Is Natural Peanut Butter Keto-Friendly?

One of our most popular foods is peanut butter, with an average consumption of three pounds per American per year. Not only is it cheap and readily available, but it also provides a lot of benefits as it is a good source of healthy fats and protein. 

This tasty spread, which is also used in baking, is a firm favorite among adults and children alike. Just like other spreads, peanut butter has many varieties, including an all-natural one.

So, is natural peanut butter keto-friendly? We discuss what makes natural peanut butter different from the conventional type, whether or not it is keto-friendly, and show you a simple natural peanut butter you can make on your own!

What is Natural Peanut Butter?

When it comes to many packaged foods, there are usually natural and artificial variants, and it is the same with peanut butter. The first thing to do when checking if your peanut butter is naturally made is to look at the list of ingredients. 

Products labeled with “natural” and “butter” contain at least 90% peanuts without artificial sweeteners, colors, and preservatives. Conventional nut butter, on the other hand, contains hydrogenated oil, sugar, salt, and other ingredients like soy protein, corn syrup, and stabilizers.

Based on the mentioned ingredients, natural peanut butter might be keto-friendlier because it has little to no sweeteners, and it may be healthier as well. We’ll get to the details later on.

Meanwhile, natural peanut butter may also require stirring because it isn’t homogenized. It uses the natural oils from the peanuts to maintain the creamy and spreadable texture. Many products may also be alternately labeled as spreads. 

You can refrigerate your natural peanut butter so the oil doesn’t separate from the mixture, but it may be more difficult to spread. Natural peanut butter is also sometimes grittier in terms of texture.

Natural Peanut Butter Nutrition Facts

A typical serving of peanut butter is roughly two tablespoons, with an average of 7g of total carb and 4g of net carbs. It has 190 calories, 8g of protein, and 16g of total fat.

Remember that the nutritional content of natural peanut butter depends on the brand or how it is made. Some contain sugar, while others don’t.

Natural peanut butter also contains vitamin D and minerals like calcium, iron, and potassium.

This means you can indulge in just a serving or two of this treat without getting kicked out of ketosis unless you’re already close to going over your carb limit. The high amount of fat is also great to keep you in ketosis and for your source of fuel. 

Peanut butter can help your keto diet by keeping you satiated thanks to its fiber content. A 2018 study suggests that eating nuts, including peanuts, reduces a person’s risk of being overweight or obese. This study compared the dietary and lifestyle data for over 373,000 people from 10 European countries over 5 years.

The good thing about natural butter is its lack of preservatives. The real danger of food additives and preservatives, natural or synthetic, is that no one knows what the true collective dangers are. They are linked to cancer, asthma and allergies, bowel symptoms, hyperactivity, and resistance to antibiotics.

Peanut butter also has a keto-friendly amount of protein. 8 grams per two tablespoon counts toward the recommended dietary allowances (RDA) for women of 46 g and 56 g for men, which varies by age and activity level.

Natural vs. Conventional Peanut Butter

For the most part, the nutritional value between natural and conventional peanut butter is the same, except that the conventional one usually has more sugar, which is one of your worst enemies on keto. 

Any low-sugar or sugar-free peanut butter is good for your blood sugar levels, meaning it is a great option for people with diabetes. 

Both of them contain mono and polyunsaturated fats which can help put you in ketosis and reduce your cholesterol levels.  Products without an added stabilizer do have the advantage of being trans-fat-free.

Both are good for increased physical energy as well. Many bodybuilders and fitness junkies use peanut butter for increased calorie and unsaturated fat intake. It’s a great snack for building and repairing muscles. 

So, if your aim is ketosis and increased energy, you can go for either natural or conventional peanut butter, provided that the conventional one is sugar-free.

Another difference is that conventional peanut butter has preservatives that can be bad for your health. If you worry about the health risks of preservatives and also your ketone levels, then it’s better to stick with an all-natural peanut butter!

All-Natural Peanut Butter Recipe

There are many all-natural peanut butter products in stores that you can consume at about 2-3 tablespoons a day, depending on their carb content and your carb limit. But if you want to guarantee quality and freshness, you can always make your own!

This recipe only requires a few ingredients and promises only 2 grams of net carbs per serving, which is twice as low as the natural peanut butters in store. That said, you can have 3-5 tablespoons a day, depending on your carb limit!

All you need for this recipe are:

• 250g salted peanuts
• 45g melted butter
• Stevia, to taste

Watch this video for the instructions!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0-JZ3E0lIA

Is Natural Peanut Butter Keto-Friendly?

Keto-wise, conventional peanut butter can be as keto-friendly as an all-natural one, as long as it does not contain a lot of sugars. But to guarantee that you don’t get kicked out of ketosis, all-natural peanut butter is the better choice. 

Aside from being low-carb, natural peanut butter is also free from bad fats and preservatives that may cause cancer, asthma, and other diseases. You can have 2-3 tablespoons of natural peanut butter a day, depending on its carb count and your carb limit and macro requirements. 

There are tons of all-natural peanut butter in stores, but you can always just learn to make it yourself!