Peanut butter is a controversial topic when it comes to healthiness, with many factors coming into play. Of course there are many people with peanut allergies, but I will focus on non-allergy issues in this article.
In my opinion, peanuts and peanut butter are healthy when you get the right types. Here are the items to consider:
Trans fats: Most standard, commercial-grade peanut butter contains hydrogenated oils (trans fats). Manufacturers add these unhealthy oils to allow for the peanut butter to be “stir-free.” Otherwise, the oil rises to the top and needs to be stirred back in. So that you are aware, it is far, far healthier for you to “terribly trouble” yourself for the 5-10 seconds and stir the oil back in – usually you only need to do this one time per jar. Ideally, the ingredients for peanut butter should say “peanuts, salt” or just “peanuts.” These usually list “Natural” on the main label.
Lately, manufacturers have realized that consumers don’t want hydrogenated oils, but they still want it to be “stir-free.” So instead of the hydrogenated oil (trans fats), they add natural saturated fat such as palm oil. This is a step in the right direction, but the palm oil makes up 10% of the entire product, while it shouldn’t have to make up any part of it. If you would really rather not stir, choose this natural variety, as any amount of trans fats is extremely detrimental to your health, and saturated fat is generally neutral (despite years of false dogma). Please note that while peanut butter generally lists zero trans fats on the label, this is false. Any product is allowed to have up to 0.49 grams of trans fat per serving and label it as zero. Often manufacturers lower the serving size just so that they can keep to this “zero” trans fat limit. I’ve found after having only natural peanut butter for many years that if I take a small taste of the hydrogenated oil-containing varieties, it tastes fake and plastic-like.
Aflatoxin: Some foods – peanuts in particular – are susceptible to aflatoxin, which is a toxic mold that can develop during normal growth cycles. Aflatoxin is a known carcinogen that causes liver cancer, which is why some health practitioners have warned against peanuts and peanut butter – even the natural and/or organic varieties. This being said, the government is very aware of the situation and requires peanut manufacturers to test their products constantly (this is a rare case where I praise the government’s action on food safety). They are even stricter when it comes to the largest companies. So, while I often recommend products that come from small companies, in this one case it is probably better to buy peanuts and peanut butter from big companies. The one large company I’m aware of that makes peanut butter including only “peanuts, salt” in the ingredients is Smuckers. When eating actual peanuts or any other nuts (although yes, peanuts are actually legumes), if one individual nut is darker than the rest, throw it out, because it likely contains some amount of aflatoxin or other contamination.
Fat Content: Some people are stuck to a low-fat mindset, and yes, sometimes fats should be lowered along with carbs in a weight-loss situation only. However, fats absolutely belong in categories of healthy, neutral, and unhealthy. Peanut oil is in the healthy category – it’s an omega 9 unsaturated fat, which is great for your heart. Don’t worry about the fat content of peanuts, provided you are not binge eating them or loading up on too many calories from other foods.
