Is Peanut Butter Good For You? It Depends on What Type You Eat

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Whether you smother it connected pome slices oregon dispersed it connected toast, peanut food is the cleanable go-to snack to fulfill hunger. But is each that hearty, creamy (or crunchy) goodness actually healthy?

It each depends connected which benignant (and however much) you’re eating.

There are plentifulness of wellness benefits to eating peanut butter, but not each store-bought versions are created equal.

Here, we’ll look much into the benefits of peanut butter, immoderate often asked questions, and the healthiest benignant of peanut food to snag astatine the market store.

The Benefits of Eating Peanut Butter

Two halves of a peanut food sandwich stacked connected apical of each other.

When consumed successful moderation arsenic portion of a balanced diet, peanut food tin connection respective wellness benefits.

Here are immoderate of the champion ones:

It’s nutrient-rich. Peanut food is simply a bully root of indispensable nutrients, including protein, steadfast fats, fiber, vitamins (such arsenic vitamin E and B vitamins), and minerals (such arsenic magnesium, potassium, and phosphorus).
It’s a large root of protein. Most notably, peanut food is simply a invaluable root of plant-based protein. (A bully prime for vegetarians and vegans.)
It contains heart-healthy fats. Peanut food contains monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, which are associated with improved bosom wellness erstwhile consumed successful moderation.
It tin assistance with value management. The operation of macromolecule and steadfast fats successful peanut food tin assistance you consciousness afloat and satisfied, perchance reducing your wide calorie intake.
It’s affluent successful fiber. Peanut food is simply a root of dietary fiber, which tin enactment digestive wellness and beforehand a feeling of fullness.
It’s a root of antioxidants. Peanuts incorporate antioxidants, specified arsenic resveratrol and vitamin E, which tin assistance support cells from oxidative damage.
It tin little your hazard of bosom disease. Some studies suggest that regular depletion of nuts, including peanuts, whitethorn beryllium associated with a reduced hazard of bosom disease.
It tin assistance power diabetes. The steadfast fats and fibre successful peanut food tin assistance stabilize humor sweetener levels and amended insulin sensitivity.
It immunodeficiency successful musculus gathering and repair. The macromolecule contented successful peanut food tin enactment musculus maturation and repair, making it a bully prime for athletes and those engaged successful carnal activity.

Is Peanut Butter Bad for Cholesterol?

Overhead presumption of peanut food toast and banana slices connected a plate.

When speaking with TODAY, registered dietitian nutritionist Frances Largeman-Roth explains that since peanut food is simply a plant-based food, it does not incorporate immoderate cholesterol. It is besides escaped of immoderate trans fat.

That said, galore radical interest astir the saturated abdominous recovered successful peanut butter. Saturated fats whitethorn rise your levels of LDL cholesterin (or “bad” cholesterol), which tin summation your hazard of cardiovascular disease. The American Heart Association recommends getting conscionable 5% to 6% of your calories from saturated abdominous per day, oregon astir 13 grams.

The bully news? There is lone a tiny magnitude of saturated abdominous successful 1 serving of peanut food — astir 3 grams. (So it’s important to instrumentality to the due serving size.)

How Much Peanut Butter Should I Eat?

A pistillate wearing greenish overalls successful the room spreading peanut food connected a muffin.

The recommended serving size of peanut food is 2 tablespoons, which should springiness you plentifulness to dispersed connected a sandwich oregon usage arsenic a snack.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1 serving (two tablespoons) of the standard, store-bought creamy peanut food contains:

191 calories
7g of protein
16g of fat
7g carbohydrates
1.6g fiber
3g sugar

While you tin devour peanut food each time if you choose, it’s champion to instrumentality to (or around) the recommended serving size.

The cardinal present is moderation.

While peanut food does connection immoderate large wellness benefits, galore of america are eating way excessively overmuch of it! If you’re consuming fractional a jar successful 1 sitting (multiple days a week), you person excess amounts of sugar, calories, salt, and saturated abdominous to interest about, particularly if you’re choosing an enactment that contains a clump of additives.

Sticking to astir 2 tablespoons of peanut food per time is the champion mode to bask its wellness benefits.

What is the Healthiest Peanut Butter to Buy?

Overhead presumption of a breadstuff portion topped with peanut food connected a airy bluish plate.

Here’s wherever the nutritional benefits travel into play! It each comes down to which peanut food you take from the market store.

The occupation with truthful galore peanut butters is they incorporate immoderate not-so-great added ingredients, specified arsenic sweetener oregon precocious fructose maize syrup. While peanuts stay the halfway ingredient, each of the additives cancel retired immoderate nutritional benefits.

Largeman-Roth suggests sticking to peanut food with little than 5 grams of added sugar per serving and little than 100 milligrams of sodium per serving.

As for reduced-fat peanut butter? It whitethorn dependable tempting, but unfortunately, low-fat options typically incorporate other unhealthy ingredients to marque up successful flavor aft removing immoderate of the fat. You should besides effort to debar emulsifiers and added oils, particularly afloat oregon partially hydrogenated oils.

The bottommost line? The little ingredients, the better. Most dieticians volition urge sticking with peanut food that contains lone 2 ingredients: peanuts and a small spot of salt.

How Do You Store Peanut Butter?

A achromatic sheet with 2 slices of breadstuff topped with peanut butter.

No request to refrigerate your store-bought peanut food — the pantry is conscionable fine!

Peanut food tin past successful the pantry 6–24 months unopened, oregon 2–3 months aft it’s opened. Natural peanut food tin past respective months unopened, oregon up to a period erstwhile opened.

That said, if you’d alternatively store it successful the fridge, that’s fine, too! If you’re not a instrumentality of the mean lipid separation that occurs with earthy peanut butter, you tin premix it up and store it successful the fridge to support it from separating.

The Final Verdict connected Peanut Butter

Overhead presumption of a spoonful of peanut amended acceptable connected apical of a peanut food jar surrounded by peanuts.

Peanut Butter does connection immoderate large nutritional benefits arsenic agelong arsenic you instrumentality to 2 rules: don’t overdo it, and instrumentality to earthy peanut food with minimal ingredients. (Peanuts and brackish are each you need!)

Of course, the lipid that makes its mode to the apical of earthy peanut food isn’t everyone’s favourite — but remember, it’s a earthy separation. Simply premix it up (and store it successful the fridge, if you want), and you’re bully to go!

Lastly, effort limiting your depletion to astir 2 tablespoons per time (one serving size). Moderation is cardinal to enjoying the wellness benefits of peanut food without overconsumption of calories oregon saturated fat.

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Green and purple artichoke chopped successful fractional connected a woody table.

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