Your brain got a great start as a kid because you …

You may have not realized it, but as a kid you were already giving your brain a great start with peanut butter. 

You might be surprised to know that peanuts themselves are not really a nut but actually are part of the legume family with peas, lentils, chickpeas and beans. Peanuts become peanut butter through a rather simple process of roasting and then grinding to a consistency where sugar, salt and oil are mixed to create that creamy texture.

Peanut butter is best known as a protein source, and I actually stopped and went to the cupboard to check my own jar. For a serving size of 2 tbsp. (32 grams) it has 8 grams of protein, which makes it a great source for brain cells and tissues.

Also there’s the antioxidant, Vitamin E protecting neural membranes and along Thiamin (Vitamin B1) converting glucose to brain energy.

Besides its rich source of minerals, peanut butter also contains Niacin (Vitamin B3) that helps to maintain the entire nervous systems, lowers high blood pressure, and increases energy. There is even a research study from the Chicago Health and Aging Project that followed the cognitive abilities of 3,000 adults aged 65 over six years. Not only was cognitive decline less but Alzheimer’s was 70% less likely to occur in those adults with a 22 mg daily niacin food intake as compared to those with only 13 mg or less.

Probably one of the greatest reasons you may be avoiding peanut butter is thinking it may be nutritious but it’s also fattening. Actually, not true unless you’re a big time consumer of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

Peanut butter and peanut oil contain the healthier monounsaturated fat.  The Journal Obesity reported from a Spanish study of almost 9,000 adult men and women the cardiovascular benefits and 31% weight reduction were evident with those who ate nuts at least twice a week. Those rarely eating nuts, actually had a greater weight gain.

The highest quality of peanut butter comes from organic peanuts roasted and ground or you can make your own high quality source which is demonstrated in the video below. This allows you to control for added sugar and salt, without any of the hydrogenated oils added to today’s processed brands.  Yum, Yum!