From weight management, to healthy snacking, to disease control, it’s been said that diet plays a major role in keeping us healthy. And, did you know that peanut butter can play a helpful role in managing diet?
In a recent article from the Times-Colonist, a doctor pointed towards the positive diet effects peanut butter can have on those who live with emphysema. In fact, adding a few tablespoons of peanut butter to your daily diet can lessen some symptoms of the disease. How, you ask? Peanut butter contains high levels of healthy fats and proteins, thus reducing the amount of carbon dioxide the body makes per calorie taken in. People with severe emphysema also tend to get thin, so a few extra calories are often helpful.
Following a healthy diet can also be managed through protein intake, something peanuts are chock full of. A recent article from Food Navigator suggests that a protein-rich breakfast can significantly improve appetite control and help reduce snacking in the evening. Research from the University of Missouri-Columbia has found that consumption of high-protein breakfasts leads to increased satiety (feeling of fullness), along with reductions in brain activity that is responsible for food cravings. The high-protein breakfast also reduced evening snacking on high-fat and high-sugar foods, compared to a normal protein breakfast from ready-to-eat cereal.
Furthermore, shifting dietary habits could help battle rising levels of obesity. The study mentioned above found that those consuming breakfast had increased daily fullness compared with those who skipped – with those eating a high-protein breakfast showing greater increases than those eating the normal protein breakfast.
With careful planning and commitment, diet management is possible with the help of some powerful and nutritious foods like peanuts and peanut butter.
Sources: Times-Colonist, Food Navigator