• Health
• Vitamins
• Ingredients

Health
PB is incredibly healthy ! Don't believe the urban legends about peanutbutter they found sticking to the bowels in dead bodies. Those are coming from the anti-PB-terrorists !

A fact: in the early 90's half a youth camp was ill. It could not have been foodpoisoning since there was not one dish which was only eaten by the people who were ill. Further investigations showed that the people who were still healthy where the PB-eaters !
A jar of PB a day keeps the doctor away !

But now serious !

"Peanutbutter is in the top-10 of food products people crave for. And that's no wonder ! Peanutbutter is a rich source in vitamin-B's. When you often go for the PB, it can be that you are under pressure, and you don't consume enough B-vitamin's. Unfortunately PB is quite rich in calories... "
(Source: Het Grote Vitaminenboek, Elmar BV Rijswijk)

Peanutbutter is rich in protein and fats. In some African countries it is an important part of the diet. I did not check all products but it seems to be the most calory-rich product you can get in the supermarket.

Peanuts also contain many vitamins and calcium; very good for your body:
Vitamin B1
Good for your mental health, growth, digestion of mainly carbonhydrates. Important for the metablism of esp. the cerebrum (that's your brain), the main nerve nodes and the heart muscles. Against air- and sea sickness. Good when you are stressed.
A lack of it causes beri-beri, if you get too much you just pee it out of your system.

Vitamin F
That's just a nice name for unsaturated fatty acids. Preventing the cholesterol clods in your veins. Good for the skin and nice hair and 'it helps getting slimmer by burning saturated fatty acids' - says the book.

Inositol
One of the B-vitamins. Calming, important food for the brain cells, lowers the cholesterol in your blood. If you lack it you'll risk eczema.

Niacine (B3)
Also known as nicotin acid, niacinamide and nicotinamide. You can make it yourself if you eat B1, B2 and B6 at the same moment. A lack of it can cause negative changes in your personality. Essential for making gender hormones (i don't have the right translation but it's testosteron & oestrogen) and some other hormones. Beautiful skin, less migraine, reduces cholesterol and so on... Maybe this one caused the rumor that peanutbutter is good for your potency ?

Resveratrol
In deed, resveratrol. Don't be ashamed if you never heard of it; neither did I.
The information office on American Peanuts based in Amsterdam says that 'recent research by the Peanut Institute in the US of A' proved that peanuts contain resveratrol. This substance is known from raisins (and red wine). 'Allthough scientists don't know eaxactly how it influences our health, it is assumed it works as an antioxydant and works against the oxidation of 'bad' cholesterol in the veins. Antioxydants like resveratrol and Vitamin E (also in peanuts) are supposed to diminish the risk for heart- and arterial diseases, but also cancer.
A hundred grammes of peanuts contains as much resveratrol as three kilo's of raisins (about 250 microgrammes).

(translated from Dutch by me, so don't blame them for the poor grammar)

For detailed information on the contents of peanuts visit the USDA, they have made their databases on food and all kinds off contents accessable on the internet. Try this link (thanks Karel from Czech Republic) and have fun searching around!

Ingredients
In my country (the Netherlands (that's Europe)) I took a closer look at the ingredients of various types of peanutbutter. For the total tables please learn Dutch and have a look at that page. I'll give a summary here.

The real stuff is made of 100% peanuts with some salt. This results in a quite strong mass if it stood in the cupboard too long as the oil goes floating. If you are too lazy to mix it, you start with an oily mass and you end with concrete. So either get it fresh, mix it thoroughly or store it at 5 ° C (41°F). The nutritional value is about

Then there are some brands that mix salt, some sugar and vegetable oils through the peanutbutter. In low quantities this results in a smoother peanutbutter that still tastes like you are eating peanuts.

Many brands, including the most popular, add more things, like dextrose or plain sugar, more vegetable oils and fats. These peanutbutters are lighter in color and more slushy. The taste is somewhere between margarine and peanutbutter.

Then the very cheap brands add the most amazing ingredients.

Nutritional value (per 100 g)