Peanuts in plentiful supply
February 14, 2005
Several recently published studies have revealed the
nutritional benefits of peanuts and USDA figures released
last week show that there is no shortage of supply for
food manufacturers.
Peanut stocks in 2004 were up four percent compared
to the year before, according to the USDA.
The government body reported 2.42 billion pounds of
peanuts in commercial storage on 31 December 2004, against
2.33 billion pounds in 2003.
Edible grade stocks included 87.0 million pounds of
Virginias, 353 million pounds of Runners and 22.1 million
pounds of Spanish.
Peanut butter was still the favorite choice of use
for the nuts, with the product absorbing 73.5 million
pounds of peanuts. Meanwhile, 26.9 million pounds were
used for peanut candy and 36.8 million pounds for snack
peanuts; crushing for oil and cake and meal totaled
27.6 million pounds during the month of December.
In January peanuts were heralded as being healthy -
despite their high-fat levels - as researchers suggested
that they may be as rich in antioxidants as many fruits.
Scientists from the University of Florida found that
peanuts often rival fruits in their levels of antioxidant.
“When it comes to antioxidant content, peanuts
are right up there with strawberries,” said Steve
Talcott, an assistant professor of food science and
human nutrition at UF’s Institute of Food and
Agricultural Sciences. “We expected a fairly high
antioxidant content in peanuts, but we were a bit shocked
to find that they’re as rich in antioxidants as
many kinds of fruit.”
The Florida researchers found that peanuts contain
high concentrations of polyphenols - particularly p-coumaric
acid - and that roasting can increase the level of the
compund, boosting overall antioxidant content by as
much as 22 percent.
Talcott said roasted peanuts are about as rich in antioxidants
as blackberries or strawberries, and richer in the chemicals
than fruits such as apples, carrots or beets.
The researchers’ findings were part of a broader
study designed to measure the nutritional differences
between traditional peanut breeds and the growing number
of high oleic ("good" fat) peanuts now available
to peanut growers. However, the tests showed no significant
differences in antioxidant content between high-oleic
and traditional peanuts.
Agronomy professor Dan Gorbet, heads of the University
of Florida's peanut-breeding program, said it should
be possible to breed the nuts with the purpose of creating
high antioxidant levels.
This research followed hot on the heels of a from Pennsylvania
State University suggested that one serving of peanuts
or peanut butter a day could help children and adults
meet requirements for nutrients often lacking in American
diets.
Kristen Ciuba, a spokesperson for the The Peanut Institute
that part funded the research, told FoodNavigatorUSA.com
that although past studies had shown that peanuts are
high in nutrients, this was the first time, to their
knowledge, a study had shown that just one portion a
day could provide enough nutrients.
Moroever, peanut butter and peanut eaters had increased
levels of vitamin A, vitamin E, folate, calcium, magnesium,
zinc, iron and dietary fiber in their diets.
The researchers also concluded that their study "helps
to dispel the myth that higher-fat foods automatically
lead to weight gain", noting that the peanut eaters
had leaner bodies compared to the non-peanut eaters,
as measured by body mass index (BMI), an indicator of
body fatness. Peanut eaters also had lower intakes of
"bad" saturated fat and cholesterol, and higher
intakes of "good" monounsaturated fat and
polyunsaturated fat.
“Peanuts are higher in fats than other foods,
but most of these fats are unsaturated,” said
Ciuba.
Source:www.foodnavigator-usa.com
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