Is peanut butter safe to eat? Nut and legume allergies aside, there is probably none so prevalent a food in the American child’s diet as peanut butter. In fact, the average American child eats 1,500 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches before graduating high school.1 Paired with everything from jelly to marshmallow fluff to chocolate, growing up it was certainly on the top of my favorite foods list. Yet, are peanuts the best choice for our health, or have other nuts and legumes proven to be more beneficial?
History of Peanut Butter
iPeanut butter contains neither nuts nor butter. Peanuts are actually legumes that grow underground.2 It is believed that the peanut plant is indigenous to Peru or Brazil, but it grew as far north as Mexico. While there are no fossils to prove this, South American pottery with peanut designs date back as far as 3,500 years ago. The Incans, for example, used peanuts as sacrificial offerings and buried them with their deceased to aid in the afterlife. There is also evidence that the Incans ground their peanuts into peanut butter.3
Spanish conquistadores discovered peanuts on their South American conquests, brought the legume plant back to Spain, and from there the peanut spread to Asia and Africa. Africans introduced peanuts to North America in the 1700s, however it wasn’t until the 1800s that peanuts were grown as a commercial crop in the United States. At first, peanuts were regarded as food for livestock and were considered difficult to grow. During the Civil War, however, Union soldiers discovered peanuts and liked them so much that they brought them home, leading to a rise in peanut production. In 1895, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg (of Kellogg’s cereal) invented a version of peanut butter. In 1904, peanut butter was introduced at the St. Louis World’s Fair.4
According to The American Peanut Council, peanuts are now the 12th most valuable cash crop in the United States, with a value of over $1 billion.5 However, the United States is only the third largest producer of peanuts—China and India are the first and second largest producers, respectively.6 On average, Americans eat more than six pounds of peanut products each year.7
Other Peanut Facts:
- Georgia and Texas are the top American States in peanut production.
- United States presidents Jimmy Carter and Thomas Jefferson were peanut farmers.
- It takes on average 540 peanuts to make a 12 oz. jar of peanut butter.8
Impacts of Consuming Peanuts
While peanuts are a high-protein food source and have been shown to decrease the risk of Type II diabetes, there are detrimental impacts, as well. First, since peanuts are legumes, they do not have hard shells like nuts for protection, but rather, they have soft, porous shells. Therefore, the peanuts can easily absorb contaminants such as .9
However, organic peanut butters may contain more aflatoxin, a carcinogenic but naturally occurring fungus in soil, because fungicide is not used in their production.10 Aflatoxin prefers warm and wet conditions and usually occurs in the soil prior to harvest. However, if post-harvest crops are not dried properly and quickly enough, or if the crop is too moist during storage, aflatoxin can occur.11 Fortunately, all commercially produced brands (organic and non-organic) brands must be tested for aflatoxin levels. It is also helpful to keep peanut butter refrigerated to keep aflatoxin from growing.12
Peanut Alternatives
Luckily, there are a plethora of healthy options other than peanuts to satisfy nut butter needs. Almond butter and cashew butter have high levels of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, which are beneficial for heart health. Walnut butter has additional benefits—it is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, and it can also improve blood vessel, heart, and lymphatic functions.13
Seed-based butters, such as sunflower, pumpkin, and sesame also contain healthy unsaturated fats. Sunflower seed butter, for instance, also contains vitamin E, which is an antioxidant, and magnesium, which produces energy and synthesizes DNA and RNA.14 Sesame seeds are similarly packed with health benefits. First, they are good sources of protein and fiber. Second, sesame seeds contain vitamins and minerals that are not always part of our diets, such as vitamin B, magnesium, phosphorus, and copper. They also contain calcium, iron, and zinc, all of which are needed for healthy immune and nervous systems.
At the end of the day it is your choice whether you continue to eat your peanut butter or other nut butter, either way enjoy what you eat!
