Peanut Butter As A Part Of Vegetarian Diet
Peanut butter sounds quintessentially American but no one really knows where it actually originated. The only person who claims to have invented the recipe of peanut butter is Dr John Harvey Kellogg, who also invented Corn Flakes and apparently is a vegetarian. In his words, he was “seeking an alternative for cows’ butter” and thought that pureed nuts might work. Everyone thought he was “nuts” (Hah! See what I did there?), but it proved out to be brilliant when he served it to his patients at the Sanatorium where he worked as a chief medical officer.
Since the whole Dr Kellogg saga, nut butter became very popular among vegetarians. Not only did those spreads taste good, but they also fulfilled the protein requirements by substituting the high-protein meat with peanut butter. Peanut butter came into action because peanuts were the cheapest nuts. This led to peanut butter’s dominance in the field. Today, we can find all kinds of peanut butter in the markets. Processed peanut butter generally contains added sugar but there are a lot of options available for all-natural peanut butter. Not to be biassed or anything (okay, a little bias hurts no one), but we think that Maska is the best option for all-natural peanut butter. It is also available in four variants. If you’re vegan, just trust us blindly and go for it! We won’t hurt you as your ex did. Grab yours here.
Vegetarians can fulfil all their necessary protein and zinc requirements from peanut butter. Peanut butter also acts as a great substitute for meat to obtain fibres, healthy fats and vitamin E. It is generally believed that vegetarians fall short of proteins and nutrients, but believe us, it’s a myth! Vegetarians follow a plant-based diet and mind you, plants are fully loaded with nutrients and pesticides! Hah. Jokes apart, plants are really more than enough to provide the human body with all the nutrients and fibres. Academy of nutrition and dietetics conducted an evidence-based review which showed that a vegetarian diet is associated with a lower death risk from ischemic heart disease. Also, vegetarians tend to have lower cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure levels, and lower rates of hypertension and type-2 diabetes than meat-eaters. Vegetarians also appear to have a lower body mass index, lower overall cance rates and lower risk of chronic diseases. A similar study titled “Red meat consumption and mortality” conducted at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) concluded that red meat is associated with 13% increased risk of death and substitution of other healthy protein sources for red meat lowers mortality risk, with nuts being the top choice. So guess what we’re hinting at? Peanuts! Yes. Switch to an all-natural peanut butter whispers, “MASKA!” And everything just solves on its own.
While we’re on this, let us tell you, if you’re health-conscious and also willing to contribute to the environment, it is very (I repeat, VERY!) ideal to switch to a no-meat diet. You could also try going vegan later but let’s learn to walk before we run. We’d be lying if we said that adapting to a whole different eating lifestyle is easy but a wise man once said: “jis jhooth se kisika bhala ho, wo jhooth jhooth nahi hota.” Lastly, we’re in a pandemic that is rumoured to have originated from a person who ate an undercooked bat. Do we still need a reason to switch to a no-meat lifestyle?
Sources of information:
http://action.petaindia.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarianism_by_country
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/ life-style/health-fitness/diet/why-peanut-butter-is-good-for-
you/articleshow/17650837.cms
https://blog.oup.com/
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/diet/5-reasons-why-vegetarians-are-healthier-than-
non-vegetarians