Health Education: peanut butter

Will the new trans fat law start a Peanut Butter war?

I sure hope so! It is no secret - I am a fan of 'truly' all natural peanut butter.  When I say truly, I mean that the ingredients written on the label, if you didn't churn it yourself at a whole foods store, are simply: peanuts, and sometimes salt.  It is also no secret that Smuckers All Natural peanut butter is my favorite.  I have blogged about it numerous times and even made a You Tube video showing the world how to stir it.     The reason a truly natural peanut butter needs to be stirred is that at room temperature, the oil will separate.  Peanut oil is NOT a solid fat.  In order to make it solid, it has to be hydrogenated, or in some cases, a solid fat is added to the peanut butter  - like palm or coconut oil (called oil only because they are plant based).  Palm, coconut and palm kernel oil is the same type of fat as beef or butter fat - it is almost 100% solid (saturated) fat.    Trans fats are bad fats - not in excess, but period - in any amount (according to research reviewed by the FDA).  A trace amount of trans fat occurs naturally, but most trans fats are created in the process used to make unsaturated fats stay solid at room temperature and to make them last longer. [an example of when this process has been applied is when peanut butter is on a store shelf and the peanut oil has not separated - it isn't floating on the top.]    The FDA is now banning all trans fats because they have been found to lower good cholesterol (HDL), raise bad cholesterol(LDL) - both of which are linked to heart disease, and to independently (whether you have high LDL cholesterol, low HDL cholesterol or normal cholesterol) increase the risk of heart disease.    So begins the peanut butter war - I predict.  Currently, trans fats are allowed in products, except that nice ban in NYC restaurant foods.  And under current law, if a product contains less than .5 grams of trans fat, the label can say 0 trans fat per serving.  WELL.  The FDA says no amount of trans fat is considered safe.  There is no safe dose.  Just like there is no safe dose of lead. (Besides that - those little .4 grams of trans fat we consume unknowingly from multiple products can add up in a day!)      Therefore, when the law takes effect (and no I am not holding my breath), food companies will not be able to claim zero trans fat when they are providing nearly half a gram because they can't sell a product that contains ANY synthetic trans fats.  Hence, I bet those "all natural" but surprising solid at room temperature "no need to stir!" brands of peanut butter, are going to disappear.  I say, 'good riddance.'     And in the meantime, keep reading those ingredients labels.  Your peanut butter does not need added oils, peanuts have their OWN oil and that is what makes all natural peanut butter natural - the peanuts - and just the peanuts. If you missed those past posts on the different brands of peanut butter and how the labels can be misleading, <a href="http://yourhealtheducator.blogspot.com/#uds-search-results" target="_blank">click here</a>. If you only have time for one of those posts, I recommend <a href="http://yourhealtheducator.blogspot.com/2012/03/why-you-have-to-stir.html" target="_blank">this one</a>, which explains why you have to stir the peanut butter and why that is a good thing. I am not going to share the You Tube link, though you can find it easily enough.  Some people got into a comments free- for- all about my stirring the peanut butter and said some things I wouldn't want my mother to see!  Still, people should be able to say what they feel (even smart asses) - so I left the posts up.

Will the new trans fat law start a Peanut Butter war?

I sure hope so! It is no secret - I am a fan of 'truly' all natural peanut butter. When I say truly, I mean that the ingredients...

8:49 PM

Why You Have to Stir

<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">With a special <a href="http://www.wdrb.com/story/17055613/americas-nut-experts-celebrate-national-peanut-butter-lovers-day-with-new-planters-natural-peanut-butter-spread?clienttype=printable" target="_blank">press release</a>, PlantersTM introduced a new peanut butter product and this prompted me to once again promote the virtues of a truly heart healthy peanut butter.  The self-created fanfare around Planters new peanut butter is that it is a so-called All Natural variety with no partially hydrogenated oils (i.e. TFAs).  No news there, but this product, Planters boasts, is a “no stir” peanut butter.   The reference and hype behind the “no stir” proclamation regards the messiness associated with the better options, like my Smuckers TM  All Natural peanut butter.  Smuckers and fresh ground butters, require stirring.  Any of them that do not add in solid fats will separate at room temperature.  Yes - solid fats.  The reason that Smuckers All Natural and fresh ground peanut butters need to be stirred is because peanut oil is NOT a solid fat.  Peanut oil is in the same category as olive and canola - the high in monounsaturated or good fat kind. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Let us pause to discuss this All Natural claim.  It means nothing.  The FDA, which oversees the labeling of food products, has given little direction on the use of this term other than to say that the food within that package has had to have undergone no more than minimal processing.  If you are thinking, hmm, minimal, that is subjective.  You are right.  </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">So maybe we need to rethink the peanut butter thing.  What if we decide, as consumers, that all natural should mean pure - unadulterated.  In this case, the all natural ones would be the ones that do not ADD things.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Those stir free peanut butters always ADD something. Start turning those labels around, under the nutrition facts panel is an ingredient list.  What does it say?  I will tell you what the new Planters product has in it (and it is the same for similar brands like Skippy and Jiff).  If the product claims to be hydrogenated oil free AND does not require stirring, then it has palm oil in it.  In fact, the ones that I reviewed had palm oil, salt AND sugar (as added ingredients).  This is disturbing on several levels.  First, this is what the back of the Smuckers All Natural jar says, “peanuts and 1% or less salt.”  [I have to use the word all natural because that is what they call their unadulterated peanut butter]</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010 explain that solid fats are ones that are solid or semi solid at room temperature.  They solidify because they are predominately saturated. The unhealthy kind of fat.  The Guidelines recommend that we avoid SoFAS.  SoFAS are solid fats and added sugars.  This is EXACTLY what the “all natural” stir free peanut butters are providing. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Healthy oils, on the other hand, ones that we should include in our diet, do not solidify.  Because pure peanut butter does not have additives, we have to stir the ‘heart healthy’ oil back in.  If you stir it once and refrigerate it (i.e. do not keep it at room temperature) it will stay blended.  </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">What really frustrates me about the adulterated products is the implication that they are good for you and that they are just like the other ones.  As if magic obviates the need for stirring. It doesn’t.  They do not have to be stirred because they have palm or some other fruit oil added to them.  This is not a good substitute.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">An article published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in July of 2006 by <a href="http://www.ajcn.org/content/84/1/54.abstract" target="_blank">Vega-Lopez et al</a>, found that palm oil increased low energy density lipoprotein or LDL cholesterol in the same manner as partially hydrogenated soy bean oil.  The scientists concluded that palm oil was NOT recommended as a substitute for partially hydrogenated oils.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Read your labels.  Be wary of claims - all natural and organic - and look at the ingredients.  The Guidelines suggest we add fruits, vegetables, whole grains and healthy oils to our diet and avoid saturated and trans fats.  The document is<a href="http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/Publications/DietaryGuidelines/2010/DG2010Brochure.pdf" target="_blank"> available</a> on line.  You can also find a video on my You Tube channel where I actually <a href="http://youtu.be/ULtgdbCL8jg" target="_blank">stir a jar</a> of my favorite peanut butter to show you skeptics how its done!  It has been viewed well over a thousand times, so that's a good sign.</div>

Why You Have to Stir

With a special press release , Planters TM introduced a new peanut butter product and this prompted me to once again promote the virtues ...

7:53 PM

SoF - Solid Fats

The chart below is from the DGA 2010 - I know - it isn't another blog about them, I promise.   I was reading the most recent<a href="http://www.foodinsight.org/Resources/Detail.aspx?topic=2011_Food_Health_Survey_Consumer_Attitudes_Toward_Food_Safety_Nutrition_Health"> Food and Health Survey</a> today.  In the summary section, it said something about the 6 solid fats mentioned in the 2010 Dietary Guidelines.  I did not recall reading a list of fats - only about SFAs etc. I scanned back over the document and found more information. Fats and oils actually contain SFA, PUFA, and MUFA - but the percent of each is what determines their healthiness and of course, solid fats - like lard, butter, meat fats, etc. are mostly SFA while many oils are not - like peanut oil - which is why good natural peanut butter (Smuckers :)) separates... So when you turn that jar of peanut butter around to read the label and like Smart Balance - it says, palm kernel or palm fruit oil - that is a SOLID fat  - trickery trickery  -  See the photo below and note the fats on the left are the ones to avoid and the ones on the right are the ones to incorporate into your diet(as long as you do not eat more calories than you need!) <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsFwk4VuU3eJ81mbLUCvHDGgKuM5uCWJJnX22S3im9m1rv7tJKP3Y63LjEwpHH-BmqfnouNESfzp6ruDJEq5-SGzTZLosw8qWlF2EGHDV6O0KdJeIua-dRVFuikuh7C90z1dVfzXXruSPR/s1600/Solid+Fats+from+DGA+2010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="560" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsFwk4VuU3eJ81mbLUCvHDGgKuM5uCWJJnX22S3im9m1rv7tJKP3Y63LjEwpHH-BmqfnouNESfzp6ruDJEq5-SGzTZLosw8qWlF2EGHDV6O0KdJeIua-dRVFuikuh7C90z1dVfzXXruSPR/s640/Solid+Fats+from+DGA+2010.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> Chart has been copied from the DGA 2010.  You can see the<a href="http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/DGAs2010-PolicyDocument.htm"> full report here.</a>

SoF - Solid Fats

The chart below is from the DGA 2010 - I know - it isn't another blog about them, I promise. I was reading the most recent Food and H...

7:06 PM

Health Education

Will the new trans fat law start a Peanut Butter war?

Why You Have to Stir

SoF - Solid Fats

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