Are you a fan of creamy peanut butter? Well, peanut butter is a favorite of many. Therefore it is important to discuss the possible side effects (not all of which are negative!) that you can experience from consuming the delectable nut butter. Six of these negative impacts are described below.
- Acid Reflux or Heartburn.
Unfortunately, peanut butter can extremely irritate your throat and chest. The lower esophageal sphincter (LES), a group of muscles resembling a flap at the end of your esophagus, is disturbed by peanuts because they contain more fat than other nuts. However, you might completely avoid this issue if you consume the peanut butter in small amounts (about two tablespoons each meal) over the week.
- Difficulty swallowing.
There’s another reason peanut butter might be making it difficult for your esophagus to do this function if you take a big spoon of peanut butter and feel like you cannot swallow it without a glass of water. If you don’t know it, you may have a mild peanut allergy, which could be the root of your eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE).
To find out if you can get tested for food allergies and possibly have an endoscopy, visit a gastroenterologist if you frequently get acid reflux after eating peanut butter and feel like it is getting stuck in your throat.
- Inflammation
Omega-6 fatty acids, found in peanuts, can cause inflammation in the body if consumed in excess. Conversely, omega-3 fatty acids work to lower inflammation in the body, so it’s critical to consume more of these foods (walnuts, salmon, flaxseed, oysters) if you want to keep your body’s inflammatory response under control.
- Improved Heart Health
However, due to their abundance of these unsaturated fatty acids, peanuts make for a considerably healthier substitution for foods high in saturated fat. In addition, oleic acid, found in peanut oil in particularly high concentrations, is thought to support blood pressure and HDL levels, two essential components of heart health. This is particularly true if you replace harmful fats with peanuts. Therefore, choosing a tablespoon of peanut butter and one or two squares of dark chocolate is preferable to chow down on a pint of full-fat ice cream.
- Weight gain
If you consume too much peanut butter daily, you are at risk of gaining weight since it is calorie-dense. Always remember that two tablespoons of peanut butter only have about 200 calories.
