What is good about Peanut Butter?

I've always asked why people have such strong opinions about the healthiness of peanut butter. I decided to look into this a bit more because peanut butter is a food that I find very tasty and I eat it every once and awhile.

Many people argue that peanut butter contains too much saturated fat that can lead to cardiovascular problems later on in life. This is partly true because if we eat a lot, and I mean a lot, of peanut butter then our arteries would begin to clog leading to many cardiovascular diseases. But in moderation, some saturated fat is not bad for our body as long as we don't over do it. Dr. Walter C. Willet explains in the Harvard Heart Letter, that a typical 2-tablespoon serving of peanut butter is a perfect amount where the saturated fat will do no harm to our bodies but the problem occurs if more than a 2-tablespoon serving is taken in. The amount of saturated fat that peanut butter contains is about the same that Olive oil contains. Many people don't argue that olive oil is good for our bodies, yet they do about peanut butter. Both these "foods" have about the same amount of saturated fat but people have very different opinions about them. Should we be doing this?

We must look at the other ingredients and benefits that peanut butter has before assuming that the saturated fat is what makes it qualify as an "unhealthy food". Peanut Butter gives us fiber, vitamins, and some minerals including potassium. The unsalted peanut butter is proven to be healthier than regular peanut butter because of the potassium-to-sodium ratio. Because of the potassium-to-sodium ratio, unsalted peanut butter is less likely to cause cardiovascular diseases or at least to put us on the track of having cardiovascular problems when we are older.

So before we automatically organize food in healthy vs. unhealthy categories we must first consider how much we are eating and the other benefits it may have!

Ingredients of regular peanut butter

(3.5g saturated fat, serving size 2 tablespoons)

Ingredients of Olive oil

(2g saturated fat, serving size 1 tablespoon)

http://www.instructables.com/id/Gourmet-Olive-Oil-Ice-Cream-Without-An-Ice-Cream-M/
http://www.health.harvard.edu/press_releases/Is-peanut-butter-healthy
http://dessertswithbenefits.com/homemade-peanut-butter/