I'm sick and tired of reading web site posts about avoiding peanut butter and that its bad for you. It simply isn't true! Peanut butter has a good combination of proteins and polyunsaturated fats which are perfect for building muscle and adding size to your training. Yes, peanut butter is calorie-dense. But it can beneficially fit into your sports diet. A Purdue University study reports subjects who ate peanuts every day did not overeat daily calories. Peanut eaters tend to naturally eat less at other times of the day. Plus, if you enjoy what you are eating on your reducing diet, you'll stay with the food plan and be able to keep the weight off. This is far better than yo-yo dieting!
Peanut butter is a good source of protein but, you need to eat the whole juar to get the equivalent protein levels of other sources such as turkey or chicken. To boost the protein value of peanut butter, simply accompany it with a tall glass of milk: 2 rounds of peanut butter and toast + 16 ounces low fat milk = 28 grams of protein, a good chunk of your daily requirement. Milk simultaneously enhances the value of the protein in the peanut butter sandwich. That is, peanuts are low in some of the essential amino acids muscles need for growth and repair. The amino acids in milk (as well as those in the sandwich bread) nicely complement the limiting amino acids in peanuts.
Peanut butter is a reasonable source of vitamins, minerals and other health-protective food compounds. For example, peanut butter contains folate, vitamin E, magnesium and resveratrol, all nutrients associated with reduced risk of heart disease. Peanut butter offers a small amount of zinc, a mineral important for healing and strengthening the immune system. As an athlete, you need all these nutrients to keep you off the bench and on the playing field. Peanuts contain mostly health-protective mono- and polyunsaturated fats.
When peanuts are made into commercial peanut butter, some of the oil gets converted into a harder, saturated fat. This keeps the oil from separating to the top. The hardened oil, called trans-fat, is less healthful. But the good news is, commercial peanut butters contain only a tiny amount of trans fats and just a small amount of (naturally occurring) saturated fat. For example, only 3.5 of the 17 grams fat in two tablespoons are "bad" fats.
To minimize your intake of even this small amount of un-healthful fat, you can buy all-natural peanut butter. If you dislike the way the oil in this type of peanut butter separates to the top of the jar, simply store the jar upside down. That way, the oil rises to what becomes the bottom of the jar when you turn it over to open it. And if you eat peanut butter daily, you won't have to refrigerate it, thereby making the all-natural peanut butter easier to spread.
Peanut butter is a good source of protein but, you need to eat the whole juar to get the equivalent protein levels of other sources such as turkey or chicken. To boost the protein value of peanut butter, simply accompany it with a tall glass of milk: 2 rounds of peanut butter and toast + 16 ounces low fat milk = 28 grams of protein, a good chunk of your daily requirement. Milk simultaneously enhances the value of the protein in the peanut butter sandwich. That is, peanuts are low in some of the essential amino acids muscles need for growth and repair. The amino acids in milk (as well as those in the sandwich bread) nicely complement the limiting amino acids in peanuts.
Peanut butter is a reasonable source of vitamins, minerals and other health-protective food compounds. For example, peanut butter contains folate, vitamin E, magnesium and resveratrol, all nutrients associated with reduced risk of heart disease. Peanut butter offers a small amount of zinc, a mineral important for healing and strengthening the immune system. As an athlete, you need all these nutrients to keep you off the bench and on the playing field. Peanuts contain mostly health-protective mono- and polyunsaturated fats.
When peanuts are made into commercial peanut butter, some of the oil gets converted into a harder, saturated fat. This keeps the oil from separating to the top. The hardened oil, called trans-fat, is less healthful. But the good news is, commercial peanut butters contain only a tiny amount of trans fats and just a small amount of (naturally occurring) saturated fat. For example, only 3.5 of the 17 grams fat in two tablespoons are "bad" fats.
To minimize your intake of even this small amount of un-healthful fat, you can buy all-natural peanut butter. If you dislike the way the oil in this type of peanut butter separates to the top of the jar, simply store the jar upside down. That way, the oil rises to what becomes the bottom of the jar when you turn it over to open it. And if you eat peanut butter daily, you won't have to refrigerate it, thereby making the all-natural peanut butter easier to spread.
According to Men’s Fitness magazine the best high street brand of peanut butter is 'Whole Earth - Crunchy original' peanut butter. They gave it 5/5 stars and described it as, "thick, satisfying peanut butter, tastes great despite having no added sugar". It also is entirely naturally sourced ingredients and has low salt levels so its a win win situation.
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