Everything You Need to Know About Peanut Butter: How Much is Too Much?

Peanut butter has been a favourite among health enthusiasts. It could be because of its yummy flavour, versatile use or healthy benefits. It is a spread made from ground dry-roasted peanuts. From sandwiches, smoothies, and brownies to health bars and dip for some fruits, everyone can relish a good jar of this. But it is not just a treat for the tongue. Nutritionally speaking, this is a power-packed food with healthy fats, protein and essential vitamins and minerals.

Nutritional Value

A typical two-tablespoon serving of peanut butter contains:

• Calories: 190-200
• Protein: 7-8 grams
• Fat: 16-18 grams (mainly unsaturated fats)
• Carbohydrates: 6-7 grams
• Fiber: 2-3 grams
• Sugars: 1-2 grams
• Vitamins and Minerals: Vitamin E, Vitamin B3 (niacin), Vitamin B6, Folate, Magnesium, Copper, Manganese

Calories in Each Tablespoon

Being nutrition-dense does not excuse peanut butter from its high caloric content and that is a primary concern. About 200 calories in 2 tablespoons serving can seem like a lot to someone on a weight loss spree who has to consume all foods in perfect caloric measurement. It becomes important that while tasty and power-packed, it needs to be savoured mindfully in smaller portion sizes.

Health Benefits

Peanuts have several health benefits that extend towards this much-craved for product. Such as:

• Keeping the Heart Healthy: The monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats in peanuts help keep your bad cholesterol levels in check which in turn reduces the risk of heart disease.
• Packed with Antioxidant Properties: Peanuts are a powerhouse of antioxidants and can help protect cells from getting damaged.
• Nutrient-Rich: It is also a powerhouse of many nutrients as we saw in this blog earlier.
• Optimized Muscle Function: The magnesium in it makes it useful for muscle function and bone health.
• Satiety: The perfect combo of protein, fat and fibre helps keep you feeling full longer, controls your appetite and prevents overeating.
• Muscle Maintenance and Growth: It is known for its protein content which helps in muscle repair and growth. This makes it a good option for those with serious fitness goals.
• Energy Boost: The healthy fats provide a steady source of energy, making it a good pre-or post-workout snack. Even having it as a breakfast can help you power through the morning.
• Blood Sugar Control: Healthy fats and protein can help stabilize blood sugar levels.

How to Approach Weight Loss 

Peanut butter is a very high-caloric food. But can you turn it around in your favour for weight loss? Yes, you definitely can! When consumed in moderation and discipline, it can help in your weight loss plan. Being strategic in using it to your benefit is important. Because it helps keep you full for a longer time it can help in ruling out hunger for a long time and prevent you from overeating. The protein and healthy fats help curb cravings too. It can be used as an alternative for your dessert cravings as well. All of this can help make your weight loss plan foolproof.

What About The Gaining Phase?

For all the ziddis looking to gain weight or build muscle adding this protein-packed product to your diet could be awesome! Its high-calorie content makes it easier to achieve a caloric surplus, which is necessary for weight gain. It is also packed with protein to support your muscle-building goals and being packed with healthy fats can help you power up your workout.

Read More: Healthy Recipes With MuscleBlaze Peanut Butter

What Other Foods Can You Indulge In?

Protein Bar

Protein bars use peanut butter for flavour, texture and nutrition as well as taste. You can check for similarly flavoured protein bars or make some at home for yourself to reach your fitness goal in a yummy way without killing your cravings. If you still feel confused about the actual health benefits of protein bars we suggest you check out some at MuscleBlaze. You can also find a variety of the same on MuscleBlaze.

Protein Powder

Protein powders are the most obvious choice for all fitness enthusiasts to reach their fitness goals. Being packed with proteins that support muscle-building protein powder is famously liked in the gainers community but that same quality helps it gain its fans in the weight loss category too. With a variety of protein powders coming up you do not have to ditch your dietary preferences or upset your taste buds to enjoy gaining protein. Like Whey Protein or Plant protein in many flavours like chocolate, strawberry and more. You can check out MuscleBlaze’s options of protein powder to find a solution to all your protein needs.

Takeaway

Not all calorically high foods lack nutrition. Peanut butter is a torch bearer of the fact that when it comes to fitness, your strategy matters more than what you eat. Food is the 80% of any fitness journey and it is time you give it a chance to help you improve that 80%. This can also help in gains as well as weight loss while being absolutely delicious. So don’t avoid all the delicious things in life to get closer to your fitness goals. Make sure to replace and substitute instead.