Raising a Red Flag on Red Bull... What You Need to Know About Sport, Energy and Nutritional Drinks

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Peanut Butter

Thanks julie for the question regarding what peanut butter is best. I went out on a fact finding mission to evaluate peanut butter brands and make my recommendation. I looked at a variety of stores, brand names and compared the ingredients of each. It is amazing the variety of peanut butters in this world and my realization of how many choices we have in life! So let's keep it Simple, Real and 100% Fad Free! The best and unfortunately the most expensive peanut butters are the nut butters you ground while in the store. Nuts go into the grinder and no additional ingredients are added to make your paste. I mean no salt, no sugar and no stabilizers- only nuts. Providers in our local area are Fresh Market, Whole Foods, and Trader Joes. Some stores have pre-grounded, "natural peanut butter" prepared for you. When buying pre-grounded the oil will naturally separate. At home avoid the urge to make the peanut butter lower in fat by pouring off the oil. Your peanut butter will become to stiff to spread. Instead just mix it well or turn the container upside down to let the oil run through. Another reason not to pout this fat off is that most nuts are high in unsaturated fat considered the good fat: polyunsaturated and monounsaturated. These fats may improve glucose and insulin homeostasis (stable state to help reduced highs and lows) A study from JAMA suggested potential benefits of higher nut and peanut butter consumption in lowering the risk of Type II Diabetes in women. This study had women avoiding increases in calorie consumption by replacing their intake of processed meats with nuts. Now back to which brand is best. With grinding your own in the store as number one, next on my list are Smart Balance with added Omega Threes and Smuckers. They can be found in your local grocery: Publix, Kroger, and Walmart to list a few. These two brands do not have "Partially Hydronated Vegetable Oil". If this ingredient is listed in any product you see and even if the products front label states "No Trans Fat". Please do not buy it!! Products that make a claim on their label "Trans Fat Free" are allowed by the FDA to have up to 500mgs of Trans Fat. Can you belive this one! Trans Fat, which is listed in the ingredient list as Partially Hydronated Vegetable oil, or Partially Hydrodnated anything should be avoided!! It is a fake fat that can clog your arteries and this if fact. This ingredient is used to stabilize food for a longer shelf life. Brand names for peanut butter that I do not recommend are: Skippy, Jiff, Peter Pan, Great Value and other store brand names- PLEASE READ THE INGREDIENTS. Also note that lower fat versions of peanut butter may be higher in calories.(They sneak sugar in to make it taste better.) Choose peanut butter without added sugar. Some of the peanut butter brands that made my not recommended list are in the development of products without the trans fat but I did not see any in our area at this time. So for now stick to grounded in store or natural,(which means no added anything) Smart Balance and or Smuckers. The above information relates to all nut butters: almond, pecan, cashews, hazelnut, pine nuts, pistachios, walnuts, among others. Their nutrient and phytonutrient benefits differ, so eating a variety of nuts will benefit the health of your wonderful human cells!