Natural Peanut Butter vs. Regular?

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  • SunofaBeach14
    SunofaBeach14 Posts: 4,932 Member
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    i find it ironic that "regular" peanut butter often has palm oil, sweeteners and preservatives. and "fitness pals" are too lazy to stir the natural.

    It isn't necessarily due to laziness, maybe just personal preference. I think oily peanut butter and/or keeping it in the fridge (with the obvious result: cold peanut butter) sucks. Some added sugar, palm oil and salt won't kill me.

    Palm oil...mmmm...oil of the gods...

    too bad it requires the systematic killing of Orangutans to acquire it...

    Mmmmm, orangutan steaks! I bet those are tasty with a side a whale sashimi.
  • graceylou222
    graceylou222 Posts: 198 Member
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    I like crunchy peanut butter so there really is no difference in the taste for me! I buy kroger brand natural crunchy pb :)
  • Hansonian
    Hansonian Posts: 78 Member
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    Just a quick update:

    I just made about half a cup of almond butter with some roasted almonds I had on hand... AMAZING! I put a teaspoon of honey and it's great! I will have to play with it to get it perfect, but I can definitely see myself eating this! It took some time, but that just made it taste better!

    Thanks so much! :)
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
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    i find it ironic that "regular" peanut butter often has palm oil, sweeteners and preservatives. and "fitness pals" are too lazy to stir the natural.

    It isn't necessarily due to laziness, maybe just personal preference. I think oily peanut butter and/or keeping it in the fridge (with the obvious result: cold peanut butter) sucks. Some added sugar, palm oil and salt won't kill me.

    Palm oil...mmmm...oil of the gods...

    too bad it requires the systematic killing of Orangutans to acquire it...

    Mmmmm, orangutan steaks! I bet those are tasty with a side a whale sashimi.

    Have not tried!
  • cwsreddy
    cwsreddy Posts: 998 Member
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    i find it ironic that "regular" peanut butter often has palm oil, sweeteners and preservatives. and "fitness pals" are too lazy to stir the natural.

    It isn't necessarily due to laziness, maybe just personal preference. I think oily peanut butter and/or keeping it in the fridge (with the obvious result: cold peanut butter) sucks. Some added sugar, palm oil and salt won't kill me.

    Palm oil...mmmm...oil of the gods...

    too bad it requires the systematic killing of Orangutans to acquire it...

    Mmmmm, orangutan steaks! I bet those are tasty with a side a whale sashimi.

    Have not tried!

    popped up on my facebook feed today and though of you. please consider this.

    http://rawforbeauty.com/blog/say-no-to-palm-oil.html
    Due to the massive international demand for palm oil, palm oil plantations are rapidly replacing the rainforest habitat of the critically endangered orangutan; with over 90% of their habitat already destroyed in the last 20 years.

    Orangutans are some of our closest relatives, sharing approximately 97% of their DNA with humans. Orangutan means ‘Person of the jungle’ in the Indonesian language. It is estimated that 6 to 12 of these ‘jungle people’ are killed each day for palm oil. These gentle creatures are either killed in the deforestation process, when they wonder into a palm oil plantation looking for food, or in the illegal pet trade after they’ve been captured and kept as pets in extremely poor conditions and provided with extremely poor nutrition.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    i find it ironic that "regular" peanut butter often has palm oil, sweeteners and preservatives. and "fitness pals" are too lazy to stir the natural.

    It isn't necessarily due to laziness, maybe just personal preference. I think oily peanut butter and/or keeping it in the fridge (with the obvious result: cold peanut butter) sucks. Some added sugar, palm oil and salt won't kill me.

    Palm oil...mmmm...oil of the gods...

    too bad it requires the systematic killing of Orangutans to acquire it...

    Mmmmm, orangutan steaks! I bet those are tasty with a side a whale sashimi.

    Have not tried!

    popped up on my facebook feed today and though of you. please consider this.

    http://rawforbeauty.com/blog/say-no-to-palm-oil.html
    Due to the massive international demand for palm oil, palm oil plantations are rapidly replacing the rainforest habitat of the critically endangered orangutan; with over 90% of their habitat already destroyed in the last 20 years.

    Orangutans are some of our closest relatives, sharing approximately 97% of their DNA with humans. Orangutan means ‘Person of the jungle’ in the Indonesian language. It is estimated that 6 to 12 of these ‘jungle people’ are killed each day for palm oil. These gentle creatures are either killed in the deforestation process, when they wonder into a palm oil plantation looking for food, or in the illegal pet trade after they’ve been captured and kept as pets in extremely poor conditions and provided with extremely poor nutrition.
    Hope you don't use coconut oil, the methods used for farming coconuts to keep up with coconut oil demand are even worse from an ecological standpoint.

    Also, I believe we also share about 95% of the same DNA as a pig. Pretty much all life on the planet has very, very similar DNA percentage wise. It's in those 3-5% differences that make up all the massive differences in the animal kingdom. Using percentage of DNA to claim how closely we are related to a different species is purely propaganda, which makes the rest of that article suspect.

    Then again, you said it was a Facebook post, so that pretty much kills it's credibility anyway.
  • cwsreddy
    cwsreddy Posts: 998 Member
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    popped up on my facebook feed today and though of you. please consider this.

    http://rawforbeauty.com/blog/say-no-to-palm-oil.html
    Due to the massive international demand for palm oil, palm oil plantations are rapidly replacing the rainforest habitat of the critically endangered orangutan; with over 90% of their habitat already destroyed in the last 20 years.

    Orangutans are some of our closest relatives, sharing approximately 97% of their DNA with humans. Orangutan means ‘Person of the jungle’ in the Indonesian language. It is estimated that 6 to 12 of these ‘jungle people’ are killed each day for palm oil. These gentle creatures are either killed in the deforestation process, when they wonder into a palm oil plantation looking for food, or in the illegal pet trade after they’ve been captured and kept as pets in extremely poor conditions and provided with extremely poor nutrition.
    Hope you don't use coconut oil, the methods used for farming coconuts to keep up with coconut oil demand are even worse from an ecological standpoint.

    Also, I believe we also share about 95% of the same DNA as a pig. Pretty much all life on the planet has very, very similar DNA percentage wise. It's in those 3-5% differences that make up all the massive differences in the animal kingdom. Using percentage of DNA to claim how closely we are related to a different species is purely propaganda, which makes the rest of that article suspect.

    Then again, you said it was a Facebook post, so that pretty much kills it's credibility anyway.
    the semantics are annoying and not particularly helpful.

    if you don't care about the above then you don't care, but it's worth considering. wonder how you'd feel if it were tigers. :wink:
  • GingerLolita
    GingerLolita Posts: 738 Member
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    "Regular" peanut butter contains hydrogenated oils, aka trans fats. There are many "natural" peanut butters that are very similar to the "regular" ones, and still have salt and sugar, but use different oil. Switching to one of those shouldn't impact taste much and will be significantly healthier. I prefer my peanut butter with just peanuts and maybe a bit of salt, but starting with one of the more similar peanut butters to what you're used to may be easier.
  • tarawrites
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    Natural peanut butter is a great choice. It's rich in protein, essential fats, and dietary fibre. If you're on a tight budget, regular peanut butter is fine. Make sure it doesn't have too much sugar. You’ve said that both types of peanut butter have the same amount of calories, but you should also check how much sugar/carbs they contain.

    Did you know that you can prepare peanut butter at home? It's very easy. I've found some great recipes for preparing all sorts of snacks and desserts on the following blog:

    myweightlossdream dot co dot uk/category/free-recipes

    You should check it out. I've tried some of the recipes featured on this blog and they taste great! You'll also find exercise and nutrition tips from experts.
  • _John_
    _John_ Posts: 8,642 Member
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    "Regular" peanut butter contains hydrogenated oils, aka trans fats. There are many "natural" peanut butters that are very similar to the "regular" ones, and still have salt and sugar, but use different oil. Switching to one of those shouldn't impact taste much and will be significantly healthier. I prefer my peanut butter with just peanuts and maybe a bit of salt, but starting with one of the more similar peanut butters to what you're used to may be easier.

    Significantly healthier... As in less than undetectable levels of trans fat as all commercial peanut butters measured in a study? (See me earlier post with link).
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
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    i find it ironic that "regular" peanut butter often has palm oil, sweeteners and preservatives. and "fitness pals" are too lazy to stir the natural.

    It isn't necessarily due to laziness, maybe just personal preference. I think oily peanut butter and/or keeping it in the fridge (with the obvious result: cold peanut butter) sucks. Some added sugar, palm oil and salt won't kill me.

    Palm oil...mmmm...oil of the gods...

    too bad it requires the systematic killing of Orangutans to acquire it...

    Mmmmm, orangutan steaks! I bet those are tasty with a side a whale sashimi.

    Have not tried!

    popped up on my facebook feed today and though of you. please consider this.

    http://rawforbeauty.com/blog/say-no-to-palm-oil.html
    Due to the massive international demand for palm oil, palm oil plantations are rapidly replacing the rainforest habitat of the critically endangered orangutan; with over 90% of their habitat already destroyed in the last 20 years.

    Orangutans are some of our closest relatives, sharing approximately 97% of their DNA with humans. Orangutan means ‘Person of the jungle’ in the Indonesian language. It is estimated that 6 to 12 of these ‘jungle people’ are killed each day for palm oil. These gentle creatures are either killed in the deforestation process, when they wonder into a palm oil plantation looking for food, or in the illegal pet trade after they’ve been captured and kept as pets in extremely poor conditions and provided with extremely poor nutrition.
    Hope you don't use coconut oil, the methods used for farming coconuts to keep up with coconut oil demand are even worse from an ecological standpoint.

    Also, I believe we also share about 95% of the same DNA as a pig. Pretty much all life on the planet has very, very similar DNA percentage wise. It's in those 3-5% differences that make up all the massive differences in the animal kingdom. Using percentage of DNA to claim how closely we are related to a different species is purely propaganda, which makes the rest of that article suspect.

    Then again, you said it was a Facebook post, so that pretty much kills it's credibility anyway.

    :laugh:

    They can't post anything on Facebook that isn't true. I read that on Facebook.
  • cwsreddy
    cwsreddy Posts: 998 Member
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    i find it ironic that "regular" peanut butter often has palm oil, sweeteners and preservatives. and "fitness pals" are too lazy to stir the natural.

    It isn't necessarily due to laziness, maybe just personal preference. I think oily peanut butter and/or keeping it in the fridge (with the obvious result: cold peanut butter) sucks. Some added sugar, palm oil and salt won't kill me.

    Palm oil...mmmm...oil of the gods...

    too bad it requires the systematic killing of Orangutans to acquire it...

    Mmmmm, orangutan steaks! I bet those are tasty with a side a whale sashimi.

    Have not tried!

    popped up on my facebook feed today and though of you. please consider this.

    http://rawforbeauty.com/blog/say-no-to-palm-oil.html
    Due to the massive international demand for palm oil, palm oil plantations are rapidly replacing the rainforest habitat of the critically endangered orangutan; with over 90% of their habitat already destroyed in the last 20 years.

    Orangutans are some of our closest relatives, sharing approximately 97% of their DNA with humans. Orangutan means ‘Person of the jungle’ in the Indonesian language. It is estimated that 6 to 12 of these ‘jungle people’ are killed each day for palm oil. These gentle creatures are either killed in the deforestation process, when they wonder into a palm oil plantation looking for food, or in the illegal pet trade after they’ve been captured and kept as pets in extremely poor conditions and provided with extremely poor nutrition.
    Hope you don't use coconut oil, the methods used for farming coconuts to keep up with coconut oil demand are even worse from an ecological standpoint.

    Also, I believe we also share about 95% of the same DNA as a pig. Pretty much all life on the planet has very, very similar DNA percentage wise. It's in those 3-5% differences that make up all the massive differences in the animal kingdom. Using percentage of DNA to claim how closely we are related to a different species is purely propaganda, which makes the rest of that article suspect.

    Then again, you said it was a Facebook post, so that pretty much kills it's credibility anyway.

    :laugh:

    They can't post anything on Facebook that isn't true. I read that on Facebook.

    if your reaction to the article i posted is just to laugh, then that says plenty about your character.

    not that I'm surprised frankly.
  • JackieO524
    JackieO524 Posts: 25 Member
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    The Natural PB like Skippy Natural or Jiff Natural are better, if you look at the ingredients of the regular, you will see hydrogenated oils which signal trans fat and if you eat alot of it, that isn't great. The Natural varieties have just a few ingredients - that is what i like to see - Smart Balance is actually really good too
  • OMGSugarOHNOS
    OMGSugarOHNOS Posts: 204 Member
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    lol i dunno if i'll ever get over the ingredient snobs. Eat what you like. Your body doesn't get bonus points for eating "natural" PB and lets get real here it only says "natural" on there so YOU BUY IT.
  • Gmtribble90
    Gmtribble90 Posts: 463 Member
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    I recently bought fresh peanut butter from Piggly Wiggly and it's not bad :). My first time trying a natural peanut butter and I believe that it was a good choice for me. I like it on whole-wheat bread with a little orange marmalade or some local jam/jelly (flavor varies lol). Not sure if I could get away with baking dessert with it since my bf is used to peanut butter cookies/brownies with the regular Reese's brand stuff, but at least I know it makes a good PB&J!
  • goldenrodfarm
    goldenrodfarm Posts: 34 Member
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    They say natural peanutbutter has more Aflatoxins then the processed kind
  • scottacular
    scottacular Posts: 597 Member
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    Hansonian wrote: »
    Hey ya'll,

    So I LOVE peanut butter and I've been eating a lot of it for protein. I bought some natural peanut butter and have been eating it for 2ish months (I log it as regular peanut butter, in case any of you have seen my food diary) and I'm wondering if there are really any health benefits aside from the fact that it doesn't have preservatives?

    It has as many calories, it tastes half as good, and it's more expensive! I know that preservatives aren't good in any food, and I'm all for jumping on the all-natural train, but I haven't noticed a change in how soon I get hungry and my weight didn't drop significantly after switching. Can I just buy regular? Do you think it really matters?

    Nope, it doesn't matter one bit - go for whatever is providing you with the calories, protein, fat, carbs and fibre you need in the most enjoyable way possible. It means you'll be less likely to get fed up with it all.
  • feisty_bucket
    feisty_bucket Posts: 1,047 Member
    edited November 2014
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    "Hansonian wrote: »
    I'm wondering if there are really any health benefits aside from the fact that it doesn't have preservatives?

    The difference between standard and "natural" is mostly the type of fat they add to it. The regular kind uses vegetable oil, which is cheap. The natural kind uses palm oil, which is more expensive.
    Do you think it really matters?

    I think so, but you'd have to decide what you think about different kinds of fats. I like palm oil and dislike vegetable oil.

  • dodgethepodge
    dodgethepodge Posts: 23 Member
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