WEIGHT GAIN:THE TRUTH ABOUT PEANUT BUTTER

Today, having peanut butter on bread seems a natural thing to do. For some they do not even realize what value they are adding to their diet while using it. I will begin with the good, the bad and logical use of peanut butter towards weight gain!

While peanut butter does provide your body with much-needed nutrients, it's important to remember that a little goes a long way. We've found that it's hard to eat just one serving of peanut butter, and, depending on the brand, it may actually be causing more harm than good.

If you're like me, peanut butter is among the foods you crave the most. It's rich, it's sticky, and it tastes like roasted peanuts. It's ready whenever you are. But I've had to face two eye-opening facts about peanut butter:

1. All those calories! Two tablespoons contains 190 calories. Eat too much peanut butter, and you will gain weight--very quickly.

 2. Health positive effects are priceless!

Peanut butter is a great source of unsaturated fats and vegetarian protein; over 80 percent of the fats found in peanut butter are unsaturated, 50 percent being monounsaturated fats that can help cut bad cholesterol (LDL). Also, peanuts contain important B vitamins, potassium and resveratrol, a powerful antioxidant known to have cancer fighting properties. However, wholesome as it may be, moderation is the rule of thumb when it comes to enjoying peanut butter because some brands can be high in calories.

The good side:

• It's anti-aging. Peanut butter contains the antioxidant resveratrol — also found in red wine — which can help reduce the appearance of wrinkles.
• It's rich in nutrients. Peanut butter is full of vitamin E, calcium, iron, potassium and folate — all of which provide for better circulation and cardiovascular health.
• It can help fight cancer. Loaded with antioxidants, peanut butter can help reduce your risk for cancer and heart disease.
• It can help gain weight quickly but has to be taken in moderation!

The bad side:

Typically, extra sugar is added to many common brands causing the calorie count to be even higher. To keep peanut butter from separating, cheap oils — such as palm oil — are added. Palm oil adds significantly more saturated fat to the already high-in-fat food. It's also very hard to eat just one serving. In other words, peanut butter is just a little too tasty, if we say so ourselves. Eating three servings will put you at more than 600 calories and 45 grams of fat — that's an entire meal's worth!

The brands in Kenya market include Skippy, butter by other companies that are crunchy and so on...Which is the best? Any of them is a good bet but if you learnt to make your own is best.

Logically, it is amazing to find the immense effects of peanut butter on children who are underweight! Most times I have counseled mothers who have such children and administered plumpy nut which is a form of peanut butter! 

Plumpy’ nut can be safely administered at home by anyone, not just by a doctor or nurse in a hospital. The paste is shelf-stable for 24 months, does not need to be refrigerated, and requires no special equipment.

Two or three 92g packets a day of the sweet stuff can bring a severely underweight child to a healthy weight range in three to six weeks.

This shows the strength that peanut butter has on weight gain! 

Now if you know or have seen a child who is malnourished or you think is underweight, please contact me on ndutaniceness@gmail.com and let’s make better the life of that child!

Nduta 

Nutrition counselor