Cashews vs Walnuts – Which is Healthier?

Our Verdict

When comparing cashews to walnuts, we picked the walnuts.

Why?

Both are great! But a winner did emerge:

In terms of macros, cashews have slightly more protein, while walnuts have about 2x the fiber. As for fats, walnuts have more fat. Looking further into it: cashews’ fats are mostly monounsaturated, while walnuts’ fats are mostly polyunsaturated, both of which are considered healthy. All in all, we consider this a win for walnuts on account of the noteworthy fiber difference, but both are great.

It’s worth mentioning that notwithstanding being both high in calories, neither nut is associated with weight gain—largely because of their low glycemic indices (of which, walnuts have the slightly lower GI, but both are low-GI foods).

In the category of vitamins, cashews have more of vitamins B1, B5, E, and K, while walnuts have more of vitamins A, B2, B3 B6, B9, and C, giving walnuts the victory here.

Looking at minerals, cashews get their day, as cashews have more copper, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, and zinc, while walnuts have more calcium and manganese, meaning that cashews score a point finally.

In other considerations, walnuts are much higher in polyphenols, of which, especially flavonoids, of which especially flavonols, of which especially epicatechins. So, this round gives an extra point for walnuts.

Adding up the sections makes for a clear overall win for walnuts, but (unless you have a nut allergy, of course) do enjoy either or both, as diversity is best!

Want to learn more?

You might like:

• Are You Getting The Right Kinds Of Flavonoids?
• Enjoy Bitter Foods For Your Heart & Brain
• Why You Should Diversify Your Nuts

Enjoy!