Peanut Butter?!

Peanut butter.  The staple of every body builder.  However, as my good pal Chris would tell me, the peanut is not actually a nut.  It is a legume.  What is the difference exactly?   Well, in a nutshell (LOL, ok i'll stop), a nut will usually only have one or at most two seeds.  Legumes have many.  Also, a true nut will not open on its own while a legume is open naturally.  Of course, it's never as cut and dry as that.

From a nutrtition standpoint, the legume is a gut irritant.  It can cause small perforations in the intestine which is not fun for anyone. What it comes down to is that you should aim towards something like Almonds for your diet instead of peanuts.  I currently incorporate both into my diet for the mere fact that getting almond butter is just too expensive.  This is also a big reason that body builders go for peanut butter.  Regardless of which you choose, the product has to be natural.  You do not want all of the added chemicals and sugars that come with processed foods.  Yes, that means Skippy does not count.  For me, I shop at Trader Joe's.  You really can't go wrong with many of their products.  I grab a bag of Raw Almonds for my healthy fats (Yes you need fat in your diet but thats for another discussion) and natural creamy peanut butter. 


Dan's Portions:
2 tbls. Trader Joe's Natural Peanut Butter once per day for meal 2
1 serving (approx 20) Raw Almonds with lunch (Meal 3) and with meal 4

Thanks for reading my first post.  I'm sure this topic and many other areas will be elaborated on in the future.  Leave any ideas or comments!  Thanks.