After another successful year, the results are in and it’s no surprise that Canadians love their peanuts and peanut butter. According to recent research completed by Leger Marketing, peanut consumption in Canada remains high, indicating the peanut products are a staple in Canadian homes.

In recent articles from The Windsor Star and Glow Magazine, nuts were highlighted as arguably the healthiest snack in your pantry. Why not put this knowledge to use as you make good on your New Year’s weight loss resolution?

Just in from the Peanut Institute is a health announcement that is sure to set hearts a-flutter: oil roasted salted peanuts have been certified by the American Heart Association (AHA) as heart-healthy. As part of an overall healthy eating program, the Heart Check mark may now appear on packages of oil roasted peanuts. Visit the health and nutrition section of the Peanut Institute’s website for the complete announcement.

The food service industry is always aware of the ingredients in any prepared meal to minimize the risk of exposing customers to food allergens, but could a little exposure to peanuts lessen a severe reaction in those who live with allergies? While this has been a long-debated question, it may soon be answered thanks to studies being conducted by Canadian and U.S. doctors. The ultimate result? Train a child’s immune system to develop a higher tolerance for peanuts.

Whether you’re a health nut or just looking to improve your eating habits, peanuts are a great food choice to incorporate into a diet, particularly for your heart. Plain nuts and peanut butter can help to manage hunger and are increasingly believed to boost heart health. With conditions like heart disease, obesity and diabetes becoming more prominent, Canadians are looking for healthy meal options at home and when eating out. A recent article from The Telegraph titled “Go nuts for nuts,” examined the health benefits of various nuts including peanuts.

Did you know that Canada has a peanut butter claim to fame? Marcellus Gilmore Edson of Montreal was the first person to patent modern peanut butter for peanut candy. Issued in 1884 by the United States government, Edson patented the finished product in the process of milling roasted peanuts. His patent is based on the preparation of a peanut paste as an intermediate to the production of the modern product we know as peanut butter.

Each year, food experts compile a list of food trends they believe will take foodservice audiences by storm. The experts weigh what’s in, what’s out, and most of all, what’s coming up next. Will we eat more Asian or Latin American-influenced food? What impact will the economy and our time-crunched lives have on what we eat?

Can a little exposure to peanuts lessen severe reactions in allergy sufferers? While this has been a long-debated question, it may soon be answered thanks to studies being conducted by Canadian and U.S. doctors. The ultimate result? To train the immune system of a child who lives with allergies to develop a higher tolerance for peanuts.

It’s long been said that Canadians have a love affair with peanuts and peanut butter, and 2012 was no exception. According to recent research completed by Leger Marketing, peanut consumption in Canada remains high, pointing towards the popularity of peanut products in Canadian homes. In fact, not only does the research indicate high consumption rates, it paints a picture of tradition and comfort that peanut products provide. Consider these statistics the next time you need to make a healthy food choice recommendation to a client.

According to the Canadian Obesity Network, one in four Canadian adults and one in 10 Canadian children are clinically obese. This means that six million Canadians are currently living with obesity. As a leading cause of type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, arthritis and cancer, obesity can have a significant impact on daily life with family, work colleagues and health care practitioners.

Summer is a time when “fresh, premium quality, convenient and flavourful” appetites dominate the thoughts of many. It’s all about being outdoors as much as possible, including cooking outdoors. Summer is also a time when traditional “three square” winter meals give way to smaller meals and, likely, more frequent snacking post breakfast to enjoy Canada’s all too brief summer.

With the very long winter finally over, Canadians are more than eager to get outside and maximize their time in the sun. If you’re planning an outdoor activity with friends and family, consider incorporating peanuts into the menu.

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?

It was once thought that consuming three meals a day was a healthy way of managing weight and nutrient intake – snacking between meals was to be avoided. Today, experts encourage snacking between consuming smaller meals, provided the snack is nutritious.

You would think from the media coverage it gets and the emphasis some nutritional policy makers put on it, that salt was a first cousin of plutonium: dangerous in even small quantities and so best avoided by anyone who wants to stay healthy. That would be wrong on several counts, as the latest evidence review from the US Institute of Medicine points out. It concludes, not surprisingly, that many people still consume too much salt in their diets (especially from processed meats, baked goods, “ready meals” and take-away foods), but it does not cast salt as a villain to be shunned.

Peanuts have been used to fuel up before and after hockey games from decades. Maple Leafs coach Randy Carlyle is known to start his day with peanut butter, toast and coffee. In 1933, a reporter spotted Maple Leaf player John Benedict O'Flaherty eating peanuts before a hockey, earning him the nickname “Peanuts”. More recently, Ottawa Senator Darren Kramer has developed a patent pending peanut butter jar to help peanut fans get every last bit of the gooey goodness.

PREDIMED stands for Prevención con Dieta Mediterránea, the largest and most robust study ever mounted of the health impact of the Mediterranean Diet. Based in Spanish academic centres, PREDIMED researchers reported recently that consuming a diet rich in either extra-virgin olive oil or nuts cuts by 30 per cent the chances of those at risk of experiencing heart attacks or strokes, or dying of a heart condition.

The Peanut Butter for the Hungry Initiative started in 2008, by a group of peanut growers, shellers, manufacturers and industry members to help malnourished children in places where resources are limited.

Fat has traditionally been viewed as a foe to the health conscious or those looking to shed pounds. However, essential fatty acids offer a variety of benefits and are an integral part of our health. In a Q&A article published on www.menusofchange.org, Dr. Walter Willett of Harvard School of Public Health and Amy Myrdal Miller, M.S., R.D. of The Culinary Institute of America explain why it’s time to debunk the “low fat is best” myth.

You’ve heard it before. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. However, did you know that what you eat for breakfast can impact the rest of your day? A new study released by the British Journal of Nutrition explains that eating peanut butter or peanuts for breakfast contributes to the management of blood sugar for most of the day. Peanuts and peanut butter can help minimize hunger pangs and increase production of the hormone PYY, which is responsible for making you feel full.

Dietitians frequently receive questions from parents on how to encourage their children to eat healthy. Parents generally know how important healthy eating is, but they face challenges incorporating this into their daily lives. To help dietitians assist parents, Peanut Bureau of Canada developed some easy and HEALTHY tips.

The power of a protein punch does the body good. Including protein in your regular diet helps to stave off hunger, build immunity and strengthen heart health, just to name a few benefits. A balanced diet improves your health, and including protein in the mix is absolutely essential.

New research suggests eating nuts regularly can help lower your risk of death, particularly from cancer and heart disease

Peanuts together with some tree nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, pistachios and pine nuts) have been singled out in terms of reduced overall mortality associated with frequent weekly consumption. PREDIMED (‘PREvención con DIeta MEDiterránea’) is a large, robust and long-running nutrition trial based in Spain. For this study, the investigators randomised and evaluated 7,216 men and women aged 55 to 80 years (mean age 67) who were already participating in PREDIMED into 1 of 3 interventions: Mediterranean diets supplemented with 1) nuts, or 2) olive oil, or 3) a control low fat diet).

According to a recent Times & Trends report titled “How America Eats: Capturing Growth with Food on the Run” released by Information Resources, Inc. (IRI), an increasing number of Americans are eating on the run. Coined “opportunists” by IRI, these eaters represent 21 per cent of Americans and eat “mini meals” throughout the day as opposed to the traditional, three-meals-a-day.

We all know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. A nutritious protein-packed breakfast will help keep kids focused and build strong muscles and bones. As for adults, many studies have suggested the beneficial link between breakfast and moderating obesity, blood pressure, diabetes and other health problems.