The International Nut & Dried Fruit Council (INC) is a non-profit organisation formed in 1983 in Paris, whose mission is to be the international source for information on nuts and dried fruits for health, nutrition, food safety, government standards, regulations and trade quality standards. The Spain-headquartered INC represents almonds, cashews, Brazil nuts, hazel nuts, macadamias, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios, walnuts and peanuts.

Pratap Nair of Vijayalaxmi Cashew Company (VLC), one of India's largest exporters of cashew, is the Ambassador of INC for India. In an interview with FE's Rajesh Ravi, Nair talks on health benefits of cashew nuts and its global trade. Excerpts:

What is the status of the global cashew trade? Has consumption slowed down due to recession?

The global cashew trade is estimated at around 5, 13,750 tonne on Kernel basis in 2010. Due to weather problems in most growing areas raw seed production was down by 15-20% in 2010. Prices of raw cashew are very high. Although there were fears that consumption of cashew and other nuts would be hit by the global recession, but it was not so. There was reasonable growth in Europe and US, which grew by 5-8%. India , China and the Middle Eastern markets have registered double digit growth. Asia, China and West Asian markets are the new growth engines of nut consumption.

What are the misconceptions regarding nut consumption? Do people really think that consuming nuts like cashew affect their health negatively?

There are several wrong notions about nut consumption. Some people wrongly believe that nut intake is associated with weight gain or worsening diabetes control. It has also affected the growth in nut consumption. Actually, nuts are a whole food that has been consumed by humans since historical times. Nuts are energy-dense foods, rich in total fat and unsaturated fatty acids, fibre, minerals, and bioactive phytochemicals with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. In nuts, the whole is greater than the parts.

What are the benefits of nut consumption? Is it really good for health?

Nuts are among the whole foods with a more impressive body of scientific evidence supporting beneficial effects on cardiovascular and other health outcomes. Large prospective studies have consistently associated frequent nut consumption with a reduced incidence of fatal and non fatal coronary heart disease.

Incorporating all types of nuts into the diet has a consistent cholesterol lowering effect that is dose related and more pronounced in persons with higher baseline cholesterol or lower body mass index. Nut consumption decreases triglyceride levels in persons with hipertriglyceridemia. Nuts reduce the postprandial glycaemia response when consumed with high-glycaemia index carbohydrate foods in both normoglycaemic subjects and type 2 diabetic patients. The reduction in coronary heart disease associated with nut consumption depends on mechanisms other than cholesterol lowering, as nuts have beneficial effects on insulin sensitivity, oxidative and inflammatory processes, and vascular reactivity. Both epidemiological and clinical studies have shown that frequent nut intake is not associated with weight gain or worsening diabetes control. The daily inclusion of a handful of nuts in the usual diet can be of benefit for healthy individuals and those with hypercholesterolemia and type 2 diabetes.

What is your outlook on the prospects of nut demand and trade?

The main competition to nuts in the supermarket shelves comes from cheaper food items such as extruded snacks, potato chips etc. But now with the health benefit of consumption of nuts being recognized by the consumers, we see bright prospects for the growth in consumption of nuts, including cashews in the next few years, worldwide. The rapid economic growth and rise in disposable income in Asian countries has contributed to the growth in consumption of nuts.

Financial Express