Is peanut butter healthy?

Peanut butter is a spread that is made from ground, dry roasted peanuts. Commercially it is made by roasting the peanuts, blanching them in heat or water to remove their skins and then grinding them into a paste. At this point other flavours, oils or ingredients can be added to change its taste and texture. You can buy smooth or crunchy peanut butter.

Peanut butter is high in fat and calories, with one tablespoon containing around 115 calories. However, peanuts contain mostly unsaturated fats, which are the healthy kind. It does contain a little saturated fat, but one tablespoon contains only around 5% of an adult's recommended daily saturated fat intake. Peanuts are also a good source of vegetarian protein.Peanuts contain an array of minerals including magnesium, iron and zinc, as well as the B vitamins and vitamin E.

The premium peanut butter varieties to buy are those that are as close to 100% peanuts as possible. Peanut butter should have some appearance of red skin. Many add extra ingredients such as starch or else to make it more beautiful , but these also change the nutritional profile of the product.With peanut butters growing in popularity in recent years, there are some different tastes which are liked by consumers such as crunchy type and creamy type. These can be a tasty variation to try, but again, check the content to make sure that they don't contain extra addictive or preservatives in order to make the healthiest choice.