Peanut butter has been long known as a satisfying, high protein, healthy fat snack. Most commonly enjoyed with chocolate, jam, apples or simply just by the spoon, it is a staple snack and part of many meals and desserts. However, there have been a lot of questions and myths surrounding peanut butter. The most common ones we see floating around: are there bugs in peanut butter? Does peanut butter make you fat? Is peanut butter high in cholesterol?
Would you agree with them, or would it make you think twice? Let’s dive into all things peanut butter and learn a little more while debunking these myths surrounding good old PB!
What exactly is peanut butter?
Peanut butter in its most basic and true form, is ground peanuts. Salt is optional, while we would avoid any other additives which would minimize the health value. If you stick to the basics, you can get the most nutrients out of the peanuts, without the unnecessary additives.
Are all peanut butters the same?
A red flag to look for when choosing peanut butters are the “no-stir” range where they often add palm oil and sugars. While these two ingredients aren’t necessarily detrimental to your health, when choosing a ‘health’ food you generally want it to be as pure and unprocessed as possible.
The healthiest kind of peanut butter are those of the ‘natural’ kind. FYI: It should really only contain two ingredients. Peanuts, and maybe salt. Nothing else. Find THE BEST peanut butter in the world (yes, we’ve called it) right here. We have our Unsalted Peanut Butter and Salted Peanut Butter for your choosing.
Does peanut butter make you fat?
Peanuts are a great source of protein, fat, magnesium, Vitamin E, iron and more. With such a rich source of overall vitamins and nutrients, they’re a great addition to your diet. Peanut butter can sometimes get a bad rap due to its high fat content. However, in moderation the fat component increases satiety and fullness which helps you feel fuller for longer and is a great choice if you have weight loss goals. In other words, peanut butter does NOT directly make you fat!
Peanut butter is also a great source of fibre, which has shown to be beneficial to your gut health as the fibre works to boost your microbiome which regulates your digestion. This could lead to increased immunity and reduced inflammation. All round, we conclude that the nutrition positives outweigh all else.
Is Peanut butter high in cholesterol?
Short answer: No!
Long answer: There are actually four types of cholesterols. If you pay attention to your next blood test results, you’ll be able to see this firsthand. The first one is your ‘total cholesterol’. This indicates the total amount of cholesterol in your blood. Cholesterol is used to build cells in your body as well as the hormones, which is very important for us. The second one on the list is triglyceride which consists of one glycerol and three fatty acids. Triglycerides store unused calories and give your body extra energy. High triglycerides typically show a high carbohydrate and sugar diet. HDL is also known as the ‘healthy’ cholesterol as it helps remove other forms of (unhealthy) cholesterol.
Peanuts do not contain cholesterol and research shows that if you eat peanuts regularly it may actually contribute to reducing heart disease causing LDL cholesterol. So, eat up!
That’s all from us! We truly believe our 99th Monkey Peanut Butter Range (and all our ranges) are one of the healthiest on the market. Having said all of the above, when it comes to any food that we eat, moderation is key!
