Packed with nutrientsand either as a spread or dip, vegan nut butter is an easy solution for school lunches, snacks and more. Their growing popularity seems to be increasing due to the number of varieties available. Gone are the days when peanut butter was the only choice for nutritious and nutty meals. These days it's just as easy to find delicious butter made from almonds, cashews, macadamia nuts or walnuts.
How does vegan nut butter affect the body?
While nut butter generally offers the same benefits such as proteins and healthy fats, it may also contain excess amounts of sugar or saturated fats. However, people who regularly eat nuts or vegan nut butters have a lower risk of heart disease or type 2 diabetes. Some nuts, like walnuts, are high in polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are heart-healthy fats. These may play a role in lowering triglycerides, which form a type of fat in the blood. Nuts and therefore nut butters also contain protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that offer a variety of health benefits. But nut butters often contain large amounts of salt and sugar. Many spreads previously contained trans fats, which can increase bad LDL cholesterol levels and lower good HDL cholesterol levels.
Instead, many companies have started switching to saturated fats. For people who need to lower their cholesterol, it is recommended to limit saturated fat to no more than 5 to 6% of total daily calories. Many products containing trans fats are replaced by saturated fatty acids. You can add coconut oil, which contains no trans fats but has the same texture as a hydrogenated oil. This is how you get this tasty, malleable and spreadable product that is similar to hydrogenated products. However, coconut oil, which is obtained from the flesh of a seed, fruit, or nut, is primarily composed of saturated fat (about 82%).
Advice for healthy eating
It's a good idea to read labels and compare the saturated fat, sodium and added sugar content. Even if you eat nuts and nut butters vegan, they can be high in calories. A serving size is usually a small handful of nuts or two tablespoons of nut butter. Nutrition experts recommend diluting nut butter by combining it with other ingredients to increase the portion. However, you can also chop nuts and sprinkle them on low-calorie salads or vegetables. So you can enjoy some of the nutrients and flavor without a lot of calories. You can also eat nut butter with other healthy foods such as whole grain bread, celery, apples or pears and even stir it into fat-free yogurt.
However, people with nut allergies should check with their doctor before consuming nut butter. Those who suffer from a peanut allergy can, for example, eat sunflower seed butter or soy as a vegan nut butter. Hummus made from chickpeas and sesame paste could also be good alternatives and a good source of protein. It's equally important to refrigerate nut butter after opening, as it can go rancid like nuts. Accordingly, this can make the taste unpleasant. Commercial peanut butters may contain preservatives to extend shelf life - six months to two years unopened and two to three months opened. However, cooling can further extend their lifespan. However, it is more important to refrigerate natural nut butters, which contain fewer preservatives.
