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. This is because during their growth, peanuts can be infected with aflatoxin, a recognized potent carcinogen that accumulates in the liver and can induce liver cancer.
Since 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, however, cannot destroy aflatoxin, making boiling the best method.
Nutrition: Are peanuts an elixir for anti-aging?
The "red skin of peanuts" should be consumed with caution. Another issue to consider is the "red skin of peanuts." It is generally believed that the components in the red skin are very beneficial to the human body. This is true for most people. Specific data indicates that "the red skin is rich in glycerides and sterol esters, which can inhibit the dissolution of fibrin, promote the bone marrow's production of platelets to shorten bleeding time, improve platelet quality, enhance capillary absorption, and regulate defects in coagulation factors." In other words, the "red skin of peanuts" has the effects of nourishing the blood and promoting blood clotting, which is very beneficial for anemic individuals and wound healing. Conversely, for people with high blood viscosity, it offers no benefits and may instead increase the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.
Therefore, people with high blood viscosity should not eat the "red skin of peanuts." When eating boiled peanuts, it's best to remove the skin. If anemic patients also have high blood viscosity, it's better to adopt other blood-nourishing measures, such as eating blood tofu. The elderly should also avoid the "red skin of peanuts" to prevent increased blood viscosity.
Note: Blood viscosity can be detected through blood donation, physical examinations, or by going to a hospital for testing.