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22nd February 2009
The Case of the Missing (Good) Fat:
Peanut Butter and A Healthy Weight Loss
Cliff Baker
It started out
innocently enough. I was shopping in the grocery store for natural peanut
butter. The store didn't have my usual variety -- smooth. This particular
store had sold out of smooth natural, so I was left with what turned out to be
an agonizing decision: chunky, reduced fat and peanut butter with honey. I had
t to buy something. I rely on my peanut butter to supply me with some good
fat.
As you probably
know, peanut butter is quickly becoming the Most Valuable Player among foods
these days -- even appearing on the ever-popular superfoods lists of some.
And it's no
wonder, it's rich in the right kind of fat -- monounsaturated fat. That means
in a (pea)nutshell, that it helps to protect you from many of the ravages of
chronic diseases normally associate with aging. It also does a fine job of
keeping the hunger at bay when you're trying to lose weight!
And that's why,
I've never surrendered to the sounds of adulthood that I'm too old to eat a good
peanut butter sandwich. (Just as an aside: I know of a man who's celebrating
his 92nd birthday this week. He's eaten a peanut butter sandwich for
lunch just about every day of his adult life!)
So, back to my
peanut butter story . . .
I couldn't pick
up the chunky variety -- certain members of my household don't like it. So that
left me to choose between the honey variety and the reduced fat version. Even
though the jar that screamed "Reduced Fat" at me it held less product, I
instinctively reached for it.
Then it struck
me: I buy peanut butter for -- among other reasons -- the fat it does contain.
How ironic of me to then choose the reduced fat. So I read the label a little
closer. The nutrition label told me that the reduced-fat version contained two
grams less than the regular variety. But only a half a gram of that fat was
being taken out of the saturated or bad fat. Hmmm?
That meant that
I was also losing one-and-a-half grams of the good or monounsaturated fat if I
bought this. Knowing that, I just couldn't justify buying it. I would put up
with the extra half a gram of saturated fat, in order to gain three times that
in good fat.
By the way,
there really is a moral to this story . . .
When you're
trying to burn fat and are eating healthier to lose weight, you're tempted to
take food labeling at face value. Normally "reduced fat" in my eyes is a good
trait of a food. But, then I assume (and that is so silly of me) that the fat
actually being reduced is the "bad" or saturated fat.
When you're
trying to increase your consumption of monounsaturated fats found in foods like
peanuts, walnuts, and olive oil, you may have to consciously stop the reflex to
eat "low fat." And when you do see that seductive call of "reduced fat" on the
label, please, stop and read what types of fat the food actually contains. Are
you losing the good fat? Don't be a mindless shopper!
Peanut butter
was always one food I refused to give up on any diet -- fad or otherwise. But
for many of you I understand that being "allowed" -- even encouraged -- to eat
peanuts and peanut butter is entering into strange, never before traversed
territory. So you may need a bit of guidance about exactly how to approach this
timeless, now healthy food.
For starters,
you may only want to occasionally indulge in this food. Of course, because you
are watching your weight, you can't "pig out" on it. But it can be an
unexpected rich source of monounsaturated fats -- so don't shy away from
garnishing it on such great foods like celery or even apples. Yes, try
spreading peanut butter on apples, you'll be amazed at the taste! It makes a
great breakfast!
A half a peanut
butter sandwich on whole wheat bread followed with an apple is another great
"mini-lunch" idea. It'll keep you full and satisfied much longer than that bag
of potato chips you have on your desk right now!
You might be
worried about the recent outbreak of salmonella in the U.S. in products
containing peanut butter. As tragic and wide-ranging as the problem is, it has
no effect on the brands of peanut butter itself sitting on store shelves. You
can still eat those without any fear of contracting salmonella.
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