Exploring the Delights of Peanut Butter

Peanut butter is a paste from the ground, dry-roasted peanuts. It can be consumed naturally without additives. While additional nutrients can also be added to improve the taste, such as salts, sweeteners and emulsifiers, we must take note to make a conscious decision on our diets. Generally, peanut butter is a nutrient-rich food containing proteins, vitamins and dietary minerals. These are the quantities of these nutrients in two tablespoons serving of peanut butter:

• Proteins: 9 grams
• Fat: 18 grams
• Carbohydrates: 6 grams
• Fiber: 3 grams
• Sugar: 1 gram
• Calories: 207

Peanut butter is also a good source of Vitamin E, Niacin, Manganese, Vitamin B6, Magnesium and Copper.

The health beanefits of peanut butter

There are several health benefits associated with peanut butter when taken in the right amount keeping in mind that it has high calories. Studies show that eating peanut butter every day reduces the risk of death by 21% and 38% reduction in the occurrence of heart disease. Some of the benefits of peanut butter are as follows:

1. Healthy Heart:

Peanut butter helps in maintaining good cholesterol, blood sugar and pressure levels, lowering the risk of heart disease. This is mainly attributed to Oleic acid, one of the main fats in peanut butter. Peanut butter has Omega 6 fatty acid, which helps in lowering bad cholesterol (LDL) while increasing the protective cholesterol (HDL). Lastly, peanut butter also contains arginine that promotes blood vessel functioning thereby preventing heart and vascular diseases.

2. Antioxidant:

These are compounds that scavenge on free radicals in the body; the free radicals result from healthy body anabolic processes. Peanut butter has several antioxidants, including Manganese, Vitamin E, and Vitamin B. These antioxidants help in preventing cell damage by free radicals and hence preventing degenerative chronic diseases. Also, the list of antioxidants includes coumaric acid, whose activity is boosted by 22% when the peanut is roasted.

3. Weight Watch:

Weight loss depends on two major factors: diet and lifestyle. Including peanut butter as part of a healthy diet would help in this course as it is high in healthy fats, proteins and fibre. These take longer to digest, keeping us fuller for longer and thus reducing the risk of overeating. Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids are associated with a lower risk of weight gain and obesity, and this is what we find in peanut butter.

Did you know most commercial peanut butter brands have additives such as sugar, hydrogenated fats and other ingredients? And largely, they remain unprocessed food. What you need is natural peanut butter that tastes great with less additives, and this is what you get from Sir Williams natural peanut butter. Order a healthy jar of peanut butter today and let's spread the love.

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