A ½ oz. of cashews counts as one serving in the meat and beans group of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Guide Pyramid. Cashews come from trees related to mangoes, pistachios, sumac and poison ivy. Cashews, like other nuts, are calorie-dense but can play a role in a healthy diet.
Calories and Macronutrients
One ounce of raw cashew nuts contains 155 calories. It provides 12g of fat and 9g of carbohydrates. Cashew nuts also offer 5g of protein in 1 oz.
Other Nutrition Information
Cashews provide 12 percent of vitamin K which the body needs for blood clotting. One oz. of these nuts also provides 8 percent of thiamin and 6 percent of vitamin B-6. They offer 1g of fiber and just 1 percent of the recommended dietary allowance for calcium. Cashew nuts provide 10 percent of the RDA for iron.
Sodium Considerations
A 1-oz. serving of raw cashew nuts contains 3mg of sodium. Dry roasted versions with added salt contain up to 179mg per serving. Oil roasted cashews with added salt contain 86mg per oz. The Institute of Medicine recommends keeping sodium intake to 1,500mg per day.
Healthy Fats
Only 2g of the 12g of fat in cashew nuts is the unhealthy saturated variety. The rest of the fat in cashew nuts is polyunsaturate and monounsaturated. Eating these types of fats as 25 to 35 percent of your daily calories helps support normal body function, notes the American Heart Association. In addition, consuming unsaturated fats instead of saturated fats may help lower blood cholesterol.
Dietary Impact
Eating nuts, like cashews, can improve your overall nutritional profile. A study in the "Journal of Nutrition," published in 2008 found that people who consume nuts as a regular part of their diet have higher intakes of the nutrients folate, beta-carotene, vitamin K, lutein+zeaxanthin, phosphorus, copper, selenium, potassium and zinc. Even though nuts can add 250 calories per day to your intake, they do not seem to cause significant weight gain.
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