It's the peak season for peanuts, which can be prepared in many ways. The most common methods are "raw, deep-fried, stir-fried, and boiled."
From a nutritional standpoint, deep-frying is not advisable.
Neither is eating them raw, because during their growth, peanuts can be infected with aflatoxin. Aflatoxin is a recognized potent carcinogen that accumulates in the liver and can induce liver cancer.
Because aflatoxin is water-soluble, boiling can effectively filter it out. Therefore, eating boiled peanuts is relatively safe, easy to digest, and results in minimal loss of nutrients. Stir-frying cannot destroy aflatoxin, which is why boiling is the best method. "Peanut Skins" Should Be Eaten with Caution
Another consideration when eating peanuts is the "peanut skin." It is generally believed that the components of the peanut skin are very beneficial to the human body. This is true for most people. Specifically, the red skin is rich in glycerides and sterol esters, and has functions such as inhibiting fibrinolysis, promoting bone marrow to produce platelets to shorten bleeding time, improving platelet quality, enhancing capillary absorption, and regulating coagulation factor deficiencies. In other words, the peanut skin has blood-enriching and blood-clotting effects, which are very beneficial for people with anemia and for wound healing. Conversely, for people with high blood viscosity, it offers no benefits and instead increases the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.
Therefore, people with high blood viscosity should not eat the peanut skin. When eating boiled peanuts, it is best to remove the skin. Anemia patients with high blood viscosity should opt for other blood-enriching measures, such as eating blood tofu. The elderly should also avoid eating the peanut skin to prevent increased blood viscosity.
Note: Blood viscosity can be detected through blood donation, physical examinations, or testing at a hospital.