We are what we eat. The problem is we don’t always know what we eat. Food today is so highly-processed that we have no idea how certain foods look like before they end up on the shelves in stores everywhere.
For instance, did you know that cashews, the delicious nuts we love so much, are not sold in their shells? Well, there’s actually a pretty fascinating reason why.
Believe it or not, cashews are actually a member of the same family as ivy poison. Like other members of this family, part of the cashews contains an oily chemical which is a strong irritant for most people. In fact, this substance can even be fatal for some people if ingested.
In the case of cashews, this substance is found in the leaves, as well as in a layer of oil between the shell and the cashew seed. As you can probably guess, shelling cashews is a job that must be done with extreme care, and it’s often done by hand.
The next time you’ll enjoy a cashew, you’ll most likely have new respect for the nut, and all the people who worked hard so that you can eat it safely.
