Peanut butter is my favorite food. Whether I eat a spoonful of peanut butter or spread it on toast with bananas, I can always count on peanut butter to leave me feeling satisfied.
I’m sure you’ve been to the grocery store and seen the various types of peanut butter available on the shelves. Two common types of peanut butter are often confused: regular and natural. But which is healthier? Is natural peanut butter healthy or is regular peanut butter the better choice? Read below to find out the truth behind these types of peanut butter.
What Is Peanut Butter?
Peanut butter is a versatile spread that’s prepared by grinding roasted dry peanuts. Peanut butter companies use preservatives to modify the taste or texture of peanut butter.
Regular Peanut Butter
Regular peanut butter is very similar to natural peanut butter, but the ingredients are slightly different. Let’s use Jif peanut butter as an example. Regular Jif creamy peanut butter is comprised of roasted peanuts, sugar, molasses, fully hydrogenated vegetable oils, mono and diglycerides, and salt. Regular peanut butter has more saturated fat and sodium than natural peanut butter. Next time you’re at the supermarket, check out the labels on the back of the regular peanut butter jars to see the ingredients.
Natural Peanut Butter
Natural peanut butter includes only one ingredient. That one ingredient is…peanuts! Natural peanut butter contains at least 90% peanuts with no artificial preservatives. However, “natural” is a vague term. The FDA has no regulations for labeling a food as “natural.” Some peanut butter companies use palm oil as a stabilizer in the natural version, allowing for a creamy texture. However, most brands do not use the oil. Instead, they require stirring before use due to oil separation.
Which Has More Health Benefits?
The answer to this question continues to be a debate. For the most part, the nutritional value between natural peanut butter vs regular peanut butter is about the same. Take a look at the nutritional content of Jif regular peanut butter vs Jif natural peanut butter.
Because there are various peanut butter options, you can decide for yourself what characteristics are most important to you when choosing between regular and natural peanut butter. For example, if you are worried about your salt intake, the natural peanut butter is the best choice for you.
Is natural peanut butter healthy or should you just buy regular Jif? Now that you’re an expert on peanut butter, the choice is yours.