Cashews: A Natural Anti-Depressant
Depression is a mood disorder that brings about obstinate feelings of sadness and disinterest. Depression may escalate to dangerous heights bringing about physical and emotional damages. Normally the remedy for depression is use of clinical anti-depressant but research shows that there are alternative remedies that are equally effective. Topping this list are the cashews. In addition to their numerous functions, cashews can also serve as anti-depressants. CASHEWS AS A NATURAL ANTI DEPRESSANT Research has proven that the cashews can be used as a natural remedy for depression. It contain some substances that are key ingredients for making an anti-depressant. These are niacin and tryptophan. Niacin, which is also known as vitamin B3 and causes the blood vessels to open up creating a feeling of warmth that is commonly referred to as “niacin flush”. This comes together with a blushing of the skin and this helps a lot in reducing depression.
Tryptophan is an amino acid that is essential for normal infant growth and also nitrogen balance in adults. It is also produces serotine that serves as a mood stabilizer. Serotine also brings about an easy and happy sensation giving no room for sadness. Two handfuls of these nuts is all that is required for a salutary amount. This amount is enough to change and hoist one’s mood and can be equated to a dose of Prozac. For more accurate measurements, the amount is three and a half iotas of cashews that contains 470mg of tryptophan. Just like any other antidepressant, cashews have their fair share of pros and cons.
MERITS 1. Apart from being an antidepressant, these nuts also has other numerous health benefits. Some of them include; cancer prevention, endorses good cardiovascular health, enhances good hair and skin, bone formation, prevents gallstones, shedding weight and of course it is also good for the nerves. 2. It is also a natural product and hence the user need not worry about the side effects that come along with synthetic remedies.
DEMERITS 1. It has high contents of protein and hence may cause some allergic reactions to some individuals. But the allergies are most likely to occur when taken in excess.
SOME FACTS ABOUT THE CASHEWS 1. The cashew is normally referred to as a nut but it is a seed from the cashew tree which is ever green tree that thrives in the tropics. 2. The shell of the cashew nut is poisonous and this is why the shell must be removed before selling it to the consumers. 3. For those who are allergic to these nut the main causative agent is the protein that is present in the nut in high levels. COMPOSITION OF CASHEW NUTS Knowing that these nuts are good natural anti-depressants is not enough. It is also important to know their chemical composition so as to know exactly what one is taking. So below is a simple break down of the composition of the cashews.
A single cashew seed has fats and oils in the following proportions 62% of monounsaturated fat, 18% polyunsaturated fat and 21% saturated fat. It also contains 9% palmitic acid and 7% stearic acid. Cashews are also known to be a good source of antioxidants, dietary trace minerals including magnesium, copper, manganese and phosphorus.
