If America runs on a certain brand of coffee, as the ads tell us, peanuts are a close second. In peanut butter, in trail mixes and as peanut flour and snacks, peanuts fuel the brain and the body. The benefits of eating peanuts are now being confirmed by science. These include reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, helping maintain a healthy weight, and improving brain function. Given that peanuts and peanut products like peanut butter are packed with proteins and fiber, it?s not surprising that they are officially one of the healthiest foods around.
Peanuts are good for you
Science is now confirming what generations of Americans have known: peanuts are actually good for you. They benefit both the brain and the body, fueling intellectual and physical effort and promoting health. Parents have known this instinctively, as they stumble around in their kitchens at 6 a.m., bleary-eyed and caffeine-deprived, packing peanut butter and jelly for their kids? school snacks.
That?s how kids get the energy and brain power to stay alert and active through a long and challenging day. Scientists now confirm that eating nuts actually improves brain function. So there?s no need to feel guilty about snacking on those beer nuts: eating peanuts is actually good for you.
What are the health benefits of eating peanuts?
The health benefits of eating peanuts include reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease. Researchers at Harvard have found that they also help to reduce the risk of diabetes and cancer.
Many people avoid peanuts and nuts in general because they are considered an unhealthy and fattening food. In fact, as researchers in Spain found, eating a moderate amount of nuts and seeds helps to maintain a healthy weight. A study of 8,865 people showed that those who ate nuts two times a week had a 31% lower chance of gaining weight than those who did not eat nuts at all.
The secret of peanut butter
Ice cream and peanut butter are probably two of the top favorite American foods. Fully 90% of American households eat peanut butter, and have a jar, or several jars, stashed away in the pantry. It?s not just the taste, though that helps too. Peanuts are full of nutrition, with 7.3 grams of protein and 2.4 grams of fiber in every one-ounce serving.
The advantages of peanuts, the mixture of taste and nutrition, drive consumption in the U.S. and around the world. In the U.S. alone, the annual consumption of peanut butter averages 120 million tons every year. Luckily, peanut farms produce enough to meet this demand, and even have enough left over to export to other countries.
While people in the U.S. and around the world have always known the benefits of eating peanuts, science is now giving us the proof. Peanuts fuel physical and mental effort and promote overall health.