As you probably already know, our Whole30 program and Dr. Loren Cordain’s Paleo Diet don’t include beans (legumes) of any kind. Most of our clients agree to live without lima beans and soy products pretty quickly… but then we mention peanuts. See, peanuts aren’t a nut at all. They’re a legume – edible seeds enclosed in pods. The confusion stems from the fact that, while their physical structure and nutritional benefits more closely resemble that of other legumes, their use in diets and cuisines more closely resembles that of nuts.
Our clients don’t typically balk at the removal of the actual peanuts from their diets – there are plenty of other nuts they can consume for healthy fats. The trouble comes when we take away their peanut butter. Long promoted as full of “good” fat and high in protein, peanut butter has probably been a staple in your diet since you were a kid, and unfortunately, PB has few comparable substitutes (as those of you who have tried almond butter already know). So for you hold-outs practicing “Paleo + Peanut Butter”… we get it, but we still want you to ditch the PB. Need convincing? Here’s why we don’t eat peanut butter – not even the organic, all-natural stuff.
It’s not the ingredients in the peanut butter we don’t like, it’s the peanuts themselves. When peanuts grow, they can harbor carcinogenic mold called an “aflatoxin“. This goes for conventional and organic peanuts. They longer they sit (during shipping, for example), especially in warm temperatures and high humidity, the more mold grows. And as it’s nearly impossible to buy peanuts “local”, as they are only grown in a few Southern locations, more likely than not that even your organic peanuts are suspect.
The far bigger concern, however, is that peanuts contain lectins which are believed to have inflammatory and atherogenic potential. Most plants contain lectins, some of which are toxic, inflammatory, or both. Many of these lectins are resistant to cooking and to digestive enzymes, and some have been scientifically shown to have significant GI toxicity in humans. Lectins from grains (especially wheat) and legumes (including peanuts and soybeans) are most commonly associated with aggravation of inflammatory and digestive diseases in the body. (As an aside, dairy from cows fed grain-based diets can also contain these grain-derived lectins.)
Recent research by Dr. Cordain has suggested that these lectins may effectively serve as a “Trojan horse” allowing foreign proteins to invade our natural gut defenses. Cordain reports, “An experiment conducted by Dr. Wang and colleagues and published in the prestigious medical journal Lancet revealed that PNA got into the bloodstream intact in as little 1-4 hours after subjects ate a handful of roasted, salted peanuts.” (Unfortunately, the abstract of this study is not available without a subscription.) The lectins can cause damage well beyond the gut – commonly in joints, brain, and skin of affected individuals. Continued exposure of the gut by these toxins leads to a persistent stimulation of the body’s defense mechanism in a dysfunctional manner, i.e. autoimmune disease. (Allergies fall into that category as well.)
So in summary… sorry, kids. Since the potential downsides of peanuts dramatically outweigh our fond memories of childhood PB&J sandwiches, we recommend you ditch the peanuts altogether. The good news is that we can offer you a reasonable replacement – a spread with much of the texture and taste of peanut butter without any of the down side. Sunbutter is made from specially roasted sunflower seeds, and is peanut, tree-nut and gluten free. And unlike other nut butters, it actually tastes like PB. Some variations (like the “Creamy” version) contain a small amount of sugar in the form of cane juice. We’re okay with that, but for you purists, the “Organic” version is free of added salts and sugars.
Looking for a way to take your new peanut-free diet for a spin? Try Melissa “Melicious” Joulwan’s Sunshine Sauce. Made with Sunbutter, this Thai-inspired alternative goes great with chicken, shrimp and all kinds of vegetables.
I’ve been dying for a way to get my daughters off of PB; my 9-year-old will eat some almond butter, but it’s a hard sell, day in and day out (the 5-year-old? fuhgeddabowdit). I’ve seen a sunflower butter at Trader Joe’s before… time to add a jar to the cart!
I was bummed and surprised to see that peanut butter was on the “no” list when I first learned about Paleo. (I used to spread banana slices and peanut butter on slices of wheat toast for breakfast!) But the transition to a life without peanut butter is definitely eased by Sunbutter. Half a banana and a spoonful of Sunbutter is an awesome dessert.
That’s great but all jelly and bread is still out, so we’re a far cry from PB&J! That being said, what’re the nutritional aspects of sunbutter? What’s a single block serving and is it just a fat block?
I wish I would have bought stock in Trader Joe’s and/or Sunbutter before Melissa started talking about it on her blog… I’m pretty sure my purchases alone would have bumped up the stock a few points!
I actually very much prefer TJ’s sunflower butter over PB, so I’m glad I made the switch without even really having to think about big words like aflatoxin and atherogenic.
@Adam: Sub out the Sunbutter and I bet your kids will never know the difference!
@Jay: Ingredients are found here. Much like regular nuts and nut butters, you’d count Sunbutter as fat blocks if you’re Zone-ing. It has about the same fat content as PB, so I’d say block it out in the same fashion.
@Melissa and Sky: I wish *I* had bought stock in Sunbutter before I started talking about it, too! Sunbutter was an easy switch for me as well, which is good, because I was in LOVE with my PB and once threatened Dallas with loss of a hand if he tried to take it away. (True story.)
Love the new site. Melissa I am a bit concerned that sunflower seeds contain no omega 3 and contain 30g omega 6 per 100g. I contacted one of the suppliers of Organic peanut butter to try and ascertain the level of Omega 6, but they were unable to give me any more information than that available on the label. As our diets are already too high in Omega 6 would it not be better to avoid sunflower butter all together unless perhaps you are taking high doses of fish oil to offset the omega 6.
Graham and Lorraine,
Great question on the n-3:n-6 ratio. The short answer is yes. The long answer is… longer. Your body processes polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) into highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFAs), which include arachidonic acid (AA) and the famous eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), though the proportion that is converted to EPA is very small. HUFAs are stored in cell membranes and released into cells to be converted into eicosanoids. Eicosanoids, which act as a “diverse and potent class of signaling molecules”, can be derived from either n-3 or n-6 fatty acids, and the enzymatic process that converts them does not differentiate between them, so the proportion of n-3 and n-6 derived eicosanoids is directly proportionate to the long-term dietary intake of n-3 and n-6 fatty acids. Here’s what you probably already know: omega-6 eicosanoids are potently inflammatory and thrombotic (causing blood clotting), while omega-3 eicosanoids tend to be less inflammatory and thrombotic. So… you’re right – too many omega-6′s, especially in the absence of a diet high in omega-3s, can be a real problem. In fact, the proportion of omega-6s in tissue (contained in cell membranes) is directly proportionate to the risk of cardiac death. So yes, the better (plant-based) fat sources would be ones that are highest in MUFAs and lowest in n-6 PUFA – this is where macadamias excel. Walnuts, while having significant n-3 content, also have very high levels of n-6, so it’s a catch-22. (Peanuts, by the way, contain about 15 grams of omega-6′s per 100g, and no omega-3′s). Sunflower seeds, while delicious as Sunbutter, are not the absolute best fat source available. But then again, we don’t eat Sunbutter because it’s our optimal fat source. We eat it because it tastes fantastic, and in my books, is completely acceptable in moderation. Thanks for the good question.
Dallas
Thanks for the 3/6 breakdown. Info like that is why you guys are one my fave sources for science class explanations that a humble trainer can wrap his head arond.
Great question G and L.
hello there…
I have been reading your various blogs semi-religiously for a long time but this is my first time posting a response. I generally love your posts, but this one irked me a little. Although I like peanut butter I will not jump to its public defense. However, since you only posted from the abstract I get the impression that you didn’t actually read the full text of the study. Now, having read many scientific articles, I think it sort of strange to quote a study without having the read the materials and methods and so forth. This is particularly the case if you wish to incorporate some study results into your daily practise, both personally and for your clients. The exact technical detail of what was studied and how it was studied matters GREATLY. I dare say a suscription or paying for a full text version might even be tax deductable in your situation.
Best wishes for the new year.
Peter
@Peter,
Thanks for posting your first comment (despite the fact that it was on an article that “irked” you). Your assumption that I did not read the entire article is, in fact, incorrect. I have all 9 pages printed out on my desk as I type this, and I have read it in its entirety. The reason I linked to the abstract (as an example) instead of the entire study was that most of our readers are not as inclined as you to pay for and read entire scientific journal articles. I found this abstract (as defined, “a summary of a text, scientific article, document, speech, etc.”) was an adequate example of just one of the numerous scientific journals articles that I read as I wrote this article.
While I appreciate your concern for my scientific integrity, you should not assume that I blitzed through one abstract and drew all my conclusions from that. If you’d like clarification on what I’ve read to draw my conclusions, please just ask. I’m happy to address all questions, comments and even dissenting opinions here.
Best,
Dallas
thanks for the response. glad you read the thing, and thanks for restoring some of my faith in humanity
keep up the good work
peter
@Peter,
If I’d known I could restore some of your faith in humanity, I’d have posted the entire article in the first place…
Thanks for your comments.
to top it all off, the way peanuts are grown and harvested, completely destroys the environment and usually leaves behind a desert in what used to be fertile land.
Isn’t there a risk of finding aflatoxins in nuts as well?
Isn’t there a risk of finding aflatoxins in nuts and sunflower seeds as well? They are housed in a shell like peanuts so wouldn’t they have mold too? Thanks!
Carla,
Good question. My understanding of the aflatoxin risk with peanuts is this: since peanuts are grown underground and the aflatoxin-producing mold is in the soil of the areas that peanuts are typically grown, peanuts are at a much higher risk for contamination than “tree nuts” (peanuts are actually legumes, not nuts) that are grown on trees (above ground) in different geographical regions. So it’s less about whether it has a shell or not, and more about the soil that the peanuts were grown in, and the storage conditions for the post-harvest peanuts that may promote additional mold growth. The other point that I’d like to make is that, in my mind, the pro-inflammatory characteristics of peanuts (because of the lectins they contain) is the larger concern than the potential aflatoxin contamination. All peanuts contain these nasty lectins, whereas only most peanuts are contaminated with Aspergillus flavus. FYI, corn (and some other grains that are stored for extended periods of time) is also frequently contaminated with this carcinogenic mold, but to my knowledge, tree nuts are not at significant risk for aflatoxin contamination. One study I read says that only one nut in 26,000-28,500 (walnuts, pecans, and almonds) is contaminated with aflatoxin. Thanks for the question.
Dallas
Thanks for the reply Dallas! GREAT information here…
@Carla – it’s really great to hear from you! It’s been a long time – hope your training is going well. Keep popping in and dropping the good questions, Melissa
@Melissa – It has been a long time since I’ve commented but I’m still reading and training hard! Thanks for everything you and Dallas are doing around here.
This is valuable info for my family since we recently learned Torri, my 11 y/o daughter, is allergic to peanuts and the mold. We’re thankful for alternatives like sun butter and almond butter.
Well, we got a couple jars of TJ’s sunflower butter, and unfortunately, my daughters can’t stand it.
I think it tastes like cornflakes, or Kix (can you tell I was raised on cereal?), so I don’t mind the taste much, but it’s not something I’d dive into with a big ol’ honkin’ spoon, like I would with almond butter. Which, on reflection, could be a good thing.
@Cheryl: Glad to hear you’ve found a good alternative for the girls. Hope you (and the family) are all doing well!
@Adam: Don’t give up! I haven’t tried the TJ’s brand, but like various brands of peanut butter, I’d imagine all the sunflower butter varieties taste a little different. Try Sunbutter – the original stuff with the 3g of cane sugar per serving. Sure, it’s not as ideal as the organic, sugar-free version, but I bet it tastes more to the kids’ liking. Give it a shot, and let me know what happens.
I’m sorry but eating no legumes seems crazy to me. I understand the points about aflotoxin and lectins in PB but no legumes??? Vegans worldwide are cringing (I’m not a vegan or veg but I love legumes). I’m not a huge fan of PB & seriously dislike Sunbutter (sorry doesn’t taste a thing like PB). I’ve been getting Almond Butter over the years b/c PB started to give me ingestion. Although, I have been able to start eating it again….maybe this brand is aflotoxin free?
Hi, let me add my thanks for the post. I for one have fallen completely in love with almond butter, so I haven’t really been missing peanut butter much, and hadn’t been looking for other substitutes, although the Sunbutter sounds great. However, the discussion of legumes in general is good, for many of the reasons Amy mentions above (I was a vegetarian for almost 20 years before going Paleo, so the legume thing took a bit of explaining for me).
My question is the following: I checked out the link to the paleo diet website that you mention in this post, and I noticed that Cordain also says you shouldn’t eat coconut because of its high saturated fat content. This struck me as very weird, since the one thing I learned very quickly about people on the Paleo diet was the copious amounts of coconut products they consumed. I also thought that a lot of the evils attributed to saturated fat have been misplaced, and that certain saturated fats have turned out to be quite healthy. So what’s your take on the coconuts and saturated fats?
Thanks again for the great post!
trader joes now has this almond butter with toasted flax seeds in it that for me is a perfect sub for chunky salted pb. i bought a second jar of it before finishing the first one!
It’s interesting that the article you link to alfatoxin cites other products that, like peanuts, are also susceptible to aflatoxin contamination. Although the list is by no means exhaustive it mentions “nuts and almonds.” Pistachios and sunflower oil are also worthy of mention.
Why then are you not including these aflatoxin-susceptible products on your “do not eat” list? Maybe I’m missing something.
I definitely understand the reasoning. If you can’t eat it RAW as it’s found in nature, without getting sick, then it’s not a food your body was designed to eat. But if cooking gets rid of the lectins…. can’t the simple act of roasting peanuts then make them an acceptable food??
@Barry, you raise an important point about saturated fat. Judging by what I’ve read, Cordain’s thinking on fats has evolved. He is coming around to the idea that saturated fat (at least certain kinds, such as those that have stearic acid) may be good for you.
Also, I am highly suspicious of this sunflower butter idea. Sunflowers are seeds. As such, they not only have an abysmal n-3/n-6 ratio (as a previous commenter mentioned), but it appears they contain lectins as well. Reading this article (http://www.drpeterjdadamo.com/wiki/wiki.pl/Lectins), however, it’s not clear to me whether all lectins are bad in all circumstances.
@Amy: The aflatoxins aren’t at all the biggest concern here – the lectins are. Lectins are found in high concentrations in all legumes (particularly soy), and though not all lectins are harmful, those found in legumes are the gut-binding, digestive tract damaging, immune-response-generating type. It’s just not good stuff, and for a number of other reasons, a truly sub-optimal source of “protein”.
@Barry: We love coconut and coconut products! Not all saturated fat is the enemy, and the type of saturated fat found in coconut gets two thumbs up from us.
@Warren: Almond butter will do (in moderation, of course), but skip the added flax, as it adds no real benefits (and has a few pro-inflammatory down sides).
@Susannah: Again, it’s the lectins that are far more problematic than the aflatoxins (although given the way peanuts are raised and shipped, that is a more serious concern for that one particular “nut” than others). And the lectins in pistachios or sunflowers aren’t the troublesome kind.
@Fixed Gear: Lectins are notoriously resistant to breakdown, via either cooking or digestive enzymes in the body. Some lectins may be partially broken down by soaking, sprouting, cooking or fermenting, but it’s not a complete process, so they still arrive in your digestive tract mostly intact (and provoke the same kind of damage).
@Roger: The PUFA content of sunflower seeds is a huge concern – which is why Sunbutter isn’t a staple in our diets. As a fun addition, in small quantities, it’s a good substitute for peanut butter, but we are careful to make better fat choices on a daily basis, and counsel our clients and workshop participants to do the same. However, not all lectins are the gut-binding, immune-provoking type. Those found in sunflower seeds aren’t a concern in our book – although there are some (like the Blood Type Diet guy) who may say differently. Bottom line? Decide for yourself whether to include nuts and seeds in your daily diet.
Best,
Melissa
Majority of the people who have illnesses do not really eat peanut because they are scared that it may cause some problem to their health.
I love Sunbutter and I use to be a huge Peanut butter lover!
@Ben: The taste and texture are so similar, it’s an easy switch. (Especially if you have kids – we bet they won’t even notice the difference.)
Best,
Melissa
when you say peanuts do you also mean that for roasted and salted chashews, or any roasted salted nut even an almond..are Raw almonds still ok or is an allergy an allergy, I think I may have one to nuts in gerenal…HELP!
Theresa, when we say “peanuts”, we mean… peanuts. They’re not in the same botanical family as the other tree nuts you mentioned, and cashews get a thumbs-up in our book.
Best,
Melissa
I recently tried Cashew nut butter, which was okay, but then I mixed in a little coconut butter, and all I can say is “Peanut who?”
My boyfriend is slowly going paleo but still goes thru a jar of peanut butter every week! I was telling him about why it is bad, but didn’t really have a good answer when he asked me why peanut butter is still on the market if it is so carcinogenic :/ Just sent him a link to this article, hopefully he’ll simma down on the PB!
but if lecithin is the culprit then don’t egg yolks , and many other animal products contain lecithin?
Orlandotrout,
Lecithin, such as from eggs or meat, is an important type of fat. Lectins, specifically the ones that bind to your intestinal lining and disrupt of the integrity of your gut, are a real problem (as discussed above and here: http://whole9life.com/2011/04/legume-manifesto/ Thanks for the comment.
I read that tree nuts like almonds are also frequently affected by aflatoxins. Could you please address this? I understand that it’s not the sole reason to not eat peanuts, but why no mention of other nuts being affected as well? Thank you!
Sarah,
You;re right that some tree nuts can also be contaminated by aflatoxin, but it’s generally to a lesser degree than with peanuts. Like you said, there are other reasons to avoid peanuts, and we generally recommend that people only use nuts & seeds as incidental foods, not as a core supply of fat. Very few people need to eat MORE nuts & seeds. In general, eating fewer nuts, seeds, and peanuts overall is your best choice.
Dallas
Oh yes I am sure that an ancient hunter gatherer would run int something like a peanut and think “too bad about those lectins”. Peanuts have. A very satisfying taste, that would have been the only criteria to a paleo person. Does it taste good or not. End of story.
Good thing we’re just concerned with the actual nutritional content of foods and not re-enactment Stephen
But if you want to eat based on what paleo man may or may not have eaten, more power to ya!
OK, so then we should not eat potatoes and tomatoes which are also high in lectins?
Brad,
Not at all. Many foods have lectins, and they are not all problematic. Peanut lectins, however, are extremely resilient to digestion, have the specific capacity to cross your intestinal lining, and (as research clearly shows), get into your bloodstream largely intact. This is the issue – the same thing does not happen with lectins from other foods.
We cover this in detail in our new book, It Starts With Food (http://bit.ly/itstartswithfood), due out next week. In addition, we’re in the process of updating these manifestos, as some new science has appeared since we originally wrote them. These updates should be ready by next week – we plan to roll peanuts into our bigger “legume manifesto” to make it easier to find.
Best,
Melissa
I’m doing the Whole30 program to hopefully improve inflammation/asthma symptoms, however I foolishly ate some organic peanut butter on day 7 (yesterday) thinking it was ok b/c organic peanuts were the only listed ingredient! Now I know better, but do I need to start my whole 30 over?
Hi – I’m allergic to all nuts (except for peanuts) and soy (including soy sauce). As an alternative, I do eat peanuts because they seem like the best snack alternative to almonds and cashews especially when hiking etc. What are your thoughts on substitutions for allergies? I struggle as is to find healthy alternatives to nuts.
I am always looking for new healthy snacks. You can snack on olives or pickled mushrooms. They work great for me to satisfy my hunger spurts.