Peanut addiction

bernithebiker

Ever since our supermarket did peanuts on BOGOF, and I bought a load, I've kind of become addicted to them and eat a load every evening, a 250g bag every few days.

I know peanuts are quite high in protein, so that can't be bad, but are there any other negative effects?

(This is not a joke!)

Dennis K

yup, calories

ju5t1n

You can offset the high calories by eating raisins

amaferanga

High in fat and if they're coated in something, high in salt. Good in moderation, same as most things.

bernithebiker

OK, thanks for the replies.

I don't have any weight issues, I stay bang on 63kg whatever I do or eat (42 years old, 5'8).

But maybe ease up a bit so as not to take too much fat on board.

And chuck some raisins into the mix....!

LegendLust

They are high in calories but very nutrient dense and a source of good fat. Carry on eating them but just have a handful a day, or try and mix them with other beneficial nuts like almonds and brasil nuts

kieranb

Well I love them too, but mainly as peanut butter (normally unsalted without added sweeteners) , note they are 48% fat (24% monounsat, 16% polyunsat and 7% sat).

From wikipedia:

Malnutrition

Peanuts are used to help fight malnutrition. Plumpy Nut, MANA Nutrition,[16] and Medika Mamba[17] are high-protein, high-energy and high-nutrient peanut-based pastes developed to be used as a therapeutic food to aid in famine relief. The World Health Organization, UNICEF, Project Peanut Butter and Doctors Without Borders have used these products to help save malnourished children in developing countries.

Trev The Rev

Nothing wrong with peanuts - even if salted (electrolytes). Good for recovery. Better for you than sugary snacks.
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy 2,385 kJ (570 kcal)
Carbohydrates 21 g
- Sugars 0.0 g
- Dietary fiber 9 g
Fat 48 g
- saturated 7 g
- monounsaturated 24 g
- polyunsaturated 16 g
Protein 25 g
- Tryptophan 0.2445 g
- Threonine 0.859 g
- Isoleucine 0.882 g
- Leucine 1.627 g
- Lysine 0.901 g
- Methionine 0.308 g
- Cystine 0.322 g
- Phenylalanine 1.300 g
- Tyrosine 1.020 g
- Valine 1.052 g
- Arginine 3.001 g
- Histidine 0.634 g
- Alanine 0.997 g
- Aspartic acid 3.060 g
- Glutamic acid 5.243 g
- Glycine 1.512 g
- Proline 1.107 g
- Serine 1.236 g
Water 4.26 g
Thiamine (vit. B1) 0.6 mg (52%)
Niacin (vit. B3) 12.9 mg (86%)
Pantothenic acid (B5) 1.8 mg (36%)
Vitamin B6 0.3 mg (23%)
Folate (vit. B9) 246 μg (62%)
Vitamin C 0.0 mg (0%)
Calcium 62 mg (6%)
Iron 2 mg (15%)
Magnesium 184 mg (52%)
Phosphorus 336 mg (48%)
Potassium 332 mg (7%)
Zinc 3.3 mg (35%)

A lot of good stuff there. Very good recovery snack. But yes high in calories and fat, but good fat. I doubt you get as much goodness out of a branded recovery drink powder or bar.

Pigtail

Sainsbury's unsalted range. 200 grams of jumbo peanuts and jumbo rasins for 89p. One of the best bargains around. The only problem is I find it difficult not to eat the whole bag.

JimboPlob

I eat 1kg of unsalted peanut butter every week. Also consumed in the evenings. I think peanuts are mildy addictvie. I have 10% BF and it aint increasing so don't give a sh*t

GBY73

I wouldn't be too concerned about the amount of fat if eaten at the right time, ie. not post training or with a lot of carbs. But being a legume, not a nut, peanuts are high in lectin which can be very bad for the gut. Also, whilst all nuts, and peanuts, are extremely nutritious most have a high omega 6:3 ratio which should be balanced out by foods with a lower ratio.
I eat peanuts occasionally but mostly snack on macadamias, almonds, brazils etc and ensure I have plenty of fish oils at other times of the day.

JimboPlob

GBY73 wrote:

I wouldn't be too concerned about the amount of fat if eaten at the right time, ie. not post training or with a lot of carbs. But being a legume, not a nut, peanuts are high in lectin which can be very bad for the gut. Also, whilst all nuts, and peanuts, are extremely nutritious most have a high omega 6:3 ratio which should be balanced out by foods with a lower ratio.
I eat peanuts occasionally but mostly snack on macadamias, almonds, brazils etc and ensure I have plenty of fish oils at other times of the day.

Since I have been eating the 1kg of peanut butter a week, I sometimes notice a bit of gut irritation. This post prompted me to do some googling and I think I am going to give it up!

Few questions from above... Why not to consume fat with carbs? I know carbs are slow release, but why is fat and carbs bad?

I love nuts, and also eat loads of almonds, so would I be better switching the peanut butter for something like almonds and dark chocolate?

Cheers

GBY73

I'm certainly no expert, but I believe it's because the body is more likely to store it as fat if eaten with carbohydrate owing to the secretion of insulin. The greater the glycemic load of the carbs then the higher the amount of insulin. It's not strictly correct to say carbs are slow release, potatoes, pasta, rice etc. all have pretty high glycemic loads, which is just what you want post exercise but not at other times of the day.

I would choose almonds over peanuts and a small amount of 75-85% dark chocolate is a healthy treat. Have you tried Almond butter? I love it, Myprotein sell tubs of it.

Zingzang

bernithebiker wrote:

OK, thanks for the replies.

I don't have any weight issues, I stay bang on 63kg whatever I do or eat (42 years old, 5'8).

Clearly what you do is always perfectly tailored to what you eat and vice versa, otherwise this is self-delusion.

bernithebiker

Zingzang wrote:

bernithebiker wrote:

OK, thanks for the replies.

I don't have any weight issues, I stay bang on 63kg whatever I do or eat (42 years old, 5'8).

Clearly what you do is always perfectly tailored to what you eat and vice versa, otherwise this is self-delusion.

I have no diet plan whatsoever. I just eat whatever is put in front of me, and usually lots of it. Usually good quality stuff (in case wife reading!) but I also love crisps, chocolate, etc. ....and peanuts! Drink beer, wine, etc. too.

I'm fairly active, have a big garden to look after, and cycle as much as I can, but there are times when I'm not, like when weather is crap (like now), or I've got a cold. My weight still won't move by more than a kilo. Maybe it's metabolism?