Now is the season for a large harvest of peanuts. There are many ways to eat peanuts, with common methods being "raw, fried, stir-fried, and boiled."
From a nutritional perspective, frying is not advisable; eating them raw is also not advisable, because during the growth process, peanuts can be infected with aflatoxin, which is recognized as the most potent carcinogen. It accumulates in the liver and can induce liver cancer.
Because aflatoxin is water-soluble, boiling can essentially filter it out. Therefore, eating boiled peanuts is relatively safe, easy to digest, and results in the least loss of nutrients. Stir-frying cannot destroy aflatoxin, so boiling is the best method.
Another issue when eating peanuts concerns their red skin. The red skin has the effect of nourishing the blood and promoting blood clotting, which is very beneficial for people with anemia and for wound healing. Conversely, for people with high blood viscosity, it offers no benefits and can instead increase the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Therefore, people with high blood viscosity should not eat the red skin of peanuts. The elderly should also avoid it to prevent increased blood viscosity.