one’s health including people with type 2 diabetes.

There was no deleterious effect of cashew nut consumption on body weight, blood sugars, glycated hemoglobin or LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol).

It was earlier believed that all nuts are bad as they contain quite a lot of calories and people believed that eating nuts could be linked to obesity and high cholesterol. But, during the last decade, the nutritional value of nuts and their health benefits have been proved by many studies. Due to their unique nutrient value, especially the fatty acid composition, it is now known that nuts not only do not worsen the lipid profile and body weight but also may actually confer beneficial effects.

However, most studies have been done in western countries on nuts like almonds, pistachios, and walnuts. And, very few of such studies have been done on diabetic patients. Cashew nuts are generally not recommended by nutritionists and doctors in India. But what is not known is that cashew nuts contain healthy fats such as monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA). They are also a good source of antioxidants, plant sterols and other micronutrients such as iron, magnesium, and zinc.

As there is a paucity of studies on cashew nuts particularly in Indians and none in people with diabetes, the study took up a large randomized clinical trial to study the effect of regular cashew nut consumption on body weight, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), lipid profile- triglycerides, total cholesterol, bad cholesterol (LDL cholesterol) and good cholesterol (HDL cholesterol) on Indians with type 2 diabetes.

The beneficial effects seen may be due to the increased intake of MUFA from cashew nuts replacing the carbohydrate calories in the diet. Indians diets are traditionally deficient in MUFA which is a good type of fat and cashew nut supplementation can help to improve the MUFA content of the Indian diet.

This news should be music to the ears of cashew nut lovers. However, it must be pointed out that the study was done using raw cashew nuts. The beneficial effects of cashew may be mitigated if the cashew nut is salted or roasted in unhealthy oils or ghee. Regular consumption of cashew nut can also help in improving satiety too and this will lead to a reduction in food intake especially carbohydrate intake of subsequent meals. These could be one of the mechanisms to explain the lack of weight gain in the study despite eating cashew nuts which are quite high in calories.

You can read the original paper here.