Jif Creamy: What Is Peanut Butter, Exactly?
If you are deathly allergic to peanuts, then peanut butter is most certainly bad for you.
If you are stranded on a desert island and peanut butter is the only food source available, it is extremely good for you. In other, more common scenarios, it is less black and white.
What Is Peanut Butter, Exactly?
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines peanut butter as a paste made by grinding roasted, skinned, and degermed peanuts. Other ingredients, such as salt, sugar, and palm oil are often added to the products sold in grocery stores. Peanuts are not actually nuts but legumes, and thus belong in the same category as peas, beans, and lentils. However, they are more often than not grouped with other nuts, such as cashews, almonds and walnuts since …show more content…
For example, the ingredients list for Jif Naturals includes not only peanuts but sugar, palm oil, salt, and molasses. This is a better option than traditional store-brand peanut butters, but less ideal than pure peanut butter.
"Regular" peanut butters: include traditional Skippy and Jif. Jif Creamy contains the following ingredients: peanuts, sugar, molasses, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil (soybean), fully hydrogenated vegetable oils (rapeseed and soybean), mono- and diglyceridesand salt.
Partially hydrogenated oils are another name for trans fat, which does not exist in nature, and has been linked to increased risk of cardiovascular disease.1 2 This is where labels can be deceptive and require close attention. If a product has less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving, the manufacturers are allowed to say "0 trans fat" on the label. However, since this type of fat is so bad for you, even low amounts of it can be detrimental to health. It is wise to stay away from all products that list partially hydrogenated oils as an ingredient, no matter what the trans fat content says. Fully hydrogenated oils do not contain any trans fat, but if whether they are fully or partially hydrogenated isn't specified (i.e. the label just says hydrogenated oils) stay away from …show more content…
Most of the fat is in the form of monounsaturated fat, which may decrease risk of metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular risk factors.3 Although there is saturated fat in peanut butter, moderate intakes in the context of a healthy lifestyle and optimal body composition will not, for most people, be detrimental to health, and may actually be beneficial. The protein is complete, meaning it contains all amino acids. However, using peanut butter as a primary source of protein is not a great idea, as there is twice as much fat as protein. Additionally, it is very calorie dense, and most people greatly underestimate exactly how much 2 tablespoons is. As a reference, this is 2 tablespoons next to a car
If you are stranded on a desert island and peanut butter is the only food source available, it is extremely good for you. In other, more common scenarios, it is less black and white.
What Is Peanut Butter, Exactly?
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines peanut butter as a paste made by grinding roasted, skinned, and degermed peanuts. Other ingredients, such as salt, sugar, and palm oil are often added to the products sold in grocery stores. Peanuts are not actually nuts but legumes, and thus belong in the same category as peas, beans, and lentils. However, they are more often than not grouped with other nuts, such as cashews, almonds and walnuts since …show more content…
For example, the ingredients list for Jif Naturals includes not only peanuts but sugar, palm oil, salt, and molasses. This is a better option than traditional store-brand peanut butters, but less ideal than pure peanut butter.
"Regular" peanut butters: include traditional Skippy and Jif. Jif Creamy contains the following ingredients: peanuts, sugar, molasses, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil (soybean), fully hydrogenated vegetable oils (rapeseed and soybean), mono- and diglyceridesand salt.
Partially hydrogenated oils are another name for trans fat, which does not exist in nature, and has been linked to increased risk of cardiovascular disease.1 2 This is where labels can be deceptive and require close attention. If a product has less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving, the manufacturers are allowed to say "0 trans fat" on the label. However, since this type of fat is so bad for you, even low amounts of it can be detrimental to health. It is wise to stay away from all products that list partially hydrogenated oils as an ingredient, no matter what the trans fat content says. Fully hydrogenated oils do not contain any trans fat, but if whether they are fully or partially hydrogenated isn't specified (i.e. the label just says hydrogenated oils) stay away from …show more content…
Most of the fat is in the form of monounsaturated fat, which may decrease risk of metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular risk factors.3 Although there is saturated fat in peanut butter, moderate intakes in the context of a healthy lifestyle and optimal body composition will not, for most people, be detrimental to health, and may actually be beneficial. The protein is complete, meaning it contains all amino acids. However, using peanut butter as a primary source of protein is not a great idea, as there is twice as much fat as protein. Additionally, it is very calorie dense, and most people greatly underestimate exactly how much 2 tablespoons is. As a reference, this is 2 tablespoons next to a car