The available energy (calorie) content of cashews is 16 per cent lower than that which is typically stated on current food labels and databases in the United States, including the National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference.
The information on these labels and databases must be corrected in order to provide consumers with accurate energy values. Whereas the current reported energy value was 163 kcal/serving, USDA researchers found that the metabolisable energy content of a 28g (1oz) serving of cashews is 137 kcal.
These were the results of a human-intervention study that looked at the available energy content in cashew nuts, and was published recently in the journal Nutrients, researchers at the USDA, ARS, Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Centre.
Eighteen healthy volunteers were recruited to participate in this nine-week study. Participants consumed a controlled base diet supplemented with cashew nuts (42g/day) during one treatment period of four weeks, or a controlled base diet with no-cashew supplementation during another treatment period of four weeks.
Diet samples from the study, as well as faeces and urine from eighteen volunteers, were collected during the final week of each intervention phase and analysed for protein, fat and energy content. From these, researchers were able to determine the actual digestible energy content of cashews.
Meanwhile, another recent study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition concluded that 42g/day of cashews does not increase LDL bad cholesterol levels. The study also observed that adding 42g of cashews every day to a typical Western diet may help reduce the enzyme PCSK9, and lower PCSK9 concentrations are associated with the removal of LDL bad cholesterol from the blood.
This study was supported by the Global Cashew Council and the INC International Nut and Dried Fruit Council.
