Amazing Health Benefits Of Cashew Nuts

The cashew tree (Anacardium occidentale) is a tropical evergreen tree that is native to brazil.

These crescent-shaped nuts with a sweet flavor have a plethora of uses in the kitchen. Cashews are the third most consumed tree nuts in the world. Cashew butter is a staple in many households around the world, and they're a crunchy, delicious addition to any stir-fry.

Cashews are the number one crop in the world (after almonds), cultivated in more than 30 countries. They require a hot, humid climate to proliferate, which is why India, Brazil, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Nigeria are the largest raw cashew producers.

1. Prevents Cancer:
Proanthocyanidins are a class of flavonols which fight against tumor cells by stopping them to divide further. These proanthocyanidins and high copper content in cashew nuts help fight against cancerous cells and keeps you away from colon cancer. This is one of the major cashew nut benefits.

2. Healthy Heart:
Cashews contain low fat content when compared to other nuts and that too in the oleic acid form which is very healthy for heart. They are cholesterol free and the antioxidants present keeps you away from heart diseases.

3. Lowers High Blood Pressure:
Cashew nuts lower your blood pressure with the help of magnesium present in them. Magnesium helps diminish the frequency of migraines, improve cognitive ability, and also lowers blood pressure, which can prevent heart attacks. 

4. Helps Hair:
Copper is the mineral which helps your hair get that color. So if you take cashews which are full of copper content, you can get that black hair that you always wished for

5. Healthy Bones:
Like calcium, magnesium is also important for bone health which is the main content in cashew nuts.

6. Healthy Nerves:
Magnesium is stored on the bones surface which prevents calcium from entering the nerve cells and thus keeps the blood vessels and muscles relaxed. Insufficient amount of magnesium can lead calcium to enter the blood vessels leading them to contract. It also leads to high blood pressure, migraine headache etc.

7. Prevents Gallstones:
Daily intake of cashewnut can reduce the risk of developing gallstones up to 25%.

8. Helps in Weight Loss:
Even though cashew nuts are considered as fats, it contains good cholesterol. So contrary to popular belief, those who eat cashews at least twice a week gain less weight when compared to those who eat less.

9. Anti-oxidants:
Selenium, copper, magnesium etc. act as co-factors for many enzymes.

10. Helps Digestion:
Cashew nuts help in growth and development, nucleic acid synthesis and digestion.

11. High on Vitamins:
Cashew nuts are rich in vitamins like riboflavin, pantothenic acid, thiamin, niacin etc. These vitamins keep you safe from sideroblastic anemia, pellagra, etc.

12. Healthy Gums and Teeth:
As mentioned before, the magnesium content present in cashew nuts is very good for bones. So it gives healthy teeth as well as strong gums to hold them.

13. Pleasant sleep:
After menopause, these cashew nuts can give you relaxed and pleasant sleep during nights.

14. Free Radicals:
Cashew nuts help our body to utilize iron properly and eliminate free radicals which cause health problems.

15. Macular Degeneration:
Cashew nuts have the ability to filter Sun’s UV rays and protect us from macular degeneration.

Coconut aminos

Coconut aminos is a delicious sauce made from coconut sap. It is dark, rich, salty and slightly sweet in flavor. It resembles a light soy sauce or tamari (wheat free soy sauce), but it is soy free and gluten free – making it the perfect replacement for those avoiding soy and gluten. To make coconut aminos, the sap is collected from the coconut blossoms, then blended with sea salt and naturally aged.

Benefits: 
Coconut aminos, which is soy free, and has a GI of only 35, is also packed with a variety of minerals, vitamin C, and B vitamins.

As the name suggest, coconut animos have 17 naturally occurring amino acids.
Amino acids are the building blocks of protein, and are essential to our health and nutrition. Amino acids play a vital role in muscle repair, brain and nervous system function. They also assist in boosting the immune system and physical energy levels. Coconut aminos have been found to contain 14 times the amount of amino acids found in soy sauce.

Usage:
Use coconut aminos as you would on soy sauce or tamari. 

Here are some of the popular uses for coconut aminos: 

• Make Paleo Sushi using nori wraps, cauliflower rice and fish, and serve with coconut aminos as a dipping sauce
• Use for making beef jerky.
• Add to Paleo chilli for a deep flavour.
• In fact, try it in any tomato based dishes to cut the acidity of the tomatoes, make the dish a darker colour and replace the need to add salt.
• Marinate chicken in it before adding to a stir fry.
• Use in fermented foods like Kimchi
• Perfect for Asian inspired dishes like Nasi Goreng
• Alternative to salt in soups and stews. 
• Add to the baking tray when roasting a chicken to brown the skin when basting the bird.
• Mix coconut aminos, balsamic vinegar, mustard, oive oil and a squeeze of lemon to make a delicious salad dressing
• Slice and de-stone and avocado, pierce with a fork, then pour on balsamic vinegar and allow to soak in. Then fill the hole up with coconut aminos and eat with a spoon.

Fun Facts about Oats

History of the Oat
1.Before Quaker made its way to our shelves and Cheerios became one of the most popular oat-based cereals, whole grain oats were consumed by a mass amount of people of the earliest of times, dating back to 7,000 B.C. Oats were one of the first cereals cultivated by man and were used in ancient China and even Greeks who were the first to turn them into a porridge.

Oats originate as mentioned above in Asia (specifically China) and were grown on the red oat plant. Oats have been cultivated for 2,000 years in regions all over the world but gained their popularity most when they were brought to Europe. We can thank the Scotlands for bringing oats to Northern America in the 17th century, since oats were one of the most important commercial crops and dietary staples in Scotland, Germany, Scandinavian countries, and Great Britain.

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Genetic evidence shows the ancestral forms of Avena sterilis grew in the Fertile Crescent of the Near East. Domesticated oats appear relatively late, and far from the Near East, in Bronze Age Europe.  As these cereals spread westwards into cooler, wetter areas, this may have favored the oat weed component, leading to its eventual domestication.


The overall history of oats is somewhat clouded as there are so many different species and subspecies, making identification of old remains very difficult. The chief modern center of greatest variety of forms is in the Anatolian peninsula where almost all subspecies are in contact with each other. Many feel that the area with the greatest diversity of types is most likely where a particular plant originated.

2. It comes sliced, chopped and flattened.  
Here’s the low-down on three major types:

• Old-Fashioned Oats: These oats are the ones that
  
  probably pop into your mind when you hear the word “oatmeal” and are most often the least expensive variety. They are made by flattening the grain into a flake. The thickness of the flake determines the texture of your oatmeal-the thinner the flake, the softer the oatmeal. This is why a bowl of quick-cooking oats may seem even softer and creamier than regular old-fashion oats. For quick-cooking oats, old-fashioned oats are rolled even thinner and cut into small pieces so that the oats will indeed cook more quickly.

• Steel-Cut Oats: In this case, the oats have been chopped into tiny pieces and not rolled out. They have a harder texture, so they take longer to cook. They do tend to be more expensive than old-fashion oats, but some people may prefer the chewier texture of steel-cut oats. Steel cut oats are also known as Irish Oatmeal.

• Instant Oatmeal: This is an even thinner, more finely chopped version of the old-fashion oats that is individually packaged for convenience and quick-cooking. They can easily be microwaved.

3. It’s great for your gut

In a new supplement published in the British Journal of Nutrition, researchers concluded that the beta-glucan, resistant starch, and the unique polyphenols, avenanthramides, present in oats may boost the beneficial bacteria, Bifidobacteria, in the lower GI tract.A review of 29 studies concluded that oats and oat bran might provide benefits in some cases of bowel disease and constipation.

4. Keeping cholesterol in check 

Compelling studies on a recent review on oat and oat bran and cardiovascular disease risk factors concluded that oats and oat bran lower total cholesterol and LDL (bad cholesterol) by respectively 2-19 percent and 4-23 percent; the effects are particularly prominent among people with high cholesterol levels.

5.It’s the easiest natural beauty product

An oatmeal bath, which is created by adding 1 cup of finely ground oatmeal to bathwater, has longed been used to soothe inflamed skin from conditions such as chickenpox, eczema, and sunburn.

6. They Keep the Bad Bugs Away

Oats’ beneficial fibers come specifically from a type of soluble fiber known as beta-glucans, which have been found to improve immune function and keep harmful bacteria away that leads to illness. Beta-glucans in oats have also been linked to even preventing cancer, especially breast and colon cancer. This is pure proof that consuming oatmeal as part of a healthy, balanced diet is a wonderful way to take care of your immune system naturally. Try topping your oats with high-antioxidant berries to protect your body even further.

7.It’s been the root of a long-running dispute in the U.K

Samuel Johnson’s 1755 dictionary defined oats as “A grain, which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland appears to support the people.” The Scotsman’s retort to this was, “That’s why England has such good horses, and Scotland has such fine men!”

8.The portrait of the Quaker man on the Quaker® Oats package has been updated just three times since its creation in 1877, once in 1946, again in 1957 and, most recently, in 1972.

9.A bowl for breakfast can keep you full till lunch 

The beta-glucan in oatmeal is famous for stabilizing blood sugar. And because it helps you avoid those blood sugar highs and lows, having a bowl first thing in the morning can keep cravings at bay. Plus, oatmeal may enhance your workout. A UK study found that eating oatmeal about three hours before exercise helped boost endurance.

Mustard seeds uses and benefits

Mustard seeds are widely used in Indian, Pakistani, Bangladesh, Mediterranean and German cooking as they impart a very rich taste to food. Various forms of the seeds like oil is used for cooking whereas, whole seeds are used as tadka, powdered seeds are widely used in various dips and garnishings while mustard oil is widely used for cooking. 
Whole seeds, ground or powdered form, prepared pastes, sauces and oil are all used in cooking.

The aroma and pungent flavor of mustards come from the essential oil, sinalbin. This compound releases isothiocyanate chemicals upon enzymatic reaction mediated by myrosinase enzyme.

It is the second most popular spice that has been traded around the world.

Mustard has been mentioned around 5 times in the Bible. It has once been mentioned as the greatest herb ever.

Mustard seeds are obtained from the pods of the mustard plant, a vegetable related to cabbages, broccoli, wasabi and cauliflower. Mustard seeds are usually used as a whole or as ground powder.

While there are approximately forty different varieties of mustard plants, there are mainly 3 types grown for their seeds: black mustard (Brassica nigra), white mustard (Brassica alba) and brown mustard (Brassica juncea).
Black mustard seeds have the most pungent taste, while white mustard seeds, which are actually yellow in color, are the most mild and are the ones used to make American yellow mustard. Brown mustard, which is actually dark yellow in color, has a pungent acrid taste and is the type used to make Dijon mustard.




Mustards are winter crops. The plant reaches about 4-5 feet in height and bears golden yellow colored flowers. Its tiny, round seeds measuring about one mm in diameter are encased inside a fruit pod, in a similar fashion like green pea pod.


In general, three main varieties of mustard are grown worldwide for use.

• White mustard seeds, which comes from Brassica alba: The seeds are light straw-yellow colored and are slightly larger than the other two varieties. White seeds exhibit mild pungency.
• Black mustards (Brassica nigra): Commonly seen in southeast Asia. The seeds have a sharper and more pungent taste than other two varieties.
• Brown mustards (Brassica juncea): The seeds are native to sub-Himalayan plains of Northern India.

Mustard seeds Benefits and medicinal and uses: 

• Widely considered as a health benefiting spice, mustard seeds are indeed rich in phyto-nutrients, minerals, vitamins and anti-oxidants.

• Being one of the chief oil seeds, mustards are indeed very high in calories; 100 g of seeds provide 508 calories. Nonetheless, the seeds are made of quality proteins, essential oils, vitamins, minerals, and dietary fiber.

• The seeds are high in essential oils as well as plant sterols. Some of glucosinolate and fatty acids in the seeds include sinigrin, myrosin, erucic, eicosenoic, oleic, and palmitic acids.

• Mustard seeds are an excellent source of essential B-complex vitamins such as folates, niacin, thiamin, riboflavin, pyridoxine (vitaminB-6), pantothenic acid. These vitamins are essential in the sense that body requires them from external sources to replenish. These B-complex groups of vitamins help in enzyme synthesis, nervous system function and regulating body metabolism.

• 100 g of mustards provide 4.733 mg of niacin, also know as vitamin B-3. Niacin is a part of nicotinamide co-enzymes that help lower blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels.

• Mustard seeds contain flavonoid and carotenoid antioxidants such as carotenes, zea-xanthin, and lutein. In addition, the seeds compose a small amount of vitamin anti-oxidants such as vitamin A, C, and vitamin K.

• The seeds are an excellent source of vitamin E, gamma tocopherol. Vitamin E is a powerful lipid soluble antioxidant, required for maintaining the integrity of cell membrane of mucus membranes and skin by protecting it from harmful oxygen-free radicals.

• Mustard seeds and its oil has traditionally been used to relieve muscle pain, rheumatism and arthritic pain.

• In India, mustard oil is applied over scalp and is believed to stimulate hair growth.

• Its ground seeds act as a laxative, stimulant to gastric mucosa and increase intestinal secretion. 

Here are some serving tips:

• Mustards exude pungent nutty flavor when gently roasted under low flame.

• All 3 types of mustard seeds are used in pickling with raw mango, bitter gourd, etc, in India.

• Mustard fish curry, prepared with thin mustard paste, coriander powder, chilies and nigella is popular in Bangladesh and West Bengal in Indian subcontinent.

• Mustard paste is used in salad dressings, sandwiches, and hot dogs and in mayonnaise.

• American yellow mustard is prepared with white seeds, vinegar, spices, turmeric and sugar.

• Mustard oil is one of popular cooking oils used in many North Indian and Pakistani recipes.