It is no secret that Americans love to eat peanuts. Whether it is at a baseball game, where the sport’s anthem mentions eating the legumes, or at home, the typical American eats at least six pounds of peanuts every year. Peanuts come in four different varieties. You can get Valencia, Spanish, Runner, and Virginia peanuts. When people think of eating these legumes, they do not often think of the health benefits of eating peanuts.
- Peanuts are a great source of protein. This is one of the peanut facts that a lot of people know. A serving of peanuts is generally considered to be one ounce. This can also be measured as one handful. Eating one serving of peanuts will get you about seven grams of protein. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says one of the main benefits of eating peanuts is this protein power. If you are looking for a high protein snack, peanuts fit that bill.
- You can get your daily fill of biotin. Biotin has gone by the name of “vitamin H” but it is really part of the family of vitamins in the B complex family. It is used by a number of different processes inside the human body. It can even be a part of the regulation of a person’s genes. Peanuts have tons of biotin if you consume two ounces of the legumes, you will get more than 88% of your FDA recommended amount of the substance. Scientists say that biotin can help people with diabetes, some brain diseases, and multiple sclerosis. It is also crucial for women who are pregnant to get enough in their diet.
- If you want to get monosaturated fats, peanuts are great for that. Nuts and peanuts, which are not really nuts, are often avoided because they have a lot of fat in them. That is true but the fat content does not tell you the entire story. Peanuts have a lot of the kind of fat you want to get into your diet. You need healthy fat in your diet and that is what you get when you eat peanuts. If you look at the fat in peanuts, 80% of it is unsaturated. This is similar to the unsaturated fat content of olive oil. Research has shown that peanuts lower cholesterol because of the ration of unsaturated to saturated fat making this another one of the health benefits of eating peanuts.
- Peanuts have lots of antioxidants. Most people are aware of the antioxidants that are in red wine but many are not aware that peanuts have the same amount of these important substances. Antioxidants are good to reduce the damage done by free radicals (unstable molecules that have a charge) in the body. If you want to get the benefits of antioxidants that you would get from drinking red wine, you should grab some heart healthy peanuts. This is another one of the main health benefits of eating peanuts.
- Peanuts offer some protection from gallstones. When bile hardens in the gallbladder they form gallstones. Some people have more risk factors for developing them than other people. Some of those risk factors include being overweight or obese, being over the age of 40 years old, and eating a diet that has a lot of refined carbohydrates and a lot of calories. Women also have more of a chance of developing gallstones. Research has shown that one of the health benefits of eating peanuts is that it can keep people from developing gallstones. To get the best benefit from peanuts, people need to eat at least one serving each day.
- You can get your copper from peanuts. Copper is crucial for a number of processes in the human body and if you do not get enough of it, a lot of health issues and problems can develop. Many experts call this an “essential micronutrient.” The FDA recommends that people get at least 900 andmu;g each day. Every 100 grams of peanuts have about 1.283 milligrams of copper. You do not need to eat that many peanuts to get the copper you need to stay healthy.
Many people overlook the health benefits of eating peanuts but they are tasty snacks that are very good for you.