Peanut Butter: It’s Not Just for Kids

Great news for grownups: PB&J ain’t just for kids anymore.

The sandwich that still graces millions of school kids’ lunch boxes also enriches an adult diet. The reason is simple: Peanuts aren’t nuts. Like chickpeas, lentils and all their beany cousins, they are legumes that offer small bundles of nutritious benefits.

Every year Americans spend almost $800 million on peanut butter, the National Peanut Board numbers show. Sixty percent of these shoppers prefer smooth butter over chunk style, but as with so many things in life, there is a gender difference: Girls generally go for smooth, boys for chunks.

Both are nutritious choices. As dietitian Lauren Manaker told the Real Simple website recently, the list of good things in peanut butter includes healthy fats, plant-based protein, the mineral magnesium, vitamin E, and the B vitamin niacin.

As a result, it makes good nutrition sense to eat peanut butter once a day every day, perhaps by adding a tablespoon or two to a smoothie or stirring it into oatmeal or pasting it on top of pancakes or toast.

Here’s what that delivers. First, peanut butter’s plant protein, about 7 grams in two tablespoons, helps to meet the USDA Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for healthy adults. This is particularly valuable for eggetarians who do not get their protein from animal sources such as red meat. Like other plant proteins, the peanut’s are incomplete. They miss some of the amino acids which build proteins, so the trick is to pair the peanut butter with other plant protein sources such as grains to complete the nutrient, making that PB&J a tool to increase the body’s ability to build and repair tissues, maintain muscle mass, and support immune function. and maintaining muscle mass.” Next up, the mineral magnesium which helps maintain healthy blood pressure, plus the antioxidant vitamin E and the B vitamin niacin which both support energy production and protect skin health.

There’s more. Dietician Kristen Lorenze explains in that recent Real Simple article that peanut butter’s “trifecta of unsaturated fat, protein, and fiber slow down gastric emptying (or the speed at which food moves through the GI tract), and mitigate sharp blood sugar spikes after meals, further helping with satiety and reducing the glycemic impact of high-carb meal.” Translation: The mix of fat, protein, and fiber can stabilize blood sugar by slowing digestion and carbohydrate absorption, perhaps reducing the risk of Type2 diabetes. They also increase satiety, the feeling of satisfying fullness.

On the other hand, as Lorenze notes, any “negative” side effects of peanut butter depend on how it’s eaten. Because peanut butter is relatively calorie-rich per serving, experts recommend sticking to about one to two tablespoons per day and choosing varieties made mostly or entirely from peanuts which means checking the label to see whether there’s added sugar in the mix which may interfere with weight management goals. overconsume. This can hinder any weight management goals if your portions aren’t intentional,

Two tablespoons of smooth or chunky peanut butter typically contain around 190-210 calories, making it a calorie-dense food that should be consumed in moderation, especially when tracking calorie intake. The calorie count varies slightly depending on the brand, processing, and added ingredients (like sugar or oil). However, the average range is a safe estimate so the healthiest tuition is a butter whose label ingredients list nothing other than peanuts.

But there is one note of caution. About 4.6 million Americans, or two percent of the overall population, are allergic to peanuts, according to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. Most allergic reactions cause immediate symptoms that can range from mild reactions to severe anaphylaxis, a very serious allergic reaction, can be life-threatening. Management of peanut allergy requires avoidance of peanut, and this involves reading ingredient labels and clearly communicating with anyone involved in preparing foods for the individual with peanut allergy. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires that in food containing peanut as an ingredient or containing protein from a peanut, that this be declared on package labels. It is also recommended that individuals with a peanut allergy should also have epinephrine (epi pin) available at all times since accidental exposures are relatively common, according to the AAAAI.

The symptoms usually present around 14 months old, but an estimated 800,000 people will not show symptoms until after age 18.