Peanut butter is a highly enjoyed food that offers nutritional value.

Due to its high protein profile, the U.S. Department of Agriculture places it in the meat category of the food pyramid. Since the nuts are high in “good” fats, polyunsaturated and monounsaturated, the nut butter can actually lower bad LDL cholesterol.

With all the varieties out there, does it really make a difference if one opts for a natural brand opposed to a commercial one?

There are two things one should consider when purchasing this heart healthy food: ingredients and production climate.

Natural brands of peanut butter contain only peanuts and may have sugar, salt or natural oils added to enhance taste and texture.

Commercial brands contain a small amount, usually two percent or less, of partially and fully hydrogenated oils. They also contain emulsifiers such as monoglycerides and diglycerides to improve consistency and shelf-life.

Hydrogenation is a process that adds hydrogen atoms to unsaturated fatty acids. The addition converts liquid fats (oils) into a more solid form.

This conversion often creates trans-fatty acids. Although most commercial brands list zero grams of trans-fat in the nutritional information box, a very small amount can be present.

If a product contains traces of trans fat per serving, the manufacturer is not required to list it. Some companies make mention of this by stating, “contains trivial amounts of trans fat.”

The trivial amount of trans fat can add up if one is eating more than one serving at a time. Consuming trans fat increases levels of “bad” LDL cholesterol, which contributes to fatty acid build up in arteries.

According to WebMD.com, this extra coating in arteries is an indicator of heart disease and will increase the risk of heart attack and stroke.

The manufacturing process of peanut butter is important because it may facilitate the growth of a cancer-causing carcinogen.

According to Dr. Andrew Weil, the father of integrative medicine, the natural toxin aflatoxin is produced by specific strains of mold. It thrives on peanuts stored in warm and humid conditions. Aflatoxin is known to cause cancer in laboratory animals.

Storing natural peanut butters and nuts properly will greatly reduce their risk of growing the mold and prolong their shelf-life. After opening, natural peanut butter should be refrigerated.

K.D. Alexander, an herbalist for more than 20 years, only eats natural, raw nut butters. “Refrigerating nut butters is a good practice,” Alexander said. “The oil in nuts and nut butters can become rancid quickly, especially in Las Vegas.”

Processed peanut butters have a lower risk of developing the mold because they contain chemical preservatives.

It is easy to store and safely indulge in this savory spread.

Write expiration dates three or four months from the opening date on top of the jar. The perfect place for storing nuts is the freezer. Because it is cool, the low humidity environment will inhibit spoilage from oils.

For easier spreading, place nut butter jars upside down in the fridge so the oil doesn’t sit at the top.

Since nuts are produced once a year during the late summer and fall months, now is the best time to buy.

There is a multitude of peanut and nut butters most people are unaware of. If one is looking to try something new, all nuts have a nut butter counterpart.

Almonds are high in vitamin E and calcium. Cashews have high amounts of monosaturated fat and are good sources of copper and magnesium. Macadamia nuts are high in protein and fiber and using this butter will make phenomenal chocolate chip cookies.

Creative peanut butters from The Peanut Butter and Co. will satisfy any sweet tooth. White Chocolate Wonderful, Dark Chocolate Dreams and Cinnamon Raisin Swirl are some of the company’s most popular flavors. These gluten-free vegan peanut butters are all-natural and contain no hydrogenated oils or refined sugar.

If one is allergic to nuts, sunflower seed and pumpkin seed butter are safe and tasty alternatives. Sunflower seed butter is packed with vitamin E and fiber. Omega-6 and Omega-3 fatty acids make pumpkin seed butter a nutritious and delicious choice.

Peanut butter is a healthy source of protein and aids in lowering bad cholesterol.

When indulging in this naturally divine food, be sure storage does not make it have the opposite effect.

Source: The Rebel Yell, Las Vegas, September 13, 2007 and the American Peanut Council Newsletter.

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Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis are lauding fortified peanut butter as a potential savior for the world’s malnourished children.

The research team has spent several years researching the use of the enriched peanut-butter mixture, called Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF), with small groups of malnourished young children in Malawi. Their findings, published in July’s Maternal and Child Nutrition, showed an 89 percent recovery rate in severely malnourished children given RUTF at home.

Providing easily accessible aids to curbing severe malnutrition could not only save millions of lives every year but also overcome an initial hurdle in many children’s lives that has a far-reaching socio-economic impact.

“Mothers in Malawi know that malnutrition is the single biggest threat to their children’s existence,” said Dr. Mark Manary, co-author in the study as well as professor of pediatrics and an emergency pediatrician at St. Louis Children’s Hospital.

In developing countries, one in four children - approximately 146 million - are underweight, according to UNICEF figures. Every year, 10.9 million children under the age of five die in the same countries and malnutrition and hunger-related diseases cause 60 percent of these deaths.

The RUTF mixture contains peanuts, powdered milk, oil, sugar, and added vitamins and minerals. For the project, the food was produced in a Malawian factory and donated to the project through funding from UNICEF and the World Food Programme.

As part of the three-year project, village health aides identified severely and moderately malnourished children based on World Health Organization guidelines and then gave the peanut butter to the mothers of those children to give to them at home.

The village aides followed up with the participants every other week for up to eight weeks. Of the 2,131 severely malnourished children treated with the mixture, 89 percent recovered, and of the 806 moderately malnourished children, 85 percent recovered.

“The peanut-butter feeding has been a quantum leap in feeding malnourished children in Africa,” said Manary. “The recovery rates are a remarkable improvement from standard therapy.”

While the researchers had previously seen positive resulting using the peanut butter for malnutrition, it did not have the opportunity to use it on a large-scale feeding program until recently.

“What’s really exciting to me is that we’ve demonstrated that we can put this research into practice on a large scale, it can benefit tens of thousands of kids, and there are not going to be operational barriers in some very remote settings like sub-Saharan Africa,” said Manary.

In 2001, he founded a non-profit organization, the Peanut Butter Project, which produces approximately 300 tons of the RUTF in Malawi each year.

Combating malnutrition through a non-medical method can be important given the lack of on-site medical personnel in many areas. The research team found that the peanut butter feeding program and the involvement of village aides accomplished the task.

The recovery rate for children given standard therapy is less than 50 percent, they said.

The results of the project point to the potential for dietary supplement and functional food companies to get involved in development projects.

NutraCea is one such company that has been leading the way in trying to bring its stabilized rice bran ingredient to such products and projects in developing countries. The manufacturer developed a rice bran technology that provides a rich source of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.

The company has been promoting the ingredient as a means of eradicating malnutrition around the world, through the use of what is generally discarded as a waste product.

Source: NutraIngredients/Europe.com, September 13, 2007 and the American Peanut Council Newsletter.

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