Healthy Nut Butters

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Greg sent me an email with some questions about peanut butter. He wants to know if the oil in peanut butter is the same as fat and if so, should he consume low fat peanut butter? I'm glad you asked these questions Greg as there are many nut butters on the grocery shelves and it can be confusing. Let's start with your first question about the oil in peanut butter. Yes, oil is the same as fat. It's a form of fat. Fat has many faces or looks. Think about the oil in salad dressing or a bottle of canola oil or any oil. These oils are fat. Butter, shortening, margarine..these are all fat. Even the marbling around the outside of a steak or the skin on a chicken, these are fat. The oil in peanuts and peanut butter is a form of fat. What's different about all of these fats is the type of fat they contain.

The types of fat related to your health are saturated fat, trans fat, polyunsaturated fat and monounsaturated fat. Of these fats, the evil ones are trans fat and saturated fat. They are known to do a number on your ticker by clogging arteries and raising cholesterol levels. Typically, saturated fat looks solid at room temperature like a can of butter flavored shortening. In full fat dairy products, cheese or high fat meat, saturated fat will be a large part of the total fat. When you switch to lean cuts of meat and low fat dairy products, you automatically lower the saturated fat content. Trans fat AKA partially hydrogenated fat, which thankfully is being removed from many processed products, has been used to make processed foods stay fresh longer and taste better. However, research tells us that trans fat is a bad boy just like saturated fat when it comes to your heart and blood vessel health. The goal is to eat less saturated and trans fat and replace them with healthier types of unsaturated fat including polyunsaturated and monounsaturated.

Here's where the nut butters and seed butters come in to play. Nuts and seeds contain a low amount of saturated fat, higher amounts of the good fats and zero cholesterol since cholesterol is only found in animal sources. In fact studies show that eating nuts and seeds regularly helps to lower blood cholesterol levels. Which good fat and how much of it makes up a nut or seed depends on which nut or seed it is.

Many people tend to skip nuts and seeds because they think they're too high in fat and calories. True, the fat content is high but the type of fat is healthy and beneficial. The secret is portion control. No popping open a can of nuts and scarfing down the entire can while you watch the news. Then you're right, nuts have way too many calories and too much fat but eaten in reasonable portions, such as a small handful, they can be very beneficial to your health.

OK Greg, back to your question about whether to buy the reduced fat peanut butter. It's a personal decision but I typically do not. Here's why. Most of us need the good unsaturated fats in our diets to replace the less than healthy trans and saturated fats. When you buy reduced fat peanut butter, sugar or some type of sweetener is added to replace the fat. I prefer to have the full flavor of the nuts or seeds and the healthy fat. You will also find peanut butter with added omega-3 fatty acids. Remember that omega-3 fats are part of the polyunsaturated family and have healthy benefits of their own so this is another way to increase the omega-3s in your diet if you are a peanut butter lover. One tablespoon of most nut or seed butters averages 90-100 calories. An ounce of nuts or seeds averages between 150-200 calories maybe less if it's soy nuts or soy nut butter.

You might be wondering what seed butters are. Sun butter is made from sunflower seeds versus nuts. The calories and fat per serving are about the same but the difference is that sunflower seeds and sun butter have more polyunsaturated fat and less monounsaturated fat while peanuts, almonds, cashews and other nuts tend to have more monounsaturated fat and less poly. That's the wonderful thing about variety in your diet. You will get the unsaturated fats when you eat various nuts and seeds. Plus, if you have a nut allergy, sunflower seeds are a great alternative. Soy butter and soy nuts which are not nuts but made from soybeans are another alternative to nut butters. A good source of protein and healthy fats, soy butter has become very popular.

Nuts, nut butters, seeds and seed butters contain phytochemicals, naturally occurring plant chemicals that have health benefits and may protect against cancer and other diseases. Plus they are sources of many nutrients including potassium, zinc, protein and choline.

Be sure and read the ingredient label for added trans fat usually in the form of partially hydrogenated fat. It' so easy to find nut butters now without add trans fat and without added sugar for that matter. If you're watching your sodium intake, you can find no salt and low sodium varieties. When you buy a natural peanut butter or other nut butter that is only ground nuts and maybe salt, the oil will typically be at the top. Just stir it and you're ready to spread.

Nut and seed butters are a delicious part of a healthy diet so try several different ones....variety is the spice of life.