Healthy Choices
The nutritional goodness of Yummy Stuff,
compared to some common breakfast spreads
What is in "good old" peanut butter?
So, is peanut butter good for you? Like most things, it depends on the quality of the product and how often you consume it. But how do you tell the difference between the good, the bad and the ugly? It’s simple, take a look at the label.
Let’s take a look at the ingredient labels of 3 common peanut butter brands:
1.
Roasted Peanuts, Corn Syrup Solids, Sugar and Soy Protein, Fully Hydrogenated Vegetable Oils (Rapeseed and Soybean), Mono- and Diglycerides, Salt, Naicinamide, Folic Acid, Pyridoxine Hydro-chloride, Magnesium Oxide, Zinc Oxide, Ferric Orthophosphate, and Copper Sulphate
2.
Roasted Peanuts, Sugar, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (Cottonseed, Soybean and Rapeseed Oil) to prevent separation, Salt
3.
Roasted Peanuts, Soybean Oil, Corn Maltodextrin, Sugar, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (Cotton Seed And Rapeseed Oil), Salt, Mono- And Diglycerides
For all of these 3 brands the Peanuts would have been roasted in Canola, Soybean or Safflower oil, unless otherwise stated. Carefully note other "possible" ingredients on typical peanut butter labels, will may read something like this:
"MAY CONTAIN traces of Sesame Seeds, Gluten, Dairy, Soy, Tree Nuts."
So what exactly are these ingredients?
Fully hydrogenated vegetable oil – Fully hydrogenated oils are heated and mixed with hydrogen gas in order to convert them from liquids to solids for use in food products. Fully hydrogenated oils don’t contain trans fats.
Hydrogenated oil – According to Berkley Wellness, “If the label just says “hydrogenated” oil, you don’t know if it’s fully or partially hydrogenated.” Partially hydrogenated oil contain trans fats. Eating trans fat raises the level of LDL (“bad”) cholesterol in the blood. Elevated LDL cholesterol levels in the blood increase your risk of developing heart disease, the leading cause of death in men and women in the U.S.
Cottonseed oil– This oil is high in saturated fats and low in unsaturated fats. According to Dr. Andrew Weil, cotton is not considered a food crop, therefore farmers can use many agri-chemicals when growing this crop. Cottonseed oil is also more likely to have higher levels of pesticide residue.
Rapeseed oil- Wild rapeseed oil contains high amounts of erucic acid, which can cause numerous health problems. Canadian growers bred a new variety of rapeseed in the 1970s with a lower content of erucic acid and it was renamed canola.
Soybean oil – More than 90% of soy grown in the US is genetically engineered, the crops are also sprayed with Roundup, an herbicide that has been found to proliferate cancer cells, even in parts per trillion. Hexane, a chemical solvent, is also used to extract the oil from the soybean.
Mono- and diglycerides – Are classified as emulsifiers. They are also trans fats. Mono- and diglycerides are food additives that are used to combine ingredients that don’t mix well, like fats and water. In 2006, the FDA began requiring food manufacturers to list a food’s trans fat content on the label. This law applies to lipids, like triglycerides, but not to emulsifiers like mono- and diglycerides. Even though mono- and diglycerides contain trans-fatty acids, they aren’t under these labeling requirements. This means a food may be labeled as having “0% trans fat” yet still contain trans-fatty acids from mono- and diglycerides.
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Corn maltodextrin – Maltodextrin is used as a filler, preservative, and thickener in processed foods. Although it’s derived from food, in this case, corn, it is highly processed. The process is called partial hydrolysis. This process uses acid, enzymes and water to break the starch down and create a water soluble powder. Maltodextrin is also linked to spikes in blood sugar, suppressing probiotic growth and allergic reactions such as rashes, cramps and bloating.
Sugar– If you eat any processed foods, you are likely consuming higher amounts of sugar than you may realize.