Do Cashews Have Fewer Calories Than the Label Says?

The calorie numbers on food labels are worked out from a food's composition, using standard factors for fat, protein and carbohydrate. They assume your body absorbs all of it. For some foods, especially nuts, that may be too generous, because part of the energy stays locked inside the food's cell walls and passes through you.

The Global Cashew Council reports on a US Department of Agriculture study in which people ate controlled diets that included cashews, and researchers measured how much energy was actually absorbed. The finding, according to the Council, was that the body took in about 16 percent fewer calories from cashews than the figure used on labels and in food databases.

In plain terms, a handful of cashews may supply somewhat less energy than the number printed on the pack suggests. It doesn't turn cashews into a low-calorie food. They're still rich, and a 28 gram handful is still a modest amount of calories compared with its nutrients. See how many cashews you should eat a day.

This is one set of findings, and food labels haven't generally changed to reflect it. The study looked at a particular group under controlled conditions, and real life varies: how finely you chew a nut, for example, can change how much you absorb. We'd treat it as an interesting detail, and not a reason to eat more.

The way a cashew is prepared affects how much energy it releases. When nuts are ground, as in cashew butter or cashew powder, the cell walls are broken open, and more of the energy becomes available. So the finding applies mostly to whole nuts you chew. If you enjoy our Cashew Powder in cooking, treat it like any other rich ingredient.

Labels usually start from a standard rule: about 4 calories for each gram of protein and carbohydrate, and about 9 for each gram of fat. Those factors assume your body absorbs everything. For many foods that is close enough, but for foods with tough cell walls, like whole nuts, some of the fat may not be released as you chew and digest, which is the idea behind the research described above.

No. Similar findings have been reported for other nuts, such as almonds and walnuts, which suggests that the way a nut is built, and how well it is chewed, changes how much energy you take from it. The figures differ from nut to nut, and they come from small studies, so treat them as interesting rather than exact. You can compare nuts in cashews vs other nuts.

For most people, nothing needs to change. Keep to a sensible portion, as in how many cashews to eat a day, and enjoy them plain or lightly seasoned. If you are counting calories, using the number on the label is still a safe, simple rule, and our guide to cashews and weight explains how nuts fit into a balanced eating pattern.

Cashews are a nutritious, filling snack in sensible portions. Enjoy a small handful, preferably plain or lightly seasoned, and don't worry too much about the exact calorie count. For the wider nutrition picture, read cashews vs other nuts.