As kids, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich is easily a favorite and you couldn’t possibly get enough of it. Then you grow up, start worrying about your health and put your diet under the microscope to analyze everything. You get to peanut butter and you wonder, do I ditch this old fave or can it possibly be part of my diet?
The health benefits of peanut butter cannot be denied. This kitchen favorite has a number of plus points so don’t ditch it just yet. Keep reading…
The Health Benefits of Peanut Butter
Source of Protein
2 tablespoons of peanut butter are what you should consume if you want to stay on the healthy end of the peanut butter consumption scale. These 2 tablespoons pack in 7 grams of protein. This is why peanut butter on toast makes for a great breakfast or mid morning meal choice.
As a protein-rich food, when you eat peanut butter you feel fuller for longer. Additionally the protein is also good for building and repairing muscles, which is especially important if you work out a lot.
Heart Friendly
Someone like you and me, who clearly loves their peanut butter, asked the Harvard Medical School if the health benefits of peanut butter extended to heart health. And despite your misgivings, the answer is yes! Peanut butter has its share of saturated food, but like olive oil, it also has a high percentage of unsaturated helping it qualify itself for the healthy camp.
When consumed in moderate amounts, eating a high quality peanut butter like this can actually improve your heart health, especially when compared to those who seldom or never eat nuts.
More Potassium
Most of us have way too much sodium in our diets and as you probably already know, sodium can wreak havoc on your cardiovascular system. Peanut butter acts as an excellent source of potassium, and potassium can go a long way towards countering the dangers of sodium.
Healthy Fat
A common worry about eating peanut butter is the fat content. However, as mentioned above peanut butter contains more unsaturated fat than saturated fat. This means, it is actually a great source of “healthy fats”. A healthy body needs a good supply of healthy fats and like olive oil and avocado, peanut butter is a friendly fat food.
Energy Booster
As already discussed, peanut butter contains good amounts of healthy fats and protein. This means it contains plenty of calories that will give you lots of energy for your activities. Again, perfect for a morning meal as it gives you an energy hit for the day.
Fiber Rich
Your 2 tablespoon serving of peanut butter not only packs in lots of protein but also gives you 2 grams of fiber. Adequate consumption of fiber is important for the healthy functioning of your body and of course you can get more fiber from other meals but peanut butter can help supplement this.
Aids Weight Loss
Okay yes, this one sounds crazy but it’s not. Despite all it’s fat and sodium content, we have already established peanut butter is actually good for you. Due to its protein and fiber content, when you eat peanut butter you actually feel fuller for longer. This means, you’re less likely to crave junk food and unhealthy snacks. This means you eat less overall, and voila weight loss made simpler.
Packed With Nutrients
Protein, fiber, healthy fats, potassium and now antioxidants, magnesium and others too. The list of good things about peanut butter just go on. One serving of peanut butter will give you at least 3 mg of the antioxidant Vitamin E. Additionally, you will also get magnesium (about 49g) which is excellent for bone building and muscle recovery and a small but still important amount (0.17 mg) of vitamin B6 that will help boost your immunity.
You can also find a small amount of zinc in peanut butter and this too can act as a good immunity booster.
Here is an interesting video I found on benefits of peanut butter
How to Buy the Right Peanut Butter
Of course all peanut butters aren’t made alike so you should shop with care. Don’t just go by the percentage of fat. This will be fairly similar across most brands and is not the best indication of whether a peanut butter is good for you. Here are some quick little tips to help you make a decision.
- All natural peanut butter is a good choice if you want to minimize your intake of unhealthy fats. Natural nut butters usually have peanuts as their main ingredient while others (non-natural) can sometimes contain other artificial ingredients to enhance the taste.
- The sugar content on the peanut butter should be a decisive factor. Commercial peanut butter brands can sometimes have up to 250 mg (per tablespoon) more sugar than natural brands. The sugar however contributes greatly to flavor so if you’re using the peanut butter to cook with, then a little more sugar can be better.
- Look out for the sodium content on the ingredients list at the back of your jar of peanut butter. Again, natural brands usually have less sodium. Too much sodium can also mask the nutty flavor.
Natural peanut butters are a better option however if you’re unable to find a natural option or find the organic nut butters too expensive, don’t stress. If you’re eating only 2 tablespoons of peanut butter a day, a commercial brand peanut butter with slightly more salt and sugar isn’t going to be the end of the world.
For something even healthier, try this creamy peanut butter with ground flaxseed for healthy omega-3 fatty acids.
am a peanut butter maker and i was looking for the health benefits facts until i came across you stated benefits in your website. i read them and am satisfied thank you
Hi Stephen. Glad you liked the article. Thank you.
I like to blend, 1 banana, some milk, some ice cubes and a good spoon of peanut butter together, makes a brilliant smoothie 🙂
This is a really good article. I have started eating peanut butter (a tablespoon of it) with celery every day after my workout, and of course I’m losing weight, and gaining lots of energy from it. Thanks for the info – peanut butter can definitely be included into a healthy/balanced diet.
I’m in Fiji and I’m guessing crunch brand would be the best to use as its the richest in energy
I’m in Fiji and I’m guessing crunch brand would be the best to use as its the richest in energy
I’m natural body builder, who although
Eat high protein, low carb I find supplementing my diet with peanut butter
I consume around 5-6 spoonful
Per day. It keeps me full, helps me lose
Body fat.
I call it the food of champions!
Thank you for your accurate description of a food that I have loved all my life peanutbutter
Wonderful I read the article and from now onwards I will eat peanut butter daily.
I ‘m going to get a jar of peanut butter after reading this 🙂
thanks for this amazing information i was wandring about in search of peanut butter that is this is healthy or not as its contain fats but after reading this i m in hurry to use it ,,,,thanks alot
For breakfast I put 2 teaspoons of peanut butter in my porridge and it does keep you fuller for longer! and ever since my energy levels are brilliant 🙂
49 grams of magnesium? Wow. The rdi is 300-400mg.
Excellent article. Lot of knowledge i did not know. I’m. Glad to find peanut butter can be healthy. And by the way- you are friggin hot!
I have just started eating peanut butter and I’m already addicted to it.
Sauce made with peanut butter, onions, garlic, chilli, soy sauce and water is good with a variety of foods. I particularly like it with cauliflower instead of the usual cheese sauce. There are plenty of recipes for sauce made with peanut butter online.
I recently bought a jar of peanut butter (not much left now) because I used to like it and I just kind of forgot about it. It is SO delicious, just on bread. Mmm mmm. I didn’t give any thought to the health aspect of it, just love the taste, but this information is a bonus. It tastes great and is good for you!
Could you please tell me about “other” types of Peanut Butters as well? . . .
I have heard of “Pecan Butter” and “Almond Butter” (other than sweetened “Marzipan”, or is that somewhat healthy too?) which both sound delicious! Are there differences in their nutritional values?
Thank you in advance :D.
I use to think 100 times before eating pb&j as I love eating in my breakfast w/ boiled eggs.. I do workout daily 1&1/2 hours. But after reading this I’m kinda relieved as I can add peanut butter to my diet without any worries. Thanks for the article. Yayyyyyyyy!
I started a low carb diet 2 weeks ago and I had found that my sugar levels became very low! I also experienced sleeping issues where I would wake every hour on the hour in the last four nights. I tried a tablespoon of peanut butter before bed and had the best nights sleep.
Sugar doesn’t improve the taste – it just makes it taste more like jam or sugar and less like peanuts, and of course, it makes it a lot less healthy.
By the way, all peanut butter is “commercial” – it is all made in order to make a profit, but some producers are more ethical than others. The ones who add sugar, salt, palm oil, etc. do so in order to save money by putting in fewer peanuts.
Amazing piece…
Thanks for sharing these about peanut butter. I know for sure it helps boost the energy as we have it on one of the post we have on our website. Good to know the other benefits.
Babs.
I am so excited to buy peanut butter again, sworn off of it for years! Thanks for this article 🙂
I love peanut butter been eating it since I was a little kid and still eating it today. From Nov. 2015, I have eaten 12 large bottles of JIF Peanut Butter. I hope JIF peanut butter is one of the healthy brands on the list.
stupid article, F u all
Unfortunately, the most important point regarding peanut butter was glossed over: most peanut butter contains a huge dose of artificially hydrogenated oil. It’s easy to read right off the label. Frequently consuming a small dose of hydrogenated oil is one of the more enjoyable methods of slowly poisoning ones cardiovascular system.
Real peanut butter without this additive is not more expensive, but usually doesn’t have the same smooth texture.