Peanutbutter

[Darryl Shaw]

Originally Posted by Sarah Clent

But they are legumes.
Which may cause irritation to the gut because of the lectins, right? So wouldnt it be better to regard them as what they are?

Correct me if i am wrong, i am still learning alot about all this nutrition stuff and reading my books etc

Dont get me wrong, i do love peanuts. But almonds, macadamias and all other nuts are just as tasty hehe.

Yes technically peanuts are legumes but nutritionally they can be considered nuts and as such have numerous health benefits. Unlike many of the tin foil hat wearing Kool-aid drinkers around here I don't just expect you to take my word for any of this so here's some science -

The Role of Tree Nuts and Peanuts in the Prevention of Coronary Heart Disease: Multiple Potential Mechanisms.

ABSTRACT

Epidemiologic and clinical trial evidence has demonstrated consistent benefits of nut and peanut consumption on coronary heart disease (CHD) risk and associated risk factors. The epidemiologic studies have reported various endpoints, including fatal CHD, total CHD death, total CHD, and nonfatal myocardial infarct. A pooled analysis of 4 U.S. epidemiologic studies showed that subjects in the highest intake group for nut consumption had an 35% reduced risk of CHD incidence. The reduction in total CHD death was due primarily to a decrease in sudden cardiac death. Clinical studies have evaluated the effects of many different nuts and peanuts on lipids, lipoproteins, and various CHD risk factors, including oxidation, inflammation, and vascular reactivity. Evidence from these studies consistently shows a beneficial effect on these CHD risk factors. The LDL cholesterol-lowering response of nut and peanut studies is greater than expected on the basis of blood cholesterol-lowering equations that are derived from changes in the fatty acid profile of the diet. Thus, in addition to a favorable fatty acid profile, nuts and peanuts contain other bioactive compounds that explain their multiple cardiovascular benefits. Other macronutrients include plant protein and fiber; micronutrients including potassium, calcium, magnesium, and tocopherols; and phytochemicals such as phytosterols, phenolic compounds, resveratrol, and arginine. Nuts and peanuts are food sources that are a composite of numerous cardioprotective nutrients and if routinely incorporated in a healthy diet, population risk of CHD would therefore be expected to decrease markedly.

http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/full/138/9/1746S (wfs)

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?t...spice&dbid=101 (wfs)

[Darryl Shaw]

Originally Posted by Troy Becker

I have heard that peanut butter is inflammatory, but just HOW inflammatory compared to the crap people eat on a daily basis, I don't know.

From the study cited in the above post -

Peanut consumption also was associated with lower relative risk of CHD (6). Subjects who consumed peanuts 2+ times per week had a relative risk of CHD of 0.66 (CI: 0.46–0.94). For tree nuts, the relative risk for consumption 2+ times per week was 0.79 (CI: 0.50–1.25). One mechanism by which tree nut and peanut consumption may decrease risk of CHD is by decreasing inflammatory markers, thereby improving inflammatory status. Inflammation is a key process in atherogenesis, among other diseases. In a cross-sectional study conducted by Jiang et al. (9) using data from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, consumption of nuts and seeds was inversely associated with levels of inflammatory markers, C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin (IL)-6, and fibrinogen. This is important because inflammation contributes to all phases of atherosclerotic disease, ranging from initial recruitment of circulating leukocytes to inducing endothelial dysfunction and to plaque rupture.

[Troy Becker]

Originally Posted by Darryl Shaw

From the study cited in the above post -

Okay, either I'm missing it, or that doesn't cover PEAnuts.

[Moran Bentzur]

Darryl, I think your tendancy to cite abstracts instead of discussion is lazy. pubmed wars in the realm of nutrition are lame. Just to prove my point:

J Natl Cancer Inst. 1992 Sep 16;84(18):1410-6.
Peanut lectin: a mitogen for normal human colonic epithelium and human HT29 colorectal cancer cells.

Ryder SD, Smith JA, Rhodes JM.

Department of Medicine, University of Liverpool, England.

BACKGROUND: The protein peanut agglutinin (PNA) is a galactose-binding lectin whose receptor, the Thomsen-Friedenreich (TF) blood-group antigen, shows increased expression in hyperplastic and neoplastic colonic epithelium. PURPOSE: Our hypothesis was that, under these conditions, increased lectin receptors could interact with dietary lectins, which would act as tumor promoters by stimulating cell proliferation. This study was designed to confirm whether active PNA is recoverable from feces after ingestion of peanuts and to assess the mitogenic effect of PNA on proliferation of epithelial cells in the colon. METHODS: Peanut lectin was extracted from feces by lactose-agarose affinity chromatography and was assayed for hemagglutinating activity. Cultured explants of histologically normal biopsy specimens of colonic mucosa from 31 patients were examined. Crypt cell production rate and incorporation of [3H]N-acetylglucosamine into mucin were assessed as indicators of proliferative and metabolic responses to PNA. In addition, we evaluated the separate and combined effects of PNA and epidermal growth factor (EGF) on cell proliferation in human HT29 colorectal cancer cells, by using tritiated thymidine incorporation and cell counts. RESULTS: Peanut lectin extracted from feces showed hemagglutinating activity toward desialylated red blood cells similar to that of a lectin preparation extracted from raw peanuts. Evaluation of biopsy specimens of normal colonic mucosa demonstrated that PNA at a concentration of 25 micrograms/mL caused statistically significant increases in crypt cell production (31% [mean] +/- 5% [SD]; P = .00005) and mucus synthesis (77% +/- 12%; P less than .000001). At 7.5-100 micrograms/mL, PNA was mitogenic for the HT29 colorectal cancer cell line. At 25 micrograms/mL, PNA alone produced a statistically significant increase in thymidine incorporation (44% [mean] +/- 3.7% [SD]; P = .002). For PNA in combination with EGF at 100 pg/mL, the increase was significantly greater (222% +/- 11.2%) than that for EGF alone (57% +/- 5%; P = .003). CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that expression of the PNA receptor, TF antigen, by hyperplastic or neoplastic colonic epithelium may affect cell proliferation. IMPLICATIONS: It is possible that dietary lectins such as PNA, which bind to the TF antigen, promote cell proliferation and thus cancerous growth, while galactose-containing vegetable fiber would inhibit this effect by competing for binding by these lectins.