Looking at chestnuts’ nutritional value, we can observe that for 100 grams, they are said to give around 180 calories. It is noted that this is in fact a lot lower than walnuts, almonds and other nuts – moreover dried fruits are said to be about 600 kcal for every 100 grams. They are said to have very little fat and what it is, is said to be unsaturated and without gluten in addition.

It is reported that their carbohydrate content is comparable with wheat and rice. Moreover, it it is said that there is double the amount of starch as potatoes have. In addition, it is said that sugars have around 8% for different sugars, that are in the majority sucrose, as well as glucose and fructose, plus to a smaller amount both stachyose, in addition to raffinose. In terms of their name, in some places they are also called “the bread tree”. At a time when they are just ripening, they may be largely starch and a lot firm to pressure by fingers, due to the high water content.

However, in regard to chestnuts’ nutritional value, as they begin to ripen, this starch is said to gradually change into sugars and also moisture content also starts to reduce. When the chestnut is squeezed. they can have a small “give” and the hull has less tension – plus in addition there is a small area between it and the flesh of the fruit. In this process, water is being substituted with sugars. Chestnuts are reported to possess vitamin C, giving around 40 mg for each 100g. When fresh, chestnuts may have approximately 52% water in relation to weight and it is said that this will quickly evaporate during storage – for instance, it is said that they can reduce by about 1% weight a day at 20 °C and with a 70% relative humidity.

As regards to how they may be eaten, they may be peeled and subsequently eaten raw – however it is asserted that they might be to some extent astringent, particularly if the pellicle is not extracted. Quite popularly, they may also be roasted which does not need peeling and once they are cooked, the texture can be said to be similar to a baked potato in addition to having a sweet flavour. Moreover, chestnuts can be made into flour. For instance in Corsica, they are made into fried fritters known as fritelli.

(reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chestnut)

Are Cashews Good For You? A popular type of food, cashews can be eaten in different ways, such as on their own, as well as for example covered by chocolate. It is reported that they are commonly used in Indian cooking such as garnishing sweets/curries and also as a paste for example in korma. It can also be noted that cashew apples can be taken raw/put in curries. In addition to Indian cooking, cashews may also be a feature of Thai and Chinese food. The origin of the word was apparently from the Portuguese: “caju” relating to a cashew tree’s fruit – these days it is grown widely in tropical climates for both the fruit and nut.

Of note in relation to natural health remedies (although of course one would probably need specialist advice to use them safely), the Patamona from Guyana are reported to use different parts of the plant medicinally. For instance, the bark can be used by scraping it and soaking it during the night and then it being boiled to be an antidiarrheal. Moreover, it is said that the seeds are made into a power to be used as snake bite antivenom. Furthermore, it has been said that the nut oil can be applied topically to be used for an antifungal.

Looking at the nutritional content of this food in relation to the question: “Are Cashews Good For You?”, within cashew nuts, the monounsaturated amount is 54% (18:1) and polyunsaturated fat 18% (18:2). Moreover, the saturated fat is 16% with 9% of that being palmitic acid (16:0) and 7% stearic acid (18:0). In terms of their other values, per 100 grammes, they give 553 kcal, carbohydrates at 30.19 g, sugars at 5.91 g and dietary fiber at 3.3 g. Moreover, fat is at 43.85 g and protein at 18.22 g. In relation to the US adult recommendations, we can see that Thiamine is given at .42 mg or 37%, magnesium at 292 mg with 82% and zinc at 5.78 mg at 61%. In addition, there is also a wide range of other nutrients that this food provides in addition. Thus, we can see that cashew nuts can be the source of much nutrition.

(reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cashew_nut)