> From:    Don Wiss <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Peanuts and heart disease? (fwd)
>
> Newsgroup: sci.med.nutrition
> Subject: Re: Peanuts and heart disease?
> From: [log in to unmask](Steven B. Harris)
> Date: 31 Jul 1998 06:19:14 GMT
>
> >Do peanut promote coronary artery disease?
>
> Yes.  They contain odd triglycerides that promote cholesterol
> production, even though the fatty acid residues in them are unsaturated
> and would in theory be good for cholesterol.  If you could de-esterify
> (saponify) and re-esterify peanut oil with different FA ordering, it
> would be fine.  But nobody (of course) bothers.  So stay away from
> peanuts.  Almond and hazel nut butters taste better anyway.

The most recent issue of Prime Health & Fitness (a Weider publication),
Fall of 1998--p.16, reports the findings of a Penn State / U. of Rochester
study as follows: " . . . those who added a small amount of peanut
products in their diet had a 14 percent reduction in LDL cholesterol . . .
while their levels of HDL cholesterol . . . did not change.  Peanuts
contain vitamin E, fiber, phytochemicals, minerals, and plant protein.
They are high in fat, but it's mostly monounsaturated, and each
participant in the study maintained his or her weight."

The list of natural or minimally-processed foods with antinutrients is
very long, and I would be very slow to reject a food with many benefits
simply because an antinutrient has been identified in it.  To make a gross
generalization, many (most) antinutrients only become problematic when the
consumption of any particular one of them becomes a very large proportion
of the diet (like the 50% figure we see mentioned regarding grains on our
sister Paleodiet listserv).

Gregg C.
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