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The Athlete’s Kitchen
Copyright: Nancy Clark, MS, RD
Peanut Butter: A Super Sports Food
In
this day and age of energy bars, protein powders and weight gain shakes,
many athletes forget about “real" foods, such as peanut butter. Peanut
butter, in my opinion, is one of the best sports foods around. It’s
tasty, inexpensive, satisfying, nourishing and even good for our health.
But all too often, I hear athletes say "I don't keep peanut butter in my
house. It's too fatty, too fattening." or "I ration peanut butter to
once per week on my Sunday morning bagel." They try to stay away from
peanut butter. That’s nuts!
Yes, peanut butter is calorie-dense. But it can
beneficially fit into your sports diet. The following information
explains why I vote peanut butter (and all nuts and nut butters, for
that matter) to be a super sports food for athletes who want to eat well
and invest in their health.
• Peanut butter is
satiating and satisfying ... perfect for dieters. Because you will never
win the war against hunger, your best bet is to eat foods that keep you
feeling fed. This means, foods with protein and fiber like peanut butter
(and nuts, in general). You'll feel fuller for longer if you have half a
whole wheat bagel with peanut butter, as compared to the same amount of
calories of a plain white bagel. The protein and fiber in peanut butter
"sticks to your ribs" and is not fattening?unless you overeat total
calories that day.
A Perdue University study reports subjects who ate
peanuts every day did not overeat daily calories. (Kirkmeyer, Int'l J
Obesity 24:1167, 2000) Peanut
eaters tend to naturally
eat less at other times of the day. (Alper, Int'l J Obesity 26:1129,
2002) Plus, if you enjoy what you are eating on your reducing diet,
you'll stay with the food plan and be able to keep the weight off. This
is far better than yo-yo dieting!
• Peanut butter is a quick and easy way to reduce your risk of heart
disease. Just slap together a peanut butter (and honey or jelly)
sandwich on multi-grain bread, and you have the makings of a
heart-healthy meal, if not a childhood memory. A quick and easy peanut
butter sandwich is healthier, by far, than a fast food burger or
fried chicken dinner and far better than, let's say, an equally easy
"meal" of chips or ice cream. That's because peanut butter offers
health-protective mono-and polyunsaturated oil. Trading burgers
(saturated fat) for peanut butter sandwiches reduces your risk of
developing heart disease. In fact, the more often you eat peanut butter
(and nuts), the lower your risk of heart disease. (Hu, J Am College Nutr
20(1):5, 2001) Start spreading peanut butter (instead of butter) on
toast. Enjoy PB & banana for a "decadent" snack in place of ice cream.
• Peanut butter is an affordable source of calories. If you are a hungry
athlete who needs 3,000 or more calories a day, you can spend a
significant amount of money fueling yourself (especially if you
routinely eat protein bars, weight gain shakes and other engineered
sports foods). Peanut butter can fuel your body without breaking the
bank. One hundred calories of peanut butter (about 1 tablespoon) costs
about 7˘, far less than 100 calories of other protein sources, such as
cottage cheese (55˘ per 100 calories), tuna (60˘) and deli turkey breast
(75˘). The cost of 200 calories of peanut butter is about 15˘, far less
than the $1.49 you'd spend on 200 calories of an energy bar... and
generally, the peanut butter is far tastier!
• Peanut butter is a source of protein, needed to build and repair
muscles. But take note: peanut butter is not protein-dense. That is, two
tablespoons of peanut butter, the amount in an average sandwich, provides
about 7 grams of protein. In comparison, the calorie equivalent of
turkey in a sandwich offers about 20 grams of protein. Athletes who
weigh 140 pounds may need 70 to 100 grams protein per day; 200-pound
athletes, 100 to 150 grams. For 100 grams of protein, you'd have to eat
the whole jar of peanut butter! Unlikely!
To boost the protein value of peanut butter, simply
accompany it with a tall glass of milk: a PB &J sandwich + 16 ounces
lowfat milk = 28 grams of protein, a good chunk of your daily
requirement. Milk simultaneously enhances the value of the protein in
the peanut butter sandwich. That is, peanuts are low in some of the
essential amino acids muscles need for growth and repair. The amino
acids in milk (as well as those in the sandwich bread) nicely complement
the limiting amino acids in peanuts.
• Peanut butter is a reasonable source of vitamins, minerals and other
health-protective food compounds. For example, peanut butter contains
folate, vitamin E, magnesium and resveratrol, all nutrients associated
with reduced risk of heart disease. Magnesium is also associated with
reduced risk of adult-onset diabetes. Peanut butter offers a small
amount of zinc, a mineral important for healing and strengthening the
immune system. As an athlete, you need all these nutrients to keep you
off the bench and on the playing field.
• Peanut butter contains fiber--not a lot (1 gram per tablespoon) but
some. Fiber in food contributes to a feeling of fullness that can help
dieters eat less without feeling hungry. Fiber also promotes regular
bowel movements and helps reduce problems with constipation. By enjoying
peanut butter on whole grain bread, you can contribute 6 to 8 grams of
fiber towards the recommended target of 20 to 35 grams fiber per day.
• Peanuts contain mostly health-protective mono- and polyunsaturated
fats. When peanuts are made into commercial peanut butter (such as
Skippy or Jif), some of the oil gets converted into a harder, saturated
fat. This keeps the oil from separating to the top. The hardened oil,
called trans-fat, is less healthful. But the good news is, commercial
peanut butters contain only a tiny amount of trans fats and just a small
amount of (naturally occurring) saturated fat. For example, only 3.5 of
the 17
grams fat in two tablespoons of Skippy are "bad." To minimize your
intake of even this small amount of unhealthful fat,you can buy
all-natural peanut butter. If you dislike the way the oil in this type
of peanut butter separates to the top of the jar, simply store the jar
upside down. That way, the oil rises to what becomes the bottom of the
jar when you turn it over to open it. And if you eat peanut butter
daily, you won't have to refrigerate it, thereby making the all-natural
peanut butter easier to spread.
• Caution: Peanut butter is a poor source of the carbohydrates needed
for muscle fuel. Don't try to subsist on peanut butter by the spoonful!
Luckily, peanut butter combines nicely with banana, bread, apples,
oatmeal, crackers, raisins, and even pasta (as in Thai noodle dishes).
These combinations will balance your sports diet.
Nancy Clark, MS, RD is nutrition counselor at SportsMedicine Associates
in Brookline MA (617-739-2003). Her new
Sports Nutrition Guidebook,Third Edition (2003; $24) and her
Food Guide for Marathoners (2002; $20) are available on
Amazon.com.
Nancy offers nutrition
consultations to casual and competitive athletes at her private practice
in Healthworks (617-383-6100) in Chestnut Hill MA |
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Ray Lauenstein is the author of
Baseball: Playing Outside the Lines and The Making of a Student
Athlete. He also holds a Masters Degree in Sport Psychology and gives
seminars on Mental Skills Training and the Recruiting Process. If you would
like him to speak to your team, booster club or other group please contact him
via the online form or call 1-617-835-1836.
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