Peanut butter is a delicious and popular food.

Studies suggest that peanuts and peanut butter may have benefits for appetite control, body weight, blood sugar and heart health

It’s high in monounsaturated fat, including oleic acid, which may be responsible for many of the benefits.

However, note that natural peanut butter contains only peanuts and perhaps salt.

By contrast, reduced-fat peanut butter contains sugar and high-fructose corn syrup.

What’s more, although the total fat has been reduced from 16 grams to 12, some of the healthy monounsaturated fat has been replaced by processed vegetable oil.

The calorie content of natural peanut butter and reduced-fat peanut butter is the same: 190 calories in 2 tablespoons. However, natural peanut butter is far healthier.

BOTTOM LINE:

Reduced-fat peanut butter contains sugars and processed oils yet provides the same number of calories as natural peanut butter, which is much healthier.