Friday, March 26, 2010

Peanut butter Lovers and trans fats

Growing up, we usually ate the "natural" peanut butter, which was free of additives like partially hydrogenated oil and sugar, but now I just eat the regular kind. The regular kind tastes better, and is sweeter and smoother. Plus, you don't have to refrigerate it so it spreads easier; and it doesn't seperate into an oily mess. I used to enjoy the natural peanut butter, but it would be hard to go back to it now.
The "fake" p.b. provides the same nutrients that natural p.b. does, but has a lot more unhealthy additives. They are not complete nutritional equivalents (the extra junk in "fake" p.b. has a host of associated health problems). The kind of peanut butter I eat (Jif) doesn't have any added vitamins or health claims (except that "choosy moms choose Jif")
In college I developed more of a taste for junk food. Although I had previously been a conscientious eater, I lost a lot of weight my first semester in college and eating healthfully did not seem as big of a priority.
I know that I don't want to harm my son's health by feeding him junk food, so I will most likely improve my eating habits as he eats more and more regular table foods.
Check out the link to Peanutbutterlovers.com in the title of this blog. It talks about the trans fat content in peanut butter is very low, so you don't have to worry about it. I think they're right for people who eat an otherwise healthy diet, and don't eat more than the recommended serving size of peanut butter. But, what about kids that live off of peanut butter???

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