Peanuts are nutritious and an affordable, easily accessible health food. According to scientific research, peanuts contain a large amount of plant sterols, which are very beneficial to human health. In particular, beta-sitosterol has the effect of preventing colorectal cancer, prostate cancer, breast cancer, and cardiovascular diseases.
Eating peanuts moistens the lungs and nourishes the blood.
Peanuts are known as the "longevity fruit," "plant meat," and "the noble among vegetables." Eating more peanuts can supplement protein. Peanuts are sweet in nature and neutral in taste, and can invigorate the spleen and harmonize the stomach, moisten the lungs and resolve phlegm, replenish qi and stop bleeding. They are used for symptoms such as emaciation due to spleen deficiency, poor appetite and fatigue, dry cough with little phlegm, and insufficient milk production after childbirth. Professor Li introduced that the fat in peanuts can break down cholesterol in the liver into bile acids, promoting excretion, thereby reducing blood cholesterol levels and preventing atherosclerosis. However, peanuts are the crops most susceptible to Aspergillus flavus infection. Peanuts can be infected by Aspergillus flavus throughout the entire growth process, including while growing in the fields. After harvest, due to the influence of temperature, humidity, and storage conditions, peanuts are more susceptible to infection by Aspergillus flavus. During its reproduction and metabolism, Aspergillus flavus produces a large amount of toxins (mainly aflatoxin B1), contaminating peanuts and their products. It has now been confirmed that aflatoxin can be present in improperly stored peanuts, peanut oil, peanut beverages, and peanut butter.
Boiled peanuts are safer and more nutritious.
First, peanuts with a yellowish-green appearance should be removed. Then, soak and rinse them in running water, and then cook them in clean water. Discard the water before eating. Aflatoxin is water-soluble. After rinsing and boiling, the aflatoxin contaminating the peanuts is mostly dissolved into the water. Therefore, eating boiled peanuts is relatively safe and easier to digest and absorb.
Some people say boiled peanuts are not fragrant or crispy. Is it okay to deep-fry them? Experiments have shown that aflatoxin cannot be destroyed even when heated to 200°C. Moreover, after high-temperature deep-frying, the proteins and fats in peanuts turn into heterocyclic amines and polycyclic aromatic compounds, increasing their carcinogenicity. Therefore, it is not advisable to often eat deep-fried peanuts. The content of disease-preventing chemicals in boiled peanuts is more than 4 times higher than in fresh, dried, and roasted peanuts. The phytochemicals in peanuts have strong antioxidant properties, which can prevent damage from degenerative cell diseases, including cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases.
After analyzing the food chemicals in boiled, fresh, dried, and roasted peanuts, researchers found that boiled peanuts had the highest content. Researchers explained that these disease-preventing substances are not nutrients, but they are beneficial to human health. To preserve their effects, the food processing process is very important. Dr. Walker, head of the research team, stated that as water and heat penetrate the peanuts, beneficial chemicals are released at specific points. Overcooking peanuts, such as frying or roasting, can destroy these beneficial components.
Who should not eat peanuts
Peanuts are fragrant, crispy, nutritious, and inexpensive, making them a snack loved by people of all ages. However, this food is not suitable for everyone. For certain groups, eating peanuts may pose a life-threatening risk. Therefore, you must pay attention to this. For the sake of your health, be careful not to eat peanuts indiscriminately. The following groups should not eat peanuts: patients with gout, individuals who have had their gallbladder removed, patients with gastric ulcers, chronic gastritis, or chronic enteritis, people who want to lose weight, diabetics, and patients with hyperlipoproteinemia.