Cashew nuts, blood fats and blood pressure across trials in people
What it found
Eating cashew nuts lowered the top blood pressure reading by about 3.39 points in people.
It made no difference to blood fats or the bottom blood pressure reading.
What they found
Studies in people
Top blood pressure reading
People who ate cashew nuts saw their top blood pressure number drop by about 3.39 points compared with those who did not.
Bottom blood pressure reading
Cashew nut intake made no difference to the bottom blood pressure number.
Blood fats
Eating cashew nuts did not change total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol or triglycerides in the blood.
What the authors conclude
- They conclude that eating cashew nuts might lower the top blood pressure reading.
- They found no effect on blood fats or the bottom blood pressure reading.
How it was done
High blood fats and high blood pressure raise the risk of heart disease. Earlier work suggested eating nuts might lower that risk.
The authors gathered randomised trials testing cashew nut intake in people. They combined results from 392 participants. They looked at blood fats and both blood pressure readings.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- These trials were short and cannot show what happens over many years of eating cashew nuts.
- A review combining trials can show cause and effect for what it measured, but only within the time frame studied.
Who paid
- Conflicts
- Declaration of Competing Interest None to declare
- Authors work at
- Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Iran; Brighton & Sussex Medical School, UK; Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Iran
The paper
- Title
- The effects of cashew nut intake on lipid profile and blood pressure: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
- Type
- Systematic review and meta-analysisThe authors follow a set, published method to find every relevant study, then combine the numbers from them into one result.
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Jalali M, Karamizadeh M, Ferns GA, Zare M, Moosavian SP, Akbarzadeh M (2020). The effects of cashew nut intake on lipid profile and blood pressure: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Complementary therapies in medicine. doi:10.1016/j.ctim.2020.102387PubMed 32444052DOI
Summary written 1 Oct 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error