Peanut butter

I never thought I would ever find myself researching peanut butter.  Following the footsteps of the no sugar guru's I researched a basic jar of jif and compared it to different jars of the 4X as exspensive natural peanut butters.  I found nearly identical grams of sugars, proteins, carbs, serving sizes fat grams , you name it I could not find a big difference.  So is there a difference?  Should natural be the choice or is it all hype and read the label.  My recommended whey protein drink has more sugar in it than a serving of just plain old peanut butter.  Any one care to offer any insight.

When you say natural or all natural (concerning peanut butter), it really doesn't apply to me.  What I get is a peanut butter that is either just peanuts or just peanuts and salt, nothing else.  It is only a little more expensive, but I feel for the less sugar it is worth it.  In most large stores or chains you could find it easily.  Or eat dry roasted peanuts (chewed real well).  Brian

Hey Davo... I don;t think it's all natural PB....this is just sweetened with hones rather then sugar...look for a decreased carb type...my sis has found one...let me get back to you Russ

Just so you know, it's really easy to make your own sugar-free peanut butter if you have a food processor.  Because I have type II diabetes and am on lasix for fluid retention in my legs, I looked for a salt-free or low-salt peanut butter that was also low in sugar.  I did find a brand which was pretty low sodium and sweetened with spenda, but it was almost $6 for a small jar.   So, I made my own: 1 cup of dry roasted, unsalted peanuts 1 single serving packet of Splenda (I think it's probably about 2 teaspoons) 1/4 teaspoon salt substitute (Potassium chloride) oil necessary to process, probably about 2 to 3 tablespoons  The amount of oil seems to depend on the food processor -- I can use less oil in my small "Little Oskar" food processor, because the small mixing bowl keeps all of the peanuts moving, rather than bunched up around the rim.  In a larger food processor, I actually have to make a larger batch, in order to keep them moving and not stuck around the edges. You can, of course, add more splenda if you like it sweeter.  I found it's best to make no more than this amount at a time, because it goes bad fairly fast -- lasts about 2 to 3 weeks unrefrigerated before the oils start to change taste.  It can be refrigerated or frozen for storage, but is much more spreadable at room temperature.  It will seperate a little bit, as well, because it has no emulsifiers, so you have to stir the oil back in before use. You can make any type of nut butter with this method.  Cashew and almond are both very, very good as well.  I like to make this with raw, unroasted cashews (many stores now carry these).

I just eat regular old store brand PB. Since it is only 2 TBSP at a time once or twice a day I don't fret. 

I like your answer

I switched to Trader Joe's Better Than Peanut Butter several years ago.  Much lower in fat and calories than Peanut Butter.  Since I only use it in my smoothies I don't notice the difference in taste too much.    Good peanut butter shouldn't have much sugar in it.

This is my point.  I looked up Trader Joes and yes it is lower in suger by 1gram which seems minimal.  It does however have twice the carbs and less protein.  The calorie on Trader Joes is about 90 less per serving.  I am just trying to find out is all the hype over natural peanut butter worth it or valid?    Maybe a nutritionist needs to get involved with this very question that has plagued man since the dawn of time.   This sure beats politics.

Given the amounts that you will be eating, I'm not sure it is really worth the added cost to get the natural peanut butter.  One thing to watch out for, however, is reduced fat peanut butter.  I'm no nutritionist, but every source I've read says that almost all of the fats found in peanut butter are healthy fats.  In reduced fat peanut butter, they add corn syrup or another carbohydrate to make up for the lost fats, so while it does end up having less fat, most of them have almost twice the carbs per serving. The only real difference between, say, regular Jif and the standard natural peanut butters is that regular peanut butter has small amounts of hydrogenated vegetable oils which are used to stabilize the oils in the peanut butter.  This means that there are small amounts of trans fats in regular peanut butter; however, they are too small per serving to even warrant a mention on the label.  Regular peanut butter also contains small amounts of sugar added, but again, it's pretty small given the the serving size. Natural peanut butter, on the other hand, is literally just peanuts and salt.  There are obviously other alternatives to those two, but that's pretty much what I found out when I was researching peanut butter.  I eat the natural peanut butter myself, but that's mainly because I like the taste better and I don't eat it that often myself so the cost doesn't bother me too much.