Cashew Nuts (Kaju) Benefits, Nutrition & Uses

Kaju is the Indian name for the cashew, the kidney-shaped seed of Anacardium occidentale. It is eaten plain, salted, ground into gravies and pressed for oil.

Two things in the research are worth knowing before the rest. Cashews are the one tree nut that has not shown the cholesterol benefit the others show, and cashew is now the leading cause of tree nut anaphylaxis in children. Both are covered below with the figures behind them.

What Are Cashew Nuts, and Where Do They Come From?

Cashews are the seed of a tropical tree, sold shelled because the shell contains an irritant resin. India is among the major growers and processors.

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research[1] describes cashew as the second most important edible tree nut crop after almonds. It reports cultivation in more than 30 countries with a production of over 3.80 million tonnes. It puts the global market at nearly six billion US dollars.

India-specific production figures could not be retrieved for this article, because the Directorate of Cashew Research site did not resolve when it was opened.

What Is the Nutritional Value of Cashew Nuts?

Cashews are fat and protein with a useful mineral load. The United States Department of Agriculture database[2] records these figures for raw cashew nuts.

Nutrient	What 100 g of raw cashew nuts provides
Energy	Raw cashews provide 553 kcal per 100 g.
Total fat	Total fat is 43.8 g per 100 g.
Monounsaturated fat	Monounsaturated fat accounts for 23.8 g of that total.
Saturated fat	Saturated fat is 7.78 g per 100 g.
Protein	Protein is 18.2 g per 100 g.
Carbohydrate	Carbohydrate by difference is 30.2 g per 100 g.
Fibre	Total dietary fibre is 3.3 g per 100 g.
Magnesium	Magnesium is 292 mg per 100 g.
Copper	Copper is 2.20 mg per 100 g.
Iron	Iron is 6.68 mg per 100 g.
Zinc	Zinc is 5.78 mg per 100 g.
Sodium	Sodium in unsalted raw cashews is 12 mg per 100 g.

A hundred grams is a large bowl rather than a handful. The figures scale down accordingly, and the salted roasted version differs, which the FAQs cover.

How Much Protein Is in Cashew Nuts?

More than most plant foods, at 18.2 g per 100 g of raw cashews. That is high for a snack food, though it comes alongside 553 kcal.

The dry roasted salted version carries slightly less, at 15.3 g per 100 g[3]. Cashews sit below almonds and peanuts among common nuts on protein, and the fat is the larger part of what they deliver.

What Are the Health Benefits of Cashew Nuts?

The defensible benefits are the fat quality and the minerals. More than half the fat is monounsaturated, at 23.8 g of the 43.8 g total, and the saturated fraction is comparatively small.

The mineral figures are the more striking part. Raw cashews carry 292 mg of magnesium, 2.20 mg of copper, 6.68 mg of iron and 5.78 mg of zinc per 100 g.

Beyond composition, the retrieved clinical evidence is almost entirely about blood lipids, and it does not say what most people expect. That is the next section.

Are Cashew Nuts Good for Cholesterol?

This is where cashews part company with other nuts. A 2023 review in Nutrients[4] surveyed 19 systematic reviews of nut consumption and found consistent reductions in total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and triglycerides across nuts as a group.

Cashews were the exception. The same review identified two meta-analyses that looked at cashews specifically, covering doses of 28 g to 108 g daily over four to twelve weeks. It reports that both found no change in lipid markers.

A 2024 trial supports that reading. The Brazilian Nuts Study in Frontiers in Nutrition[5] randomised 68 adults with overweight or obesity into three arms for eight weeks. One had an energy-restricted diet alone, one added 30 g of cashews daily, and one added 30 ml of cashew nut oil.

The whole nut did not shift LDL significantly, with a fall of 5.8 mg/dl that did not reach significance. The oil arm did, with a fall of 11.5 mg/dl. The reviewers of the wider literature suggest the food matrix may explain it.

How Are Cashew Nuts Used?

In Indian cooking they are used whole, roasted or ground. Ground cashew thickens and enriches gravies, which is a culinary use rather than a nutritional one.

The research used them more narrowly, feeding whole nuts in measured daily amounts that are set out in the FAQs below.

Cashew nut oil is a separate product with a separate result, as the cholesterol section shows. The two should not be treated as interchangeable.

What Are the Side Effects of Cashew Nuts?

Allergy is the serious one, and it is growing. A 2025 analysis of the European Anaphylaxis Registry[6] examined 1,083 confirmed cases of tree nut anaphylaxis reported between 2007 and April 2024.

Cashew was the leading cause in children. It accounted for 334 of the 845 paediatric cases, about 40%, and 97% of all cashew cases in the registry occurred in children rather than adults.

The amounts involved were small. The analysis records that 36% of children reacted to less than a teaspoon and 76% to less than a tablespoon, with six reactions following inhalation or skin contact alone.

Two lesser effects follow from the composition. Salted roasted cashews carry 640 mg of sodium per 100 g against 12 mg in raw. At 553 kcal per 100 g, the energy density is also high for a food eaten by the handful.

Who Should Be Careful with Cashew Nuts?

The cautions are specific rather than general.

Situation	What to do
Known cashew or tree nut allergy	Avoid them and follow the allergy plan agreed with a doctor. The registry records reactions to amounts under a teaspoon.
A child with a diagnosed nut allergy	Take specialist advice. Cashew accounted for about 40% of paediatric tree nut anaphylaxis in the registry.
Known pistachio allergy	Raise cashews with the allergy team. The registry describes cashew and pistachio as highly similar with high cross-reactivity.
Watching salt intake	Choose unsalted. Dry roasted salted cashews carry 640 mg of sodium per 100 g.
Managing cholesterol	Do not rely on cashews for it. The retrieved meta-analyses found no change in lipid markers from cashews.

No retrieved source reports serious harm from cashews in people who are not allergic to them.

Where Can You Buy Supplements and Medicines on Medkart?

Cashews are a grocery item rather than a pharmacy one. Medkart sells medicines and the nutritional supplements that cover some of the same minerals, including iron products such as Daily Iron.

Two categories are relevant to what this article describes. Medkart lists antihistamines containing cetirizine, and lipid medicines containing atorvastatin. Availability, pack size and price differ between products and can change.

Nothing here says any of these treats a condition, and an antihistamine is not a treatment for anaphylaxis, which needs emergency care. Medkart’s medicine comparison tools can be used to compare listed options on:

Active ingredient
Strength
Dosage form
Manufacturer
Pack size
Current price

It is also possible to browse the full medicine list or find the nearest Medkart store.

Key Takeaways

Kaju is the cashew, the seed of Anacardium occidentale, sold shelled because the shell holds an irritant resin.
Raw cashews provide 553 kcal and 18.2 g of protein per 100 g.
More than half the fat is monounsaturated, at 23.8 g of the 43.8 g total.
They are dense in magnesium, copper, iron and zinc.
Two meta-analyses of cashews specifically found no change in blood lipid markers.
In a 2024 trial, cashew nut oil lowered LDL but whole cashews did not do so significantly.
Cashew caused about 40% of paediatric tree nut anaphylaxis in a European registry of 1,083 cases.
Most children in that registry reacted to less than a tablespoon.

FAQs

Q. Are roasted cashews different from raw ones?

On salt, considerably. The USDA records 640 mg of sodium per 100 g in dry roasted salted cashews against 12 mg in raw, which is the largest difference between the two. Energy rises slightly to 574 kcal and protein falls slightly to 15.3 g per 100 g.

Q. How many cashews count as a portion?

No retrieved source sets a portion for general use. What the research used is clearer: the 2024 trial fed 30 g a day, and the meta-analyses covered 28 g to 108 g daily. Those are research amounts rather than a recommendation.

Q. Why do cashews not lower cholesterol when other nuts do?

The reviewers offer a composition explanation rather than a proven mechanism. The Nutrients review suggests the absence of an effect may come from the differing food matrix. It notes that cashews carry lower levels of tocopherols, phytosterols and dietary fibre than other tree nuts, and that few cashew studies exist.

Q. Can someone allergic to cashews eat pistachios?

That is a question for an allergy specialist. The registry analysis describes cashew and pistachio as having highly similar features with high cross-reactivity, and compared 345 cashew cases with 77 pistachio cases. Nothing retrieved here supports assuming one is safe because the other has not caused a reaction.

Q. Do children grow out of cashew allergy?

Usually not, on this evidence. The registry authors state that natural tolerance rarely develops in cashew allergy, which is part of why they describe it as an escalating public health concern. Any decision about reintroduction belongs with an allergy specialist.

Q. Do cashews cause weight gain?

No trial retrieved for this article tested that directly. The 2024 study fed 30 g a day inside an energy-restricted diet, so it does not answer the question either. What is established is the energy density, at 553 kcal per 100 g.

References

Medical disclaimer: This article gives general information only. It does not replace advice from a doctor, pharmacist or dietitian. Anyone with a known nut allergy, or caring for a child with one, should follow the plan agreed with their allergy team, and no medicine or supplement should be started, stopped or changed without advice from the prescriber or a qualified pharmacist.

Cashew Nuts (Kaju): Nutrition, Benefits, Uses and Side Effects