What is really in your peanut butter?

Peanut butter is promoted as a healthy food, high in good proteins, fibers and low in carbohydrates. It is rich in vitamins and nutrients, such as potassium. This naturally cholesterol-free food is packed with unsaturated fats, very beneficial to heart-health.

But potential dangers and risks are associated with ready peanut butter I find in the Lebanese market.

When you purchase peanut butter, always check the label. Like with any processed product, the fewer ingredients, the better. With a lot of generic peanut butter brands, sugar and hydrogenated (trans) fats are typically added for flavor.

Most brands of peanut butter on the Lebanese Market contain:

1. Sugar: Leads to weight gain, abdominal obesity, decreased HDL and increased LDL, elevated blood sugar, elevated triglycerides, and high blood pressure. Sugar also causes Insulin Resistance, a Stepping Stone towards Metabolic Syndrome and Diabetes
2. Hydrogenated oils

   – Soybean Oil : that may cause cancer, obesity, asthma, diabetes, heart disease, decreased immune system, increased bad cholesterol and reproductive problems

   Soybean oil is high in omega-6 fatty acids, and our bodies need this type of fatty acid, but today we are getting too much of it from processed foods – up to 20 times more than needed.

   The high intake of omega-6 fatty acids increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases, inflammation, autoimmune diseases and certain types of cancers.
   Soybean oil is also made from GMOs (Genetically modified)

   – Cottonseed Oil – I consider this the worst oil of all. It’s a byproduct of the cotton crop that’s treated with pesticides and chemicals because it’s regulated as a textile crop – not food!. Cottonseed oil does not belong in our food supply and should be strictly avoided. Thankfully, most cooking oils in the grocery store no longer contain cottonseed oil, But still used as an ingredient in most processed foods.

   – Canola Oil – called also Rapeseed Oil. Over 90 percent of canola oil is genetically modified

   Canola oil is a also a refined oil partially hydrogenated to increase its stability, but this increases its negative health effects.

   Studies done on GMO canola oil, proved that it may cause kidney, liver and neurological health issues.

3. GMO’s:The abbreviation for genetically modified organism. A GMO is an organism whose genome has been altered by the techniques of genetic engineering so that its DNA contains one or more genes not normally found there.

   GM plants, such as soybean, corn, cottonseed, and canola, have had foreign genes forced into their DNA. The inserted genes come from species, such as bacteria and viruses, which have never been in the human food supply.

   Several animal studies indicate serious health risks associated with genetically modified (GM) food ,including infertility, immune problems, accelerated aging, faulty insulin regulation, and changes in major organs and the gastrointestinal system.

   Now do we still care it’s a good vitamin C source?? As written on the Label

   Best way to avoid all this is grinding your own peanut butter, allowing you the ability to see what exactly is going into your container.

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 cups Roasted, Unsalted Peanuts
• ⅛ tsp Salt (to taste)
• 1 tbs Coconut Oil or Peanut Oil
• Optional: 5 packets Natural Sweetener (stevia, Monk Fruit)

DIRECTIONS:

In a food processor, add all of the ingredients. Pulse until the mixture is smooth and buttery.

Pour the mixture into jars, seal tightly, and refrigerate to store.