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Substances Found in Peanut Butter

There's more in peanut butter than what's listed in the ingredients. It's important to know the ingredients of the foods you eat but it's equally important to be aware of the substances and nutritional elements that make up each individual ingredient. Knowing what's in your peanut butter can help you decide how much peanut butter to include in your diet.

  1. Ingredients

    • Different types and brands of peanut butter have different ingredients. The basic ingredient in all types of peanut butter is ground roasted peanuts. "All natural" peanut butter is composed entirely of roasted peanuts, but many types of peanut butter add other ingredients such as salt, sugar, corn syrup, dextrose, vegetable oils, stabilizers and additives. Without stabilizers and additives, the oil in peanut butter separates from the solid mass.

    Phytochemicals

    • Phytochemicals are antioxidants naturally found in peanuts. They provide you with myriad health benefits and, like other antioxidants, can help lower your risk of both heart disease and cancer. Resveratrol is the most famous of the phytochemicals found in peanuts and is beneficial, as it prevents inflammation, promotes neurological health and longevity, protects your skin against UV radiation damage and arms your body against viruses. It may also be beneficial for diabetes.

    P-coumaric Acid

    • Peanut butter contains the antioxidant p-coumaric acid. P-coumaric acid reduces your risk of cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases and fights free radicals that cause stress on your body's cells. While all peanuts contain p-coumaric acid, roasting peanuts increases the p-coumaric acid and overall antioxidant level of peanuts. Since peanut butter is made from roasted peanuts, the roasted peanuts in peanut butter contain a higher level of p-coumaric acid than raw peanuts.

    Nutrients

    • Peanut butter contains a wide array of nutrients, vitamins and minerals. Peanut butter is a source of protein, fiber, iron, calcium, magnesium, copper and zinc. Peanut butter that contains unskinned peanuts has a higher level of these minerals compared to skinned peanuts. Peanut butter also contains vitamins such as B6 and the antioxidant vitamin E. The fat and sugar level of peanut butter varies according to the amount of oil and sugar included in the ingredients.

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