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Volume 12, Issue 1
All American
Super Food
Peanuts
and
Peanut
Butter an
American
Staple
Both nutritious and likable, peanuts
and peanut butter are recognized for
the nutrition they provide and the
taste we enjoy. Peanut butter and jelly
sandwiches, whole peanuts cracked at the
baseball game, peanut butter spread on an
apple, are classic combinations enjoyed
by both children and adults, day or night.
Historically peanuts and peanut butter
have long been valued for their taste
and nutritional characteristics. Dating
back to the 1800s a St. Louis physician
encouraged a food products company to
“process and package ground peanut paste
as a nutritious protein substitute,” in part for
people with poor teeth. During this time,
peanut butter became a tasty and easy way to
nourish patients because of its plant source
of protein. Today peanuts and peanut butter
remain a favorite food but are also praised
for their unique nutrient profile and the
positive health benefits they provide.
Peanuts
“Mother Nature’s
Vitamin Pill”
W
hen broken down nutrient-bynutrient it’s hard to imagine all of
the components that get packaged
into a peanut kernel. Vitamins, minerals,
antioxidants, and phytochemicals are the
bioactive constituents that when combined with
fiber, healthy fats, and plant protein, make for a
functional powerhouse. Although peanuts have
traditionally been recognized for their superior
protein content compared to other nuts, they are
now being acknowledged for their full package
of nutrients and bioactive components. People
are perceiving peanuts and peanut butter to be
a super food. What’s better is that peanuts,
unlike many popular and trendy super foods are
a staple in the American diet. Easily accessible
and affordable, peanuts are not hard to find or
pair with other foods, unlike many other super
foods.
The combined nutrients in peanuts, including
their rich source of protein, are what make
peanuts stand above the rest. Peanuts have
the most protein per ounce of any other nut.
They also have more arginine than most
foods, with much more per serving than even
eggs or milk (1). Arginine has numerous critical
functions in the body. It is involved in making
insulin, which helps take the sugar from our
blood into cells to be utilized as energy. It is
also converted to nitric oxide, which aids in the
relaxation of blood vessels, promoting improved
blood circulation throughout the body.
The plant chemical resveratrol, which
is found in peanuts, has been touted recently
because research is showing that its benefits may
be extended to animals and humans. Resveratrol
has been shown to provide protective benefits
against cardiovascular and neurodegenerative
diseases, inflammation, and cancer. It has also
been referred to as an “anti-aging” and “lifeextending” compound because of its action at
the cellular level (2).
Adding power to the punch, peanuts also have
phytosterols.
Simply put, phytosterols
are the plant form of cholesterol. They have a
similar structure to the cholesterol that travels
our bodies and when enough is consumed they
will compete with cholesterol in the digestive
tract to possibly help lower “bad” LDL
cholesterol levels by blocking its absorption. A
recent study by Jenkins, et al. showed that plant
sterols contributed to over one third of the “bad”
LDL cholesterol reduction that was seen with a
diet used to improve blood lipids (3).
In addition, the American Heart Association
released Diet and Lifestyle Recommendations
in 2006, which advised people to consume plant
sterols daily to help in maintaining “bad” LDL
cholesterol reductions (4). Peanuts contain three
main phytosterols: beta-sitosterol, campesterol,
and stigmasterol.
Research has shown that chronic diseases
including heart disease and diabetes are
positively affected by diets rich in peanuts
and peanut butter (5). Small daily portions of
peanuts, 1 to 1 ½ ounces were associated with a
27% reduced risk of developing type 2 diabetes
and a 50% reduction in heart disease (5,6). These
benefits have been attributed to the fatty acid
profile in peanuts as they are high in healthy
mono- and polyunsaturated fats, but emerging
research is showing that the plant protein in
peanuts and other bioactive components may
also be contributing.
Data analyzed from
the Nurses’ Health Study has recently shown
a reduced risk of coronary heart disease and
diabetes when plant sources of fat or protein are
included in the diet (7). Peanuts also contribute
fiber to the diet and since they are one of the
lowest glycemic index foods, they keep your
blood sugar on an even keel, helping to sustain
energy (8). Together with their functional
bioactives, vitamins and minerals, peanuts are
one super food that provide big health benefits
in a small package, that you don’t want to miss.
Overweight
Undernourished
but
100%
Research analyzing USDA consumption
data shows that people who eat peanuts
and peanut products have higher
quality diets and take in more hard-toget nutrients than those who do not eat
peanuts (11). In another study conducted
at Purdue University participants eating
peanuts daily significantly elevated levels
of blood magnesium (12).
Fiber
Folate
Vitamin E
Magnesium
Potassium
% Recommended Daily Allowance
50%
Despite
excess
energy
intakes,
overweight children are not meeting
the dietary reference intakes (DRIs) or
recommended daily allowance (RDA) for
many nutrients, specifically vitamins and
minerals (9, 10). Diseases such as diabetes,
metabolic syndrome, and cardiovascular
disease, once only seen later in life, are
now starting earlier. These diseases
are linked to obesity. The risk and
earlier prevalence for developing these
conditions may be exacerbated by certain
micronutrient deficiencies.
Since peanuts provide a variety of
nutrients, bioactives, vitamins and
minerals in a small package, a handful
daily can improve nutritional status by
increasing nutrients of concern such as
vitamin E, magnesium, potassium, folate,
and fiber. Making a small change in your
diet by substituting peanuts for foods
with minimal nutritional value can bring
big rewards to your overall health.
Micro-nutrient comparisons of overweight
children vs. normal weight children.
Findings presented at the 2007 Northern
American Association for the Study of
Obesity (NASO) annual meeting (13).
More Peanut Butter
for Women, Infants,
and Children
The supplemental nutrition program for Women, Infants
and Children (WIC) is now offering more peanut butter in
their food packages. WIC food packages are designed to
be rich in nutrients that are lacking in the diets of the WIC
population. Peanut butter, which is high in protein and
contains many nutrients that are of concern to the WIC
population, such as folate, vitamin B6, vitamin
E, and fiber, helps to meet nutrient needs during
critical periods of growth and development.
The food packages were also revised to better
meet the recommendations of the 2005 US Dietary
Guidelines, which recommend consuming “a
variety of nutrient-dense foods” and eating
“most fats from sources of polyunsaturated
and monounsaturated fatty acids”, like those in
peanuts and peanut butter . Peanut butter, similar
to peanuts, is an American staple. It is affordable
while being treasured for it’s rich flavor. It is
now recognized as a valuable food because of
the nutrients it provides in a single serving, and
helping at risk populations.
Whole
Food
Synergies
References
1. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research
Service. 2007. USDA National Nutrient Database
for Standard Reference, Release 20. Nutrient Data
Laboratory Home Page, http://www.ars.usda.gov/ba/
bhnrc/ndl
2. Jang M, et al. Cancer Chemopreventive Activity of
Resveratrol, A Natural Product Derived From Grapes.
Science. 1997; 275: 218-220.
3. Jenkins DJ, et al. Effect of plant sterols in combination
with other cholesterol-lowering foods. Metabolism.
2008 Jan;57(1):130-9.
4. American Heart Association Nutrition Committee,
Lichtenstein AH, et al.
Diet and lifestyle
recommendations revision 2006: a scientific statement
from the American Heart Association Nutrition
Committee. Circulation. 2006 Jul 4;114(1):82-96.
Epub 2006 Jun 19.
5. Jiang R, et al. Nut and Peanut Butter Consumption and
Risk of Type 2 Diabetes in Women. Journal of the
American Medical Association. 2002; 288(20): 25542560.
6. Fraser, et al. A Possible Protective Effect of Nut
Consumption on Risk of CHD. Archives of Internal
Medicine. 1992; 152: 1416-1424.
7. Appel LJ, et al. Effects of Protein, Monounsaturated
Fat, and Carbohydrate Intake on Blood Pressure and
Serum Lipids: Results of the OmniHeart Randomized
Trial. Journal of the American Medical Association.
2005; 294: 2455-2464.
8. Foster-Powell K, et al. International Table of Glycemic
Index and Glycemic Load Values: 2002. American
Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2002; 76: 5-56.
9. Zive, MM et al. Vitamin and mineral intakes of AngloAmerican and Mexican-American preschoolers.
Journal of the American Dietetic Association. Vol 95,
pp.329-335.
10. Huerta, M.G., et al. (2005). Magnesium Deficiency is
Associated With Insulin Resistance in Obese Children.
Diabetes Care. Vol 28, pp. 1175-1181.
11. Kris-Etherton PM, et al. Improved Diet Quality with
Peanut Consumption. Journal of the American College
of Nutrition. 2004; 23(6): 660-668.
12. Alper CM and Mattes RD. Peanut Consumption
Improves Indices of Cardiovascular Disease Risk in
Healthy Adults. Journal of the American College of
Nutrition. 2003; 22(2): 133-141.
13. Johnston, CA, et al. Overweight and Poor Nutritional
Status in Mexican American Youth. NAASO poster,
2007.
14. www.projectpeanutbutter.org
15. Cooper, A. CBS Sixty Minutes. Oct. 21, 2007.
16. Jacobs DR Jr and Tapsell LC. Food, not nutrients, is
the fundamental unit in nutrition. Nutrition Reviews.
2007 Oct;65(10):439-50.
17. Liu RH. Potential synergy of phytochemicals in cancer
prevention: mechanism of action. Journal of Nutrition.
2004 Dec;134(12 Suppl):3479S-3485S.
18. Jacobs DR Jr. and Steffen LM. Nutrients, foods, and
dietary patterns as exposures in research: a framework
for food synergy. American Journal of Clinical
Nutrition. 2003 Sep;78(3 Suppl):508S-513S. Review.
The word “whole” has been defined
as “comprising the whole assemblage
of parts or elements” or “a thing
complete in itself”. There is growing
recognition that “whole foods” are
filled with many elements that can be
acting together in a complex system.
Often times, only single nutrients in
foods are studied, and although we can
learn from this research, this narrow
scope and oversimplification may not
explain all of the benefits that we see
by consuming certain foods (16).
Peanuts are whole foods. They are
a complex plant food with a mixture of
nutrients and plant chemicals. Eating
peanuts not only nourishes us with
high levels of niacin,
folate, and arginine,
but also with healthy
fats,
phytosterols,
flavonoids
and
bioactives to name a
few. It is believed these
constituents act together as a
package in ways that we don’t fully
understand. Research with fruits and
vegetables has shown that it’s the “additive
or synergistic effects” of all of the plant
chemicals that are providing benefit (17).
Furthermore, evidence shows that the risk
of chronic diseases appears to be lower
with consumption of whole grains versus
refined grains, indicating that the “benefit
accrues when all edible part of the grain
are included (18)”. Data shows that mortality
rates also decrease when nutrients are
consumed from whole foods versus refined
food sources (16).
The fact that studies have continued to
show significant reductions in chronic
disease risk from eating small amounts of
peanuts daily, attests that there are likely
unique nutrient synergies in peanuts that
are benefiting our health.
Peanut and peanut
butter nutrition
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© 2008