inflammatory effect in peanut butter

Jenniferlove

Jenniferlove

Cathlete
Hi Cathe,
After seeing your post I looked into this because I, too, am a PB&J fan - and was so surprised!

Dr Russell Baylock (on NewsMaxHealth.com) suggests draining off the natural peanut oil and replacing it with extra virgin olive oil (EVOO according to Rachael Ray:)) because of the anti-inflammatory factors in EVOO.
He says it won't affect the flavor and it won't separate.

Full disclosure, he does go on to say that PB has aflotoxin (a liver carcinogen) and therefore we should avoid eating a lot of it. However as far as I know there is no warning on PB labels:rolleyes:

I guess I don't really have a specific question for you but I wanted to pass this along in case you wanted to give the EVOO replacement a try (in case you hadn't heard about it). I think I will try it myself!
 
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I'd love more information on this... (as I sit with my pb in lap with a spoon ...:( ) I love love pb and eat far far to much of it. I get an upset stomach after and haven't been able to figure out why... well of course becuase I eat to big of a quantity but I don't have a peanut allergy so I wasn't sure if it was the high fat content or what? This is very interesting, I swear there is something addictive about it also because I can't seem to control portion size with it, nothing else is tempting or a problem for me.
 
When I buy natural PB, which is a lot, I just pour the floating oil off the top and give the jar a really good stir. As long as you get it all stirred up, then there's enough non-separated oil to make the rest of the jar smooth. If you don't get it all stirred well, you end up with cement PB paste at the bottom :p:(:p. I don't see the need to keep the extra oil in, or replace it.

Nan
 
The problem is the mold that is associated with peanuts. So eating the natural or organic peanut butter will not help with the mold problem. Each year only a few hundred cancers are identified to be caused by peanut butter. Moderation is the key to everything, as molds are common in canned foods, too.

Peanut Butter Causes Cancer? article on the bodybuildingweb.net says the following:

Bodybuilders are suggested to eat a high amount of good fats in their diet for hormonal and joint health, and for a good source of calories. Peanut butter is a very common source of fat for most bodybuilders in their diet. Most eat natural peanut butter because it doesn’t contain hydrogenated fats. Peanut butter is considered a good source of fat because it is low in saturated fat and high in monosaturated. The truth is, peanut butter is really not that healthy long term.

Why peanut butter can cause cancer:

Unfortunately a mold commonly winds up growing on peanut butter. This fungus Aspergillus flavus releases a cancer causing metabolic product (mycotoxin) called aflatoxin B1, which is a officially recognized carcinogen (cancer causing compound). Workers around peanuts even have to wear protection because of the health hazard. It is common knowledge that farmers and animals around peanuts have increased liver cancer.

How much of this fungus and to what degree it converts to the mcycotoxin aflatoxin seems to depend on where the peanuts are grown and how they are stored and for how long. Peanuts have less of this problem if they are farmed in dry climates, as the fungus seems to thrive in humidity. Other foods have this fungus growing on it such as walnuts and grains, but peanut butter and corn seem to be the worst afflicted foods. The risk of peanut butter giving liver cancer is a bit exaggerated by some. But most bodybuilders consume it everday, often in high amounts, which could be a problem.

Alternatives to peanut butter:

Almond butter is the best food alternative for peanut butter. Flaxseed oil would even be better, but it’s not a substitute in food as a butter. Almond butter actually has higher omega 3′s than peanut butter anyways and isn’t contaminated with this fungus. Almond butter is not as tasty as peanut butter, but at least you know you won’t be posioning your body. If you decide to use peanut butter, see if you can get peanuts grown in dry areas, to help reduce or eliminate fungus contamination.
 
I've heard of this peanut butter/mold issue before, which is a legitimate concern, and learned that Whole Foods tests its peanut butter for it. Not sure if they check all their store brands or only the organic one, but just thought I'd mention it for those of you who love their PB but are concerned about this mold.
 
Katerchen said:
Alternatives to peanut butter:

Almond butter is the best food alternative for peanut butter. Flaxseed oil would even be better, but it’s not a substitute in food as a butter. Almond butter actually has higher omega 3?s than peanut butter anyways and isn’t contaminated with this fungus. Almond butter is not as tasty as peanut butter, but at least you know you won’t be posioning your body. If you decide to use peanut butter, see if you can get peanuts grown in dry areas, to help reduce or eliminate fungus contamination.
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OK, this last part made me :)! I eat either raw almonds or raw almond butter. Did not know this info about peanut butter! :eek: Thanks for the info!
 
This is very interesting... I just bought some Almond butter.. but I really really don't like it the same.. Good to know about Whole Foods though.
 
MichelleW said:
Hi Jennifer, would you mind pointing me to Cathe's post about peanut butter?
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Hi Michelle,
It was last week's Ask Cathe forum. Someone asked Cathe how she was doing and if she had to give up peanut butter and Cathe said that she did because of inflammation. That is why I looked into it; I'd never heard of peanut butter having a link to inflammation and Dr. Blaylock's article was the only thing I could find.

The doctor also said that replacing the oil off the top with EVOO is supposed to help decrease inflammation since it has super anti-inflammation properties... it happens to not separate but that's not why he recommends replacing it.


I agree with Katerchen and Nicole_29: Almond Butter just isn't the same.
 
MichelleW said:
Hi Jennifer, would you mind pointing me to Cathe's post about peanut butter?
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http://cathe.com/forum/2137592-post26.html

"As far as diet is concerned...I'm still tweaking with some things so its too soon to comment. But yes, I gave up my peanut butter (more for inflammation purposes), and that was the biggest change of my life. I do notice an energy change, but for me, that change is more greatly influenced by how much sleep I get."
 
To follow up... I had some Artisana almond butter, an individual packet over the weekend and I was pleasantly surprised, I liked it better then the ones I have tried in the past. Also, I broke down and bought MaraNatha Sunflower seed butter and liked that, a little to much it's been 2 days and there's barely any left. Also.. the best find yet.. I went to target and got Archer’s Farms Almond, Peanut & Cashew Butter, I loved that also. I think that might be my new go to.. although, I hate to say that's almost gone also and I got it on Monday..
 
Thanks for the info, Ladies. For the type of arthritis I have, peanuts are starchy and feed it so it kind of makes sense there is an inflammation connection.

On a side note, I mostly use almond butter. But I have to say the natural peanut butter is yummy too. I buy the freshly ground almond butter from Whole Foods - it has nothing added. I had to adjust to the taste, but once I did, I fell in love with it. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it and have used it in recipes with great results.
 
Jenniferlove said:
Hi Cathe,
After seeing your post I looked into this because I, too, am a PB&J fan - and was so surprised!

Dr Russell Baylock (on NewsMaxHealth.com) suggests draining off the natural peanut oil and replacing it with extra virgin olive oil (EVOO according to Rachael Ray:)) because of the anti-inflammatory factors in EVOO.
He says it won't affect the flavor and it won't separate.

Full disclosure, he does go on to say that PB has aflotoxin (a liver carcinogen) and therefore we should avoid eating a lot of it. However as far as I know there is no warning on PB labels:rolleyes:

I guess I don't really have a specific question for you but I wanted to pass this along in case you wanted to give the EVOO replacement a try (in case you hadn't heard about it). I think I will try it myself!
Click to expand...


Pretty much anything it seems has been in the news in recent years for causing cancer, aging, heart attacks, strokes, and yadda yadda. Soon, we'll need to live in bubbles and wrap ourselves in natural packing peanuts made from corn and live on a feeder drip in order to survive in this world.

Stress also causes inflamation and cancer (breast and stomach are the most common stress-related cancers; my aunt has stress induced breast cancer). Worrying about things like this (food articles) wastes time and leads to unnecessary stress. Eat the PB and live. We all die eventually. Some healthy people will die sooner than expected and some of the most "unhealthy" (it's all relative, really) will die after living to see 101. Maybe it's pregnancy hormones, but I'm so tired of everything, every food, being placed under a microscope and being labeled and relabeled time and again. How many times over the decades have foods gone from "good" to "deadly" to "moderation is ok" back to "good" and so forth. Blah!

Having arthritis and a chronic illness, I have never been impacted by eating PB other than getting it stuck to the roof of my mouth.
 
Elsie, thank you for taking the time to find the original post; I planned to look this evening when I had more time but you already covered it. And you are so right - do or do not, there is no try:)

MichelleW, sorry to hear about the arthritis and I am glad that you found a nut butter that you love.
 
In my opinion, it takes a lot of tests and time (long time it seems) to get results of testing our food...to make it safe for us to consume. Every since the food industry there were not a lot of tests to see if it was safe. Who knew that some of the ways we are growing the food could be unsafe at that time? In my opinion we are now just catching up on the effects of this.

I for one, will take heart to these tests and delete it from my diet, because living a wholesome life to me is what it's all about. Staying strong and healthy as long as a person can, makes living worth while. It's hard to live sometimes and being sick just makes it that much more harder. As the results from testing comes in and goes out, I'm there every step of the way.

To health,

Janie
 
Thank you mrsprincess07! I couldn't agree with you more. I remember when no one would eat chocolate and we were all convinced we had to substitute carob instead. Well that's come and gone and now chocolate is good for you. Just stick around long enough and PB will be back in favor.
 
PhyllisG said:
Thank you mrsprincess07! I couldn't agree with you more. I remember when no one would eat chocolate and we were all convinced we had to substitute carob instead. Well that's come and gone and now chocolate is good for you. Just stick around long enough and PB will be back in favor.
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Exactly!

JanieJoey-

I have a Chronic Illness that most likely I've had since I was a teenager (over 15 yrs now) and I too take my health seriously. However, there is a difference between mass hysteria which surrounds pretty much every food group at one point or another in the recent 30 yrs and being cautious to the needs of the individual. I am not saying that we all sit and live off of Lucky Charms, although I did in college with no ill effects- with Burger King Dbl Cheeseburgers and triple ketchup. I'm just saying the give it time and the "tests" will be proven wrong. You can't always believe everything you read. We need common sense these days, not throwing ourselves into the latest data/research results when in 99.9% of the time, it'll change in a matter of months or years.

it ALWAYS happens that way.
 
mrsprincess07 said:
Exactly!

JanieJoey-

I have a Chronic Illness that most likely I've had since I was a teenager (over 15 yrs now) and I too take my health seriously. However, there is a difference between mass hysteria which surrounds pretty much every food group at one point or another in the recent 30 yrs and being cautious to the needs of the individual. I am not saying that we all sit and live off of Lucky Charms, although I did in college with no ill effects- with Burger King Dbl Cheeseburgers and triple ketchup. I'm just saying the give it time and the "tests" will be proven wrong. You can't always believe everything you read. We need common sense these days, not throwing ourselves into the latest data/research results when in 99.9% of the time, it'll change in a matter of months or years.

it ALWAYS happens that way.
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It's my opinion.

Janie
 
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