I've heard that one is supposed to have a handful of nuts a day. Is peanut butter an OK substitute for nuts?
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Answers:
I absolutely LOVE peanut butter, it's one of my comfort foods!
Peanuts and peanut butter are loaded with fat; however, it is the heart-healthy, unsaturated type of fat. Over 80% of the fat in peanuts comes from monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats -- both kinds shown to be beneficial in lowering blood cholesterol levels.
We all need fat in our diets but the caveat is to keep the total amount of fat as low as possible and, when choosing fats, choose the healthy unsaturated kind such as peanut butter or olive oil.
Recently, the FDA approved a health claim that says, "Diets containing one ounce of nuts per day can reduce your risk of heart disease," due to the overwhelming scientific research supporting the nutritional role of nuts. Peanut butter is not only an inexpensive source of plant protein and healthy fats but also packed with nutrients including vitamin E, folate, niacin, copper, potassium, selenium, zinc, magnesium, and fiber.
By law, peanut butter must contain 90% peanuts -- most brands actually contain 92%-93%, leaving very little room for additional ingredients. Small amounts of sugar, salt, stabilizers, and hydrogenated vegetable oils make up the remaining 10%.
The hydrogenated vegetable oils that are added to commercial peanut butter amount to only 1%-2% of the total weight, not enough to register the minute amount of trans fats. In fact, when labeling laws go into effect, peanut butter labels will boast "0" in the trans fat content.
Americans' love affair with peanut butter results in the purchase of more than 800 million pounds per year. Can you imagine childhood without peanut butter and jelly sandwiches? Who doesn't love peanut butter on bread, crackers, or straight from the jar? According to folklore, peanut butter was invented in 1890 as a health food for malnourished patients -- with good reason.
Dieter's Dream Come True
Most dieters shudder when you suggest peanut butter as part of a healthy diet. For years, savvy dieters have shunned nuts and peanut butter as forbidden foods because of their high fat content. Forget everything you ever knew about peanut butter and delight in knowing they are now considered health food. Once again, the key to including the great taste of peanut butter into a healthy diet without adding extra fat and calories is portion control.
To find a food that is delicious, nutritious, and filling is a dieter's dream come true. Dieters who eat nuts tend to stick to their diets because the fat and fiber content of nuts are very filling. As a result, they are not as hungry and ultimately eat less and lose more weight. Portion Control
Nuts might be considered health food but they don't give you a license to overindulge. When you add nuts or peanut butter to your diet, you add the health benefits, but you also add calories. The goal is to eat nuts or peanut butter instead of other fat sources in the diet such as cakes, cookies, or chips. So don't worry about trans fats in peanut butter, enjoy one of America's favorite foods but do so in moderation.
Sure, it's high in calories, but that's because it's packed with the same healthy monounsaturated fats as olive oil -- the original death-defying potion. But olive oil tastes rotten with grape jelly, and it makes your bagel all floppy. So peanut butter's a better choice. It's heart therapy you can spoon straight out of the jar.
Sign on for the Skippy Diet and not only can you reduce your risk of heart disease, but you may also increase your body's production of testosterone. And testosterone can help you grow big muscles, have firmer erections, and quite possibly land a high-paying job in the adult-film industry.
But even those benefits pale in comparison with the newest discovery about monounsaturated fats, and peanut butter in particular. According to research from Brigham and Women's Hospital, people who eat a diet high in foods like olive oil, avocados, and peanut butter are more likely to lose weight and keep it off than people following a more regimented, lower-fat diet. Nutrition researchers at Purdue University also subscribe to the skinny-in-a-Jif theory, suggesting that men feel fuller and eat less after snacking on peanut butter than after eating other foods.
The simple reason: peanut butter's great taste. Since a diet high in an indulgence like peanut butter doesn't leave you feeling deprived, it's easier to follow and won't make you prey to the cravings you feel on other diets. "Taste really is key. If you enjoy what you're eating, it's easier to stick with it," says Kathy McManus, R.D., coauthor of the Brigham and Women's Hospital study.
So, with that in mind -- and a jar of peanut butter in hand -- we set out to create the ultimate peanut-butter lover's diet. Follow it for a week and you'll lose half a pound. Follow it longer, and you'll continue losing weight and keep it off for good. (As long as you don't eat more than 6 tablespoons of peanut butter or 2,200 total calories in any single day, that is.) Heck, you'll burn an extra 90 calories per meal just scraping the stuff off the roof of your mouth.
Breakfast
PB & B Breakfast Shake
* Take this:
1 c fat-free milk
1 medium banana
2 Tbsp peanut butter
* Do this:
Dump all the ingredients into a blender and press Liquefy. Makes 1 serving
* Per serving: 384 calories, 18 grams (g) protein, 46 g carbohydrates, 17 g total fat, 5 g fiber
Creamy Peanut-Butter Pudding
* Take this:
2 Tbsp peanut butter
1 c Dannon fat-free vanilla yogurt
1 medium banana, sliced
* Do this:
Put the peanut butter in a bowl and microwave it until it begins to melt. Dump the yogurt in the bowl, stir it all together, and top with the slices of banana. Makes 1 serving
* Per serving: 418 calories, 16 g protein, 55 g carbohydrates, 17 g total fat, 5 g fiber
French Toast with Peanut-Butter Maple Syrup
* Take this:
1 egg
2 Tbsp fat-free milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 slices white or whole wheat bread
1/4 c light maple syrup
4 Tbsp chunky peanut butter
* Do this:
Mix together the eggs, milk, and vanilla in a large flat dish. Dip the bread in the egg mixture, and then flip it so both sides are coated. Heat both sides of the toast in a nonstick skillet until golden brown. Stir the maple syrup and peanut butter together in a separate bowl and microwave until warm. Pour over the French toast. Open mouth. Eat. Makes 2 servings
* Per serving: 365 calories, 13 g protein, 35 g carbohydrates, 19 g total fat, 3 g fiber
Lunch
Ham and Raisin Sandwich
* Take this:
2 Tbsp peanut butter
2 slices raisin bread
2 slices Canadian bacon
* Do this:
Spread the peanut butter on the bread, slap on the bacon, and make into a sandwich. Makes 1 serving
* Per serving: 421 calories, 24 g protein, 34 g carbohydrates, 23 g total fat, 4 g fiber
The Thin Elvis Special
* Take this:
2 Tbsp peanut butter
2 slices whole grain bread
1/2 Tbsp honey
1/2 large banana, peeled and sliced
* Do this:
Spread peanut butter on both slices of bread. Sandwich the honey and banana between the two slices. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Lightly coat the bread with butter-flavored cooking spray just before putting the bread on the skillet. Grill each side of the sandwich for 2 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve warm. Makes 1 serving
* Per serving: 396 calories, 13 g protein, 57 g carbohydrates, 18 g total fat, 13 g fiber
Creole Peanut-and-Tomato Soup
* Take this:
1 can (10 oz.) Campbell's tomato soup
1 c fat-free milk
2 Tbsp peanut butter
Tabasco sauce
* Do this:
Combine the soup, milk, and peanut butter in a medium saucepan and warm over medium heat. Stir until peanut butter melts. Add Tabasco sauce to taste. Serve hot. Makes 1 serving
* Per serving: 494 calories, 22 g protein, 68 g carbohydrates, 16 g total fat, 7 g fiber
Dinner
Pasta with Spicy Peanut Sauce
* Take this:
2 Tbsp peanut butter
2 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 1/2 c hot water
6 oz. whole wheat pasta, cooked
1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
* Do this:
Combine the peanut butter, soy sauce, lemon juice, garlic, pepper flakes, and water in a blender and process until smooth. Pour the sauce over the pasta, stir it all together, and top with bell pepper slices. Makes 1 serving
* Per serving: 233 calories, 10 g protein, 33 g carbohydrates, 9 g total fat, 5 g fiber
Asian Chicken-Salad Pitas
* Take this:
4 Tbsp peanut butter
2 Tbsp light teriyaki sauce
2 chicken breast halves, baked and diced
1/3 c canned pineapple, drained and chopped
1/4 c celery, chopped
1/3 c canned water chestnuts, drained and chopped
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 small red onion, chopped
2 6'' pitas
* Do this:
Mix together the peanut butter and teriyaki sauce in the bottom of a large bowl. Dump in the other salad ingredients and stir everything together. Split the pitas in half, pop 'em open, and fill each half with a quarter of the salad. Makes 2 servings
* Per serving: 595 calories, 43 g protein, 63 g carbohydrates, 22 g total fat, 11 g fiber
Mango Peanut Chicken
* Take this:
4 Tbsp peanut butter
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbsp honey
2 chicken breast halves, baked
1 mango, diced
* Do this:
Mix the peanut butter, mustard, garlic, and honey together in a small bowl. Heat the mixture in a microwave, stirring occasionally, until melted. Pour the peanut-butter sauce over the chicken and top with diced mango. Makes 2 servings
* Per serving: 488 calories, 38 g protein, 33 g carbohydrates, 24 g total fat, 4 g fiber
Dec. 15, 2004 -- Eating two spoonfuls of peanut butter straight from the jar may seem like a guilty pleasure, but new research shows it could be a healthy habit.
Researchers from Pennsylvania State University found that men, women, and children who ate a daily dose of peanuts or peanut butter were better able to meet the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for vitamins and nutrients than those who steered clear.
A single serving of peanut butter is equal to two tablespoons. One ounce of nuts equals one serving.
Including peanuts and peanut butter daily in a calorie-balanced diet can help meet nutrient goals set by the U.S. government, nutritionist and study researcher Penny Kris-Etherton, PhD, RD, says in a news release. The study was funded in part by The Peanut Institute.
The findings are published in the December issue of the Journal of American College of Nutrition.
Specifically, the diets of peanut and peanut butter eaters were higher in vitamins A and E, folic acid, calcium, magnesium, zinc, iron, and fiber. Nuts are also loaded with monounsaturated fats, which have been linked to lower cholesterol.
In recent years peanut butter and nuts have been shown to be part of a healthy diet. A Harvard study in 2002 showed that women who regularly ate peanut butter and nuts had a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes. And the more they ate, the lower their risk was. And in July 2003 the FDA approved a qualified health claim for almonds, hazelnuts, pecans, pistachios, walnuts, and peanuts for use in advertising and package labels.
Packages of nut products that meet the FDA's requirement can now carry the following claim:
"Scientific evidence suggests but does not prove that eating 1.5 ounces per day of most nuts, as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart disease." An ounce and a half serving of nuts is about a third of a cup or a small handful.
In this new study, the researchers found that men and children who regularly ate nuts had lower cholesterol. There was no significant effect in women.
But peanuts and peanut butter are high in fat, so there's a concern that eating too much could make a person gain weight.
The researchers found that calorie intake was indeed higher in people who regularly ate nuts. However, BMI -- an indicator of body fat -- was actually lower in nut eaters.
If you are allergic to peanuts, you do not have to eat peanut butter to get essential vitamins and nutrients. There are other ways to increase your intake of vitamins and minerals, such as eating more fruits and vegetables.
Oct. 3, 2003 -- Store-bought peanut butter is as good for you as the fresh-ground-in-the-health-foo... variety, a study shows.
That any kind of peanut butter is healthy seems too good to be true. But the lowly peanut is packed full of healthy oils and vitamin E.
Wait a minute. Doesn't processing raw peanuts into commercial peanut butter remove those healthy vitamins? No, find University of Georgia researcher Ron Eitenmiller, PhD, and colleagues. They measured vitamin E in raw peanuts, roasted peanuts, and commercial peanut butter.
The bottom line: Processing removes no more than 5% of total vitamin E from the product.
"We'd run so many studies on peanuts and peanut butters in the past, we had our suspicions that vitamin E content would remain high in the finished product," Eitenmiller says in a news release.
It's true that exposure to air erodes the vitamin E content of peanut butter. But Eitenmiller says that the commercial product's oil base and container protect against oxygen.
The findings appear in the September issue of the Journal of Food Sciences.
2 Tablespoons -- Not the Whole Jar
It's not just the vitamin E that makes peanut butter wholesome, says Leslie Bonci (pronounced BAWN-see), MPH, RD, director of sports nutrition at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
"There are some terrific health benefits to it, not just taste benefits," Bonci tells WebMD. "People get hung up on the fact that peanut butter has fat in it, but it is not as bad as other kinds of fat."
Bonci says the new findings confirm what she already knows: Grocery-store peanut butter is nutritionally the same as peanut butter freshly ground in a health-food store.
Which one should you pick? Let your personal taste be your guide, Bonci says.
"Fresh ground is not necessarily better," Bonci says. "The fat and calorie content are pretty much the same whether you grind your own or buy commercial peanut butter. The monounsaturated fat is still there."
But please remember this: Nothing is healthy unless portions are kept under control. Too much of a good thing is too much.
"The serving size is two tablespoons -- not the whole jar," Bonci warns.
Nov. 26, 2002 -- You stick it in the kids' lunchbox and it sticks to the roof of their mouths. And now, researchers say that peanut butter may help stick it to the nation's diabetes epidemic.
In a new study, Harvard researchers found that women who regularly consume peanut butter and nuts have a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes compared to those who don't -- and the more they eat, the lower the risk. Their findings are published in the Nov. 27 edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
"While peanut butter and nuts do contain lots of fats, most are unsaturated fats -- the healthy monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats that previous research shows can improve glucose and insulin stability," says researcher Rui Jiang, MD, of Harvard School of Public Health.
Women who reported eating a tablespoon of peanut butter at least five times a week had a 21% reduced risk of type 2 diabetes compared to those who rarely or never ate it, according to the study. A 27% decrease was noted in women who consumed five ounces of nuts each week compared to women who never or almost never consumed nuts.
The findings are based on questionnaires sent every four years to 83,000 women participating in Harvard's ongoing Nurses' Health Study, which has tracked their dietary and health habits over 16 years. During that time, the researchers documented 3,200 new cases of type 2 diabetes in these women.
"We didn't distinguish what types of nuts were consumed -- we just asked if they ate nuts or peanut butter and did the calculations," Jiang tells WebMD. "But we do not expect the association to differ by the type of nuts, because they have a similar nutrient profile. Most nuts, as well as peanut butter, are rich in the healthy types of fats and a good source of antioxidant vitamins, plant protein, and dietary fiber."
Type 2 diabetes is among the fastest-growing epidemics in the U.S. During the 1990s, the number of new diagnoses jumped 50%, reports the CDC. About 200,000 Americans die from its complications each year, which include heart disease and stroke.
In the December 1999 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Penn State researchers found that a diet rich in nuts and other foods high in monounsaturated fats reduced risk of heart disease by 21%, compared to a 12% drop noted in a more traditional low-fat diet.
A one-ounce serving of peanuts supplies about 14% of the daily recommendation for protein, 8% of fiber. It also contains 25% of vitamin E, 20% of niacin, 12% of magnesium, and 10% of copper, folate, and potassium. That handful of nuts also contains about 170 calories.
That's why the Harvard researchers and others urge that regular peanut butter and nut consumption be used as its original intention -- as a replacement for meat and other foods, not in addition to them. Peanut butter was originally used as a nutrient-rich meat alternative for patients of health guru (and later cereal baron) John Harvey Kellogg, who patented the creamy spread and introduced it as such at the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904.
"There is quite a body of literature showing that regular nut consumption can have all these benefits, but if it promotes increased body weight, we may be buying one advantage and losing on another," says Rick Mattes, PhD, RD, of Purdue University. "And that's where our research comes in."
He is currently investigating the best way to eat nut products in order to reap the maximum benefit of his previous research -- that peanuts and peanut butter satisfy hunger longer than other snacks. "We have already found that people who regularly consume nuts spontaneously eat less at other times of the day," he tells WebMD. "Our newest study, which we're doing right now, is to test when and how it is best to eat nut products so you don't gain weight, such as with a meal, before a meal, after a meal -- and in what form."
http://www.webmd.com/content/article/75/89622.htm
http://www.webmd.com/content/pages/9/1685_52491.htm
http://www.webmd.com/content/article/98/104798.htm
http://www.webmd.com/content/article/74/89417.htm
http://www.webmd.com/content/Article/54/65204.htm?pagenumber=2
http://www.webmd.com/search/rcp_search_results/?query=peanut+butter&rcpMainIngredient=&rcpDishType=&SearchableSource=&rcpSpecialDiet=&rcpRecipeExcludes=
http://preventdisease.com/news/articles/040505_health_benefits_peanuts.shtml
http://www.peanut-institute.org/
Other Answers:
The peanut is actually a member of the legume family so it is more of a bean than a nut. Ideally nuts should be consumed in their natural season. Mankind used nuts and seeds during the winter for extra sustain-ace when meat was scarce. A good plan is to focus on fresh fruits and vegetables FIRST then worry about the other food groups.
It would actually be better to consume a variety of nuts. One good suggestion is Roasted Soy Nuts. They are not nuts of course but they taste like them and provide non-animal protein and all the benefits of soy. They come in many flavors. Avoid the salted ones as the salt will counter the other good effects.
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