Cashews have long enjoyed a spot among the esteemed members of the nut family, gracing snack bowls, trail mixes, and gourmet recipes alike. With their creamy texture, delightful crunch, and rich nutritional profile, they’re a staple in many households and cuisines worldwide. But what if we told you that cashews, the humble kitchen favorite, aren’t actually nuts?

Much like peanuts, which are scientifically classified as legumes, cashews belong to a completely different botanical category. Surprising, right? This article delves deep into the botanical intricacies and culinary mysteries surrounding cashews, offering a clearer understanding of where this beloved ingredient truly belongs.

What Is a Nut?

To unravel the mystery of cashews, it’s essential to first understand what defines a "true" nut. Botanically, a nut is a dry fruit encased within a hard shell, containing a single seed. The hard shell doesn’t split open when the fruit ripens, distinguishing nuts from other plant-based foods. Examples of true nuts include acorns, chestnuts, and hazelnuts. These are the quintessential representatives of the nut family.

In contrast, many foods colloquially referred to as nuts—like cashews, almonds, and pistachios—do not fit this scientific definition. So, if cashews aren’t nuts, what are they?

Cashews are classified as drupes. Drupes are fruits that have a fleshy exterior surrounding a single seed encased in a hard shell. The part we consume—the cashew “nut”—is the seed of this drupe.

The cashew tree, scientifically known as Anacardium occidentale, produces a fascinating fruit structure. The visible pear-shaped cashew apple, which often draws attention, is not the actual fruit. Beneath it hangs a small, kidney-shaped drupe. Inside this drupe lies the cashew seed, which is what we eat.

Interestingly, the cashew’s outer shell is inedible due to the presence of urushiol, a toxic compound also found in poison ivy. This makes the processing of cashews labor-intensive, as the shells must be carefully removed to ensure safety.

Not a Legume Either

Given their culinary similarity to peanuts, you might wonder if cashews are legumes. However, legumes grow in pods containing multiple seeds that split open when mature. Examples include beans, peas, and peanuts.

Although cashews, like peanuts, can be split in half, their development within a drupe rather than a pod excludes them from the legume family. Cashews occupy a unique botanical category, making them difficult to classify strictly.

Culinary Classification vs. Botanical Classification

While cashews may not be nuts by botanical standards, they’re treated as nuts in the culinary world. Why? Because cashews share many characteristics with true nuts:

Nutritional Profile: Like nuts, cashews are rich in healthy fats, protein, and essential nutrients, making them a key ingredient in energy-boosting snacks and recipes.

Culinary Uses: Cashews are versatile and can be used in everything from nut butters and trail mixes to stir-fries and desserts, much like almonds or walnuts.

Interestingly, many popular “nuts” aren’t botanically nuts either. Walnuts, pecans, pistachios, and almonds are also drupe seeds. Even with their misclassification, cashews’ nutritional and culinary contributions have cemented their place in the nut aisle.

Nutritional Benefits of Cashews

Regardless of classification, cashews are undeniably nutritious. They are packed with essential nutrients like magnesium, zinc, iron, and vitamins B6 and K. Their high content of monounsaturated fats supports heart health, while their protein and carbohydrate content make them a satisfying snack for sustained energy.

Cashews are also an excellent plant-based source of copper, which plays a vital role in energy production, brain health, and immune function. Adding them to your diet can offer numerous health benefits, whether sprinkled over salads, blended into creamy sauces, or enjoyed as a simple roasted snack.

Understanding the botanical classification of cashews not only satisfies curiosity but also highlights the incredible diversity of plant-based foods. It’s a reminder of the complexity of the natural world and the importance of accurate labeling in agriculture and nutrition.

Moreover, cashews’ unique classification showcases their versatility. Whether you consider them nuts, drupes, or seeds, there’s no denying their culinary and health value. Their rich flavor, satisfying texture, and nutrient-dense profile make them a standout ingredient across cuisines and diets.

So, are cashews nuts? Botanically, no. Cashews are drupe seeds, with a fascinating journey from tree to table. Yet, in the culinary world, they’ve earned a spot alongside true nuts, thanks to their similar flavor, texture, and nutritional attributes.

Regardless of their classification, cashews are a delicious, versatile, and nutritious food. Whether you’re enjoying a handful as a snack, blending them into a creamy vegan sauce, or incorporating them into a dessert, cashews deserve a place in your pantry and your diet.

Next time you reach for a bowl of “mixed nuts,” remember the botanical intricacies that make each ingredient unique- and give a little extra appreciation to the not-so-nutty cashew!

The consumption of energy drinks among teenagers has increased in the US. This has sparked concerns among doctors about caffeine toxicity, sleep, heart health, and the effects on their developing brains.

According to the latest federally funded Monitoring the Future survey, 23% of 12th graders said they consumed energy drinks daily. The figure was 20% among 10th graders and 18% among eighth graders.

The findings come as a group of doctors have raised concerns about the growing consumption of energy drinks among young people, particularly after Monster Energy signed a sponsorship deal with the Big 12 Conference, a major US college sports organisation.

The deal puts Monster branding on football and basketball jerseys, fields, courts and digital and social media platforms. Doctors have urged the conference to pause the partnership and called for greater scrutiny of energy drink marketing to young people.

Doctors Are Concerned About Growing Energy Drinks' Consumption Among Teens

Also read: Exclusive: From IPL To Olympics — How Sport Became A Marketing Tool For Junk Food And Sugary Drinks

Dr. Robin Ireland told HealthandMe how marketing unhealthy foods and drinks through sports affects children.

He said, " Sport presents glamour and excitement, and children look up to big performers and superstars who often promote products they probably don't consume themselves because they're not good for sporting performance. Yet their names and images are used to create that excitement and, as you described, a health halo. Brands want to be associated with that healthy image. Athletes think that if they want to perform like a Sachin Tendulkar or another superstar, they need a sports drink or energy drink. And of course, they don't. But that's what the brands are trying to do."

Doctors involved in the campaign say their concern extends beyond Monster and applies to energy drinks as a category.

Dr Matthew Nelson, an Idaho cardiologist told US News, “Kids are going to see energy drinks now promoted by the universities and the athletes that they admire and want to emulate. The kids will think of them as sports drinks, which they’re not.”

Energy drinks can contain large amounts of caffeine. Depending on the product, a single serving can contain 80 to 300 milligrams of caffeine. An eight-ounce coffee typically contains around 80 to 100 mg, while some soft drinks contain 50 mg or less.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children and teenagers avoid energy drinks and advises those aged 12 to 18 to limit caffeine to no more than 100 mg a day.

Too much caffeine can increase heart rate and blood pressure and may cause sleep problems, agitation, and dehydration. In more severe cases, excessive stimulant intake can contribute to abnormal heart rhythms and seizures.

Dr Tamara Hannon, an Indiana paediatrician and chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics' nutrition committee, described the effect of excessive stimulants on the body.

She said, “The same thing can happen when you deliver stimulants to people. The heart can wear out, the nervous system can go haywire and you can have really serious consequences.”

Monster Energy, meanwhile, has defended its products, saying caffeine and other ingredients in its drinks are also found in many other foods and beverages.

The company said, “Mainstream energy drinks have been marketed worldwide for more than 30 years and more than 100 billion energy drinks have been sold and safely consumed globally.”

The company also said its products carry warnings and that its members do not sell or market energy drinks in K-12 schools.

Also read: Red Bull Vs FSSAI: Beverage Giant Can Retain The 'Energy Drink' Label; What Are Its Health Risks

Teen's Death After Drinking An Energy Drink

In 2017, 16-year-old Davis Cripe of South Carolina died after developing an abnormal heart rhythm following consumption of an energy drink. According to his father, Sean Cripe, Davis had consumed a Mountain Dew and a latte from McDonald's earlier that day before drinking the energy drink. He did not have a known heart condition and was not a regular energy-drink consumer.

“He chugged an energy drink — like, just trying to be cool,” Sean Cripe said. His father later said, “We had talked to him and let him know that they weren’t healthy. We didn’t understand they could be deadly.”

Doctors stress that deaths associated with energy drinks are rare, and Davis' case does not mean every teenager who consumes an energy drink will experience a life-threatening complication. But it illustrates why excessive caffeine consumption can be concerning in young people.

Message For Parents

Teenagers may consume caffeine from several sources in the same day, including energy drinks, coffee, soda and other caffeinated beverages. That can make it difficult to recognise how much caffeine they are actually consuming.

Doctors recommend that parents talk to teenagers about the difference between energy drinks and sports drinks and pay attention to all sources of caffeine in their diets.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also recommends educating children about the harms of excessive caffeine consumption.

Walk through a grocery store today and even chips and pastries come in "protein-boosted" versions. Nutrition experts at Stanford Medicine say this trend, often called "protein-maxxing," has outrun the science behind it.

The real picture is more nuanced. Some people do need more protein than official guidelines once suggested, but for most, the bigger problem lies elsewhere in the diet, not in a shortage of protein. Here's what the research actually shows.

1. Your body does need protein

Protein is one of three macronutrients, along with carbs and fat, and your body can't skip it. Dietary protein breaks down into amino acids, the building blocks used to make your own body's proteins.

"Protein can take the form of your muscles, your hair, your skin, everything has protein in it," said Jonathan Long, an associate professor of pathology at Stanford. Of the 20 amino acids your body needs, nine can only come from food.

2. The official recommendation just changed, and the old number was debated for decades

Until early 2026, the US RDA for protein was 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight, a figure that had stood for over 80 years, according to nutrition writer Shannon Keefe.

New federal dietary guidelines released in January 2026 raised that to 1.2 to 1.6 grams per kilogram. For a 150-pound adult, that moves the daily target from about 55 grams, roughly an 8-ounce steak, up to 80-110 grams.

Also Read: New Experimental Drug May Preserve Muscle Mass During Weight Loss From Ozempic

Whether this matters for you depends on who you are. Christopher Gardner, Stanford's director of nutrition studies, says the old RDA already covers most healthy adults.

But other experts interviewed by Today's Dietitian, including sports dietitian Angie Asche, argue the 0.8g figure is too low for people trying to build muscle, adults over 65, and anyone on a weight-loss diet. The gap is partly because the original RDA was built on decades-old nitrogen-balance studies that may underestimate real needs, Keefe writes.

3. Protein matters most when you're cutting calories

Stanford Medicine notes protein becomes more important specifically when someone eats fewer calories, since a calorie deficit raises the risk of losing muscle along with fat.

This is especially relevant now, given rising use of weight-loss medications. Outside a calorie deficit, piling on extra protein doesn't offer the same payoff.

4. Fiber is the real gap in most diets

While protein gets the spotlight, fiber doesn't. Gardner points out that antioxidants which lower inflammation and help prevent cancer "don't come in meat and cheese and protein bars," per Stanford Medicine.

Only 5% of Americans meet recommended fiber intake, despite its role in gut and heart health. Beans, legumes and whole grains deliver both fiber and protein, but Americans eat less than 10 grams of legumes a day on average, Gardner says.

5. "Incomplete protein" is a myth

The old claim that plant proteins are 'incomplete' and must be paired with specific grains doesn't hold up, Gardner says. Plant proteins contain all 20 amino acids. Legumes run only slightly lower in one of them. Gardner co-authored a 2019 paper comparing amino acid profiles across animal and plant foods and found them nearly identical.

Other myths don't hold up either. There's no need to spread protein evenly across meals, says Stanford dietitian Marily Oppezzo, though older adults may need more per meal to trigger muscle growth. The post-workout 'anabolic window' is also longer than assumed, closer to 24 hours, so a protein shake right after the gym isn't essential.

More isn't automatically better. "I don't think a high-protein diet is necessarily bad, but what are you not eating?" Oppezzo asked. Chasing protein can crowd out the fiber, vitamins and antioxidants in vegetables, fruits, whole grains and nuts.

A compound your body makes after eating pomegranates, walnuts and some berries has improved heart function by up to 80% in lab models of a form of heart failure that's notoriously hard to treat. The finding comes from King's College London, and it's early, but it points at a problem doctors have struggled with for years.

The Condition With Few Treatments

The heart failure in question is called heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, or HFpEF. Here, the heart still pumps blood normally, but becomes too stiff to relax and fill properly between beats. It causes breathlessness, fatigue and a poorer quality of life, and accounts for roughly half of all heart failure cases in the UK, affecting nearly half a million people, according to King's College London's release, carried by ScienceDaily.

HFpEF has long resisted treatment because it's driven by many overlapping factors, including ageing, high blood pressure and diabetes, King's College London says. One class of diabetes drugs, called SGLT2 inhibitors, has recently changed that picture. Large trials named EMPEROR-Preserved and DELIVER found that the drugs empagliflozin and dapagliflozin cut deaths and hospital visits in HFpEF patients, and empagliflozin became the first SGLT2 inhibitor approved in the US specifically for HFpEF, according to TCTMD. But researchers still call the field wide open.

Also Read: Heart Valve Clips Explained: How a Tiny Clip Can Help Repair a Leaking Valve

What The New Study Found

Researchers led by Dr. Joseph Burgoyne found that a compound called urolithin A activates a protein named PKGIα, which helps blood vessels and heart muscle relax, King's says. In animal models of HFpEF, urolithin A improved heart function measures by as much as 80%, helped heart tissue relax better, and reduced fibrosis, the scarring that interferes with normal heart function. It also limited harmful enlargement of heart muscle cells.

The team then tested the compound in engineered human heart tissue grown from stem cells, a lab model that closely mimics real heart muscle. Urolithin A significantly improved relaxation there too, according to King's, suggesting the animal results might carry over to humans.

Notably, urolithin A has already been studied in people and has shown a good safety record, King's says. But your body doesn't get it directly from food. Instead, gut bacteria produce it by fermenting compounds found in pomegranates, walnuts and berries, according to the Global Prebiotic Association, a nutrition industry group. That means how much urolithin A a person makes can depend on which gut bacteria they have, not just what they eat.

Not A Reason To Stock Up On Pomegranates Yet

Burgoyne was careful about what the findings mean. "While there isn't enough evidence to suggest that people should eat pomegranates to treat heart failure, these findings raise the possibility that dietary approaches that enhance urolithin A production may help alleviate this condition," he said, per King's.

Professor James Leiper of the British Heart Foundation, which funded the study, struck the same note: "These findings are promising, but the benefits have so far been seen in animals and engineered human tissue, so clinical trials involving people are needed." He added that a healthy, balanced diet is still one of the best ways to protect the heart, but "no single food can prevent or treat heart disease on its own."