Is natural peanut butter really better?

[Corrie]

I always used to hear that natural peanut better was much better than the skippy style brand you find in the supermarket.

I just went down to the local bulk store and looked at their natural peanut butter and it was almost identical to the other stuff. About 10 more calories per 15g and the nutrients were the same. The only difference I could see was that the supermarket stuff has some oils added to it. (hydrogenated oil I think?)

So is it worth it go out of my way to eat the natural stuff?

[Jamie J. Skibicki]

"(hydrogenated oil I think?)"

Yes and thats the biggest difference between the two plus there is typically sugar added to regular peanut butter. Look up the effects of partially hydrogenated oils and decide.

[Corrie]

Cool,that's what I thought.

I got a small tub of it so I'll see if it tastes ok and hopefully I can stick with the healthier alternative.

[jkw]

jif sells a natural version which is still super tasty. I don't mind the sugar in peanut butter.

[tzanghi]

(Partially) Hydrogenated oils are those pesky trans fats that everyone talks about. Studies claim serious health risks. I would suggest sticking to natural. I personally don't enjoy the sweetened peanut butters anymore. Some natural PBs come without added salt as well.

[Greg C]

Sugar is pretty much death (although I confess to be addicted still pretty much and have the occasional fix). Natural PB is just peanuts and maybe some salt, so it's pretty much a whole food. And it tastes really good too.

Meets my definition of better. YMMV

[devnull]

You can probably chew peanuts and spit out better peanut butter than skippy.

I make my own nut butter on a food processor. 2 1/2 cups of nuts (I add cashews, almonds and sesame seeds), honey, and sea salt. Let it blend forever and don't add the honey until the last 15 seconds. More than that and the consistency goes to hell. Once you get a chance to taste the real thing, you won't be able to stomach skippy.

Same thing with bacon. I cure my own, and now my girls won't eat bacon outside of the house because to them, the store bought stuff tastes like crap.

[snyderman3000]

If a regular peanut butter (not the natural kind) lists "fully hydrogenated vegetable oils" on the ingredients, is it still something to worry about? I was under the impression that the partially hydrogenated oils were the ones that contained trans fats.

[hatmanii]

There is a lot of GMO stuff out there in the USA, I bet you couldn't avoid it even if you wanted to. Companies like Monsanto are doing a good job fucking up the world.

Certified organic products or GMO free labeled are the only ways.

I'm with King Hat, if it isn't identifiable in nature it probably shouldn't be eaten (in theory, but when shit tastes good fuck theory, right?).

Fuck yeah! (not really, but kinda)

[Tamara Reynolds]

Jif is delicious.

I am sad that this thread even exists.