Nut Butters 101

BY Chef Murph January 28, 2019

Nut Butters 101:

Spread Your Way To Better Health. Most likely, the first nut butter you were exposed to when you were little was peanut butter and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches were the staple of your everyday diet. Most people don’t realize that there are more nut butters than just peanut butter. This is good news, especially for people who happen to be allergic to peanuts.

Peanuts and other nut butters are not cut of the same cloth. There is a big difference imagesbetween peanuts, which are technically legumes, and tree nut butters. Unfortunately, there are those that are allergic to both peanut butters and tree nut butters. If this is you, you are probably out of luck when it comes to eating nut butters.

Peanut Allergies

Allergies to peanuts have become increasingly common in the US. According to statistics from the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, peanut allergy sufferers amount to about 400,000 children in the US. Peanut allergies can be particularly dangerous. According to the ACAAI, peanut allergies can be associated with a particularly severe form of allergy, called Anaphylaxis, which can be life threatening for many children.

As for good news, there are other types of seed and nut butters that can act as peanut butter alternatives. They can be spread in sandwiches just like peanut butter and many kids won’t even know the difference.

Being Safe

If you are absolutely sure that you are only allergic to peanuts and not to other nut butters, feel free to try them. If not, you should talk to your or your child’s doctor before attempting to eat tree nut butters. According to statistics, if a child has developed a peanut allergy, they may also be sufferers from tree nuts, such as cashews, hazelnuts, or almonds. This means that tree nut butters are out of the diet a well.

According to research sponsored by the ACAAI, between 28 and 50 percent of children who are allergic to peanut butter are also allergic to some kinds of tree nuts as well.

The other problem is that factories that make tree nut butter also usually make peanut butter and there can be traces of peanuts in other nut butters because they use the same machines to make the different kinds of butter. Be careful and have your Epi-pen handy if you are trying to consume nut butters for the first time.

Good Nut Butters To Try

If you are lucky and find that you are not allergic to tree nuts or tree nut butter, there are several kinds of tree nut butters you can choose from. They are very healthy for you and are increasingly found in local grocery stores as well as health food stores.

Here are some good nut butters you can select from:

• Cashew butter
• Almond butter
• Macadamia nut butter
• Hazelnut butter
• Walnut butter

Benefits Of Nut Butters

Nut butters have many healthful benefits you could use as part of your diet.
For example, nut butters are particularly high in these nutrients:

• Healthy fats
• Protein
• Vitamins and minerals
• Fiber
• Phytochemicals that can help you fight off cancer

Each nut butter contains its own collection of nutrients but all are healthy for you. According to a study out of UC Berkeley, nut butters help a person lower their cholesterol levels. All nut butters contain about 100 calories per tablespoon, but not all are completely healthful.

Some brands of nut butters contain not just ground up nuts but also have too much salt and sugar in them. Some also contain partially hydrogenated oil, which contains unhealthy trans fats. Check the label on the packaging of nut butter before you buy it.

If you have access to a bulk food store, these typically provide a machine that allows chef murph logo 2you to grind up your own fresh nut butters; this is the best option to get 100% all natural pure products. All the best.

Chef Murph

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