Why Weight?

3 Reasons Peanut Butter is Good for You

By Bob on April 10, 2013 5:54 AM

If Charlotte and I have one vice, it's crunchy peanut butter. We love the stuff. But, it's always been a little bit of a guilty pleasure. I mean, the gooey, crunchy spread can't be good for you, can it? According to the folks at Prevention Magazine, peanut butter has some surprising health benefits.

3 Reasons Peanut Butter is Good for You 

1. Peanut Butter Helps You Lose Weight
If you want to call bullshit on this one, go right ahead, because calling peanut butter a diet food, with 180 to 210 calories per serving doesn't seem right. But, its combination of fiber (2 g per serving) and protein (8 g per serving) is what fills you up and keeps you feeling full longer...so you actually eat less.

2. Peanut Butter is Packed with Nutrition
One serving of peanut butter has 3 mg of the antioxidant vitamin E, 49 mg of magnesium (good for bones,) 208 mg of potassium (great for building muscle,) and 0.17 mg of vitamin B6 (boosts your immune system). Eating peanuts can decrease your risk of heart disease, diabetes, and other chronic health conditions. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that eating about 2 tablespoons of nuts or peanut butter at least 5 days a week can lower the risk of diabetes by about 30%.

3. Peanut Butter Has the "Good" Fat
Peanut butter has plenty of heart-healthy monounsaturated fat. One study found that insulin-resistant adults who ate a diet high in monounsaturated fat had less belly fat than people who ate more carbohydrates or saturated fat. 

Ok, so what's the best peanut butter?

Everyone has their own preference, but in our house it's Skippy Reduced Fat Super Chunk Peanut Butter (and no, they aren't sponsoring this post, we just like it).

We'd like to thank the folks at Prevention Magazine for providing information for this column.

Why Weight? is a column on diet, nutrition and making better choices so you can live a longer, healthier life. We're not doctors and nothing here should be taken as medical advice. Always consult your physician before making any changes in diet, exercise, nutrition or cell phone provider (Let's face it doctors are just really, really smart, they know a lot about a lot of things). Our goal is simple: We want all Baby Boomers to live long enough to get back the money they've paid into Social Security. Remember, your children's inheritance isn't going to spend itself. It's up to you.

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