The Dirty Truth About Grocery Store Nut Butter (Spoiler Alert) (2024)

FAQs

The Dirty Truth About Grocery Store Nut Butter (Spoiler Alert)? ›

A common theme I found was that A LOT of the big name companies (the ones that you and your kids would typically gravitate to) use sneaky words to trick us (the consumer) into thinking that their product is actually nut butter. Most of the jars I picked up contained anywhere from 4 to over 14 unnecessary ingredients.

Fortunately for everyone who loves peanut butter, almond butter, and other nut butters, these creamy treats are fairly healthy. And as long as they don't contain hydrogenated fat, nut butters — including peanut butter — won't cause problems for your cholesterol levels.

Nut butters are loaded with heart-healthy monounsaturated fats. These fats help increase HDL cholesterol—the good kind—while keeping LDL cholesterol—the bad kind—in check.

Small bits of peanut skins attached to the peanut when it is ground can cause these dark spots.

You can eat this substance regularly if you want to – but it's important to make sure that you're only consuming it in moderation. There are a lot of calories in almond butter, and you could end up facing issues with your weight if you eat too much at once.

Avoid nut butters with added sweeteners such as sugar, corn syrup or molasses. Avoid nut butters with added oils such as hydrogenated vegetable oils.

The short answer is no, and in fact, peanuts and some peanut products like peanut butter have been shown to be anti-inflammatory. Inflammation in the body is a mechanism thought to be at the center of the majority of chronic diseases.

Be careful with almond butter or avoid it until you know for certain whether you have an allergy. Almonds (and almond butter) are also high in oxalates. If you have a history of kidney stones, or you're at risk of developing them, you should avoid almond butter or limit how much you eat.

Occasionally, you may find an oily substance at the top of your jar of natural peanut butter. This is the oil separating from the natural peanut butter.

Aflatoxins are a family of toxins produced by certain fungi that are found on agricultural crops such as maize (corn), peanuts, cottonseed, and tree nuts. The main fungi that produce aflatoxins are Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus, which are abundant in warm and humid regions of the world.

Can you eat too much nut butter? ›

Eating peanut butter in moderation provides you with wholesome nutrients. However, eating too much can make you gain weight because it is packed with calories and fats. The risk of weight gain increases even more if you consume commercial peanut butter brands, which often have added sugars, oils, and fats.

That means sticking to the recommended serving size of two tablespoons, or close to that amount. Eating peanut butter every day could become an issue if someone is eating far too much of it and exceeding their daily limit of saturated fat, per the Cleveland Clinic.

For most people, this means sticking to 1–2 tablespoons (16–32 grams) per day. Visually, 1 tablespoon (16 grams) is about the size of your thumb, while 2 (32 grams) is about the size of a golf ball. Opt for peanut butter that contains no added sugar and has a simple ingredient list, such as peanuts and salt.

Due to its high amount of unsaturated fats, peanut butter may help reduce a person's LDL cholesterol levels.

Nut Butters and Cholesterol

There is no dietary cholesterol in peanut butter, almond butter, cashew butter, or pistachio butter. All four nut butters are rich in unsaturated fats and lower in saturated fats. Almond butter has the highest amount of total fat, but the lowest amount of saturated fat.

You can help reduce your risk of high cholesterol by substituting foods for regular butter that are lower in saturated fat or have been shown to have less impact on heart disease risk, such as: grass-fed butter. Earth Balance spread, a vegan, soy-free, non-hydrogenated option.

Nutritionally, grass-fed butter contains less saturated fats, more PUFAs, and more of the heart-healthy omega-3 and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) fatty acids than regular butter.