Peanut butter always had a pretty big place in my heart. I love anything that has peanut butter on it and will eat anything that has peanut butter on it. When ever I eat it I always say, “I’m only gonna have a little bit” but then I end up eating like half the jar.
Recently I’ve been hearing different things that peanut butter is actually bad for you and I got pretty upset when I heard that.
According to the National Peanut Board, the average American eats about 3 pounds of peanut butter a year, which totals to about 700 million pounds nation wide. I found this pretty shocking because 3 pounds of peanut butter a year for one person seems like a lot to me but I can believe it since I basically have an addiction. Peanut butter is basically just ground roasted peanuts mixed with other ingredients such as salt, sugar, and palm oil is added to the peanut butter sold in the grocery stores. “Regular” peanut butter such as Skippy, and Jif includes peanuts, sugar, molasses, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, fully hydrogenated vegetable oils, mono-diglyceride and salt. Partially hydrogenated oils also known as trans fat has been linked to increase risk of cardiovascular disease. Peanut butter is very high in protein but if you use it as a primary source of protein it’s not good because there’s twice as much fat as there is protein in it. There is approximately 170-200 calories in two tablespoons of peanut butter, around 16 grams of fat, 7-8 grams of protein, and 6-8 grams of carbohydrates.
There are different alternatives to make peanut butter “healthier”. Natural peanut butters are a better option than traditional store brand peanut butters, even though there is still sugar and salt in it, there’s less fat. Obviously pure peanut butter would be the best option but if you don’t have access to it or it costs too much money, go with the natural peanut butter. Fox News Magazine offers a wide variety of different peanut butter brands to suite your different peanut butter needs.
Even though you may be tempted to eat an entire jar of peanut butter, the best way to eat peanut butter and it keep it “healthy” would be to eat it in moderation. There are many healthy fats, vitamins and minerals, and a pretty good amount of protein in peanut butter so it’s not entirely bad for you unless you eat a jar a day. My advice would be to stick with the natural peanut butter if your trying to look for a healthier alternative rather than the regular store brand peanut butter.
Sources:
http://www.builtlean.com/2013/10/16/peanut-butter-healthy-bad/
http://nationalpeanutboard.org
http://magazine.foxnews.com/food-wellness/truth-about-peanut-butter
This blog immediately appealed to me as I am a peanut butter addict! Even though we all know that peanut butter is protein, it can definitely be unhealthy when you eat too much of it (which I of course always do). So it’s definitely important to eat it in moderation! I think it’s crazy that a mere 2 tablespoons add up to 200 calories! I think a lot of people mistake peanut butter as just protein, but neglect to realize there is a lot of fat in it as well, so I am glad you addressed this topic. This is exactly why I steer clear from buying jars of peanut butter. Here is a better solution. Recently, I have been buying pre-made packages of apples and peanut butter at the good-to-go store at Findlay commons, where the package is only 170 calories total! Very filling and very tasty! It’s one of my favorite combo snacks and it might fulfill your peanut butter craving too!
I found this post really interesting because I had never heard that peanut butter was bad for you before. Your post got me thinking, so I did some searching online and found this very helpful article written by a Professor of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health. The article explained how, “it’s the whole package of nutrients, not just one or two, that determines how good a particular food is for health” (Willett). In terms of peanut butter, this means putting the saturated fat content into comparison with the healthy fiber, vitamins, and minerals content. When looking at nutrition labels, it’s important to account for everything, which in this case, makes peanut butter a healthy choice (in moderation of course).
Nooooooo, say it ain’t so!! It seems like anything that tastes good is bad for you. I am curious though, how peanut butter affects the body. Yes, it is high in fat and protein but what kind of fats? How and how quickly does the body digest the proteins that are in peanut butter. Should athletes who need high levels of proteins eat peanut butter? How much is 7-8 g of protein? Can you give the reader some relativity? Overall, it was a great article and very well organized. I especially appreciated the very sourced facts and nutritional values. It makes the article so much more believable and appreciative.
Have you ever tried almond butter? I absolutely love it! It’s perfect on fruit, rice cakes, toast, etc. They sell it at Trader Joe’s. I’ve heard it’s a lot healthier for you. According to an article I found on the EBSCO Host database, “a standard 2-Tbsp serving of plain almond butter has 196 calories, about 7 grams of protein and a bunch of fat—about 18 grams.” That’s pretty close to the numbers you gave for peanut butter, however, almond butter is held high in the mind’s of nutritionists for it’s “impressive 3.3 grams of fiber—about 13% of the FDA’s daily recommended total.” Give it a try! It could be a healthier alternative 🙂
Have you ever tried almond butter? I absolutely love it! It’s perfect on fruit, rice cakes, toast, etc. They sell it at Trader Joe’s. I’ve heard it’s a lot healthier for you. According to an article I found on the EBSCO Host database, “a standard 2-Tbsp serving of plain almond butter has 196 calories, about 7 grams of protein and a bunch of fat—about 18 grams.” That’s pretty close to the numbers you gave for peanut butter, however, almond butter is held high in the mind’s of nutritionists for it’s “impressive 3.3 grams of fiber—about 13% of the FDA’s daily recommended total.” Give it a try! It could be a healthier alternative 🙂
Have you ever tried Almond Butter? I absolutely love it! It’s perfect on fruit, rice cakes, toast, etc. They sell it at Trader Joe’s. I’ve heard it’s a lot healthier for you. According to an article I found on the EBSCO Host database, “a standard 2-Tbsp serving of plain almond butter has 196 calories, about 7 grams of protein and a bunch of fat—about 18 grams.” That’s pretty close to the numbers you gave for peanut butter, however, almond butter is held high in the mind’s of nutritionists for it’s “impressive 3.3 grams of fiber—about 13% of the FDA’s daily recommended total.” Give it a try! It could be a healthier alternative 🙂