Peanut Butter - Healthy or not?

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courtneyraquelx3
courtneyraquelx3 Posts: 37
in Food and Nutrition
I know some peanut butter is healthy and some peanut butter is not. I was just wondering if anyone has found some really healthy peanut butter brand because I am a peanut butter freak! Please let me know :) Also, feel free to add me if you want! Thank you!

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  • 10kaday
    10kaday Posts: 177
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    Only the natural peanut butter is healthy. You know, the kind where you gotta mix up the oil before you eat it. Otherwise, all the other stuff is loaded with preservatives that is pure garbage.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
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    I really like Maranatha Organic No Sitr. I've been steering away from Peanut Butter lately in favor of Almond Butter but thus brand is great.
  • Brandie1029
    Brandie1029 Posts: 183 Member
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    I really enjoy PB2. I order mine from amazon.com. It only has 45 calories for 2 TBS! :drinker:
  • mamamc03
    mamamc03 Posts: 1,067 Member
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    Hey Courtney....google PB2 it is powdered Peanut butter with 85% less fat & only 45 cals per serving!! They also sell it in chocolate flavor!! My family (hubby, myself & 5 year old) love it!! It's about $5 a jar, but soooooo worth it for the lower calories, sodium, fat, etc!! Plus it's yummy! You can add it to smoothies, oatmeal, ice cream, cake mix, chili?? Anything!!
  • pinkita
    pinkita Posts: 779 Member
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    I have PB2, regular and chocolate flavor and didn't care for it. I put it on bread though. It seems the people who like it most are those who use it in smoothies or in other ways besides just on bread.
  • melsinct
    melsinct Posts: 3,512 Member
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    Only the natural peanut butter is healthy. You know, the kind where you gotta mix up the oil before you eat it. Otherwise, all the other stuff is loaded with preservatives that is pure garbage.

    Agreed. Jif, Skippy and the like are loaded with sugar. Peanut Butter in its natural state is very healthy. healthy fats and a nice shot of protein.
  • EatClenTrenHard
    EatClenTrenHard Posts: 339 Member
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    anything hydrogenated isnt healthy. take a look at ingridients list, if its the cheap non-organic stuff its definately NOT healthy.
  • lovinbeinold
    lovinbeinold Posts: 116
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    Some health food stores carry freshly ground peanut butter and freshly ground almond butter. I buy both peanut butter and almond butter. My diet is pretty healthy, but not varied enough. So, I figure little variations like that help some. When they go on bread, it is either Ezekiel bread or whole wheat bread.
  • kbw414
    kbw414 Posts: 194
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    Hey Courtney....google PB2 it is powdered Peanut butter with 85% less fat & only 45 cals per serving!!

    Uhm, what's in it then to make the calories so low? I mean, peanut butter is understood to be made of peanuts, which are naturally high in calories and fat. Is it just peanut butter-flavored water?
  • wilkyway
    wilkyway Posts: 151
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    The one I use only has one ingredient: peanuts

    > go for stuff w/o added sugar/oil

    Mine's a german brand 'Alnatura'
  • mslack01
    mslack01 Posts: 823 Member
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    Make your own in the food processor with just peanuts and a tsp of oil for smoothness. :) Can't get much healthier than that.
  • NashvilleShelley
    NashvilleShelley Posts: 238
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    I was afraid to read this. I love peanut butter and have two tablespoons a day. I hope that you are all right and that it is healthy. The only ingredients on my jar are peanuts and sea salt. Finally something I love is healthy!! LOL!!!
  • jennifermcornett
    jennifermcornett Posts: 159 Member
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    Hey Courtney....google PB2 it is powdered Peanut butter with 85% less fat & only 45 cals per serving!!

    Uhm, what's in it then to make the calories so low? I mean, peanut butter is understood to be made of peanuts, which are naturally high in calories and fat. Is it just peanut butter-flavored water?

    PB2 is supposed to be the ground up remains of peanuts after the oil is extracted. You do mix it with water, but it still has protein like regular peanut butter does. It tastes slightly different than regular peanut butter, but I eat it on sandwiches with reduced sugar jelly, and it tastes fine to me!
  • renu74
    renu74 Posts: 90 Member
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    Kirklands organic peanut butter is the best, no added anything, just pure peanut butter. Once you taste this, you will not like any other brand.
  • okerachel
    okerachel Posts: 45 Member
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    Mmm... I love peanut butter... mmm... *Currently making sweet nutritious love to a banana covered in peanut butter*
  • strivingforhealthiness
    strivingforhealthiness Posts: 35
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    Natural Peanut Butter

    Healthy - Definitely!
    But also very high in calories!
  • ShannonMpls
    ShannonMpls Posts: 1,936 Member
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    Look at the label. If the ingredient list is peanuts (or even peanuts + salt, like mine is) it's fine. I have a tablespoon at least once a day.

    If the label includes sugar and hydrogenated oils, it's not a great choice. Watch some Jif/Skippy "natural" brands...they add palm oil.

    I get my natural PB at Trader Joe's - the valencia creamy salted is so good and requires only a bit of stirring when you first open it.
    Hey Courtney....google PB2 it is powdered Peanut butter with 85% less fat & only 45 cals per serving!!

    Uhm, what's in it then to make the calories so low? I mean, peanut butter is understood to be made of peanuts, which are naturally high in calories and fat. Is it just peanut butter-flavored water?

    They remove the oil...so you're basically getting peanut dust in a jar. (sidenote: they sell the oil they express separately....great marketing plan, really! charge inflated prices for defatted peanuts, cash in again selling the oil). I imagine PB2 tastes great in a protein shake, but I haven't tried it.
  • Emdog24
    Emdog24 Posts: 81 Member
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    My FAV peanut butter is Teddie's All Natural Smooth Unsalted Peanut Butter. The natural stuff is the best and although at first I wasn't that crazy about the all natural stuff, now I LOVE it and if I ever have Jif or Peter Pan or any other "regular" peanut butter it just tastes weird. Peanut butter is very calorie dense so I always measure it out. And yes it's high in fat, but it's the "good" kind of fat and it'll keep your tummy satisfied and provide energy. Looking through numerous fitness blogs over the years, I've found that peanut butter is one of the foods that almost always shows up in healthy people's diets, so as long as you don't over-indulge it can certainly be a part of healthy diet!
  • kbw414
    kbw414 Posts: 194
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    Hey Courtney....google PB2 it is powdered Peanut butter with 85% less fat & only 45 cals per serving!!

    Uhm, what's in it then to make the calories so low? I mean, peanut butter is understood to be made of peanuts, which are naturally high in calories and fat. Is it just peanut butter-flavored water?

    PB2 is supposed to be the ground up remains of peanuts after the oil is extracted. You do mix it with water, but it still has protein like regular peanut butter does. It tastes slightly different than regular peanut butter, but I eat it on sandwiches with reduced sugar jelly, and it tastes fine to me!

    But isn't the oil in the peanuts the good part? I mean, the fats/oils in peanuts help promote a healthy cardiovascular system.
  • sunshinekind919
    sunshinekind919 Posts: 51 Member
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    For obvious reasons, anything without additives and additional oils/sweeteners/etc are going to be better than those with them, but other than that, as long as the calories fit into your day, it's completely fine. There are fats in peanut butter which a lot of people use to give PB a bad rap, but it's plant oils that are good for your body. They don't clog arteries or build up in your brain, your body needs fats to line and protect your organs and PB can be good for this. PB is totally healthy as long as you aren't going over your recommended intakes.

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