On the surface, peanut butter looks like the perfect diabetes-friendly food. It is medium low in carbohydrates, full of healthy fats and is loaded with protein.
They are also vegan, relatively inexpensive and can be paired well with many other foods. But is that really good for people who live with diabetes?
This article explains the health benefits and health costs of peanut butter, and how to incorporate it into your diet.
Peanut Butter Nutrition
Peanut butter is nutritious. In a serving of peanut butter (2 tablespoons or 32 grams) that does not contain additional ingredients:
| calorie | 191 |
| fat | 16.4 g |
| protein | 7.2 g |
| carbohydrates | 6.1 g |
| fiber | 1.5 g |
| sugar | 3.4 g |
sauce: Food Data Central
It also contains vitamin B, vitamin E, vitamin K and magnesium.
Magnesium is particularly important for people with type 2 diabetes, often low magnesium levels.
Studies have shown that supplementation with magnesium may provide protection against type 2 diabetes by improving insulin sensitivity and reducing inflammation.
How peanut butter affects blood sugar
Peanut butter without sugar has a low glycemic index (GI) only at 13 grams of carbohydrates per serving, so it only has a slight effect on your blood sugar levels (unless you eat a lot of peanut butter).
However, peanut butter is rarely eaten by itself. It is often combined with carbohydrates such as oatmeal, apples and toast.
Spreading peanut butter with an apple-sweet snack like peanut butter delays blood sugar spikes as the fat and protein in the peanut butter slows the digestion of carbohydrates from the apple.
So combining carbohydrates with peanut butter results in fewer blood sugar spikes than if you actually had only carbohydrates.
When managing diabetes with oral medications (such as metformin), diet and exercise, a flat glucose curve is great news. This is to help stabilize blood sugar levels throughout the day.
If you are managing diabetes with insulin, adding peanut butter to your diet is also beneficial, but you should adjust your insulin administration to fit your flattened blood glucose curve.
How to manage insulin administration while eating peanut butter
Peanut butter slows down carbohydrate digestion, so it’s not as important to bolus insulin as you’re actively eating a higher carbohydrate snack, for example, a pretzel.
However, you can try different types of bolus, especially if you are using an insulin pump.
Various dosage types, such as square bolus, dual wave bolus, or expanded bolus, give insulin a little before for the carbohydrates you’re eating, while giving an extra bolus after a few hours.
This helps relieve hyperglycemia from digestion delays due to the fat and protein content of peanut butter.
Always check with your doctor or diabetic educator first before making any changes to your insulin regimen.
If you have diabetes, how to make peanut butter a healthier snack
Peanut butter is a great snack, but its fat and protein loading can make insulin bolus difficult. Here’s how to make it easier:
Choose to eat peanut butter with low carbohydrate foodslike unsweetened Greek yogurt, it has protein shakes, or celery sticks and carrots. When combined with heart-healthy foods, eating peanut butter has been shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease in women with type 2 diabetes!
Eat peanut butter early in the dayTherefore, your hyperglycemia is not delayed while you are asleep.
One study found that eating peanut butter at breakfast not only suppressed appetite for the rest of the day, but also stabilized blood sugar levels throughout the day, as well as stabilized blood sugar levels. This is caused by the heart-healthy magnesium found in peanut butter.
Try different bolus schemes If you are using an insulin pump, or if you are splitting the dose into two, or if you have multiple daily injections (MDIs)
Choose all-natural peanut butter varietiesThe only ingredient is peanuts. Avoid “honey roasted” varieties with added sugar and sweeteners
If you want to lose weightPeanut butter is not a low-calorie snack, so limits the portion size!
The disadvantages of eating peanut butter
Peanut butter is tasty, portable, vegan and relatively inexpensive good night, but also has some downsides that are perceived.
Added salt, sugar and process oil
Choose peanut butter, which is always only peanut ingredients! Many types of peanut butter have added fat, processed oils and sugar, so if you have diabetes (and administer insulin!), you can eat it.
Usually you can’t eat solos
Peanut butter is great, but most likely paired with high carbs, such as toast, cereal, sweet yogurt, and fruit.
This makes insulin more difficult and also makes it a calorie-dense snack. Smarter pairings of peanut butter include strawberries, celery, sweet potatoes, unsweetened yogurt, or 100% dark chocolate.
It’s a high calorie snack
To be clear: Peanut butter is not a low-calorie food, and eating too much can lead to weight gain.
Two tablespoons of peanut butter contain approximately 200 calories. This is a food that is rarely eaten by yourself, so you can make a rather fulfilling snack.
Note that you eat peanut butter straight out of the jar (always use a measuring spoon!).
Peanut allergy
Peanut allergies can be fatal due to anaphylaxis, and they are fairly common. One in 50 children in the United States only have a peanut allergy, but by the time one in five reaches adulthood, they grow beyond the allergy.
Unfortunately, there is no cure for peanut allergies, but early exposure to children and often to peanuts can prevent allergy development.
In one study, 17% of babies who didn’t eat peanuts continued to develop a peanut allergy by the age of five, but only 3% of people who developed an allergy by the age of five occurred.
Always work with your child’s pediatrician about how it is best to introduce peanut butter into your diet to prevent the development of allergic reactions. Timing can depend on many factors, including both the mother and child’s health history.
