Key Takeaways
- All nut butters provide plant-based protein, healthy fats, antioxidants, and many other key nutrients.
- While adding any nut butter to your diet can offer health benefits, some nut butters are better suited for people with certain health conditions or dietary needs.
Nut butters are a staple in many households, offering a satisfying, convenient, and nutrient-packed addition to toast, desserts, and bowls of oatmeal. But the number of nut butter options today can be overwhelming. Do you go for a classic peanut butter? Is almond butter healthier?
If you are new to the nut butter scene and want to know which choice you should stock in your own pantry, keep reading to learn all about the wide variety of these protein-packed spreads.
The Best Nut Butter Choice for Every Situation
Nut butters are pastes made by grinding nuts. In some cases, other ingredients, like sugar, salt, cinnamon, and even chocolate are added to the mix. What was once a world dominated by peanut butter is now sprinkled with a wide variety of spreads, including hazelnut, pistachio, cashew, walnut, and pecan. Basically, any nut can be ground into a paste.
“Nut butters make a great addition to a balanced diet because they provide heart-healthy fats, protein, and fiber,” Liz Shaw, RDN, CPT, told Verywell. All nut butters will provide plant-based protein, healthy fats, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals—some more than others.
The “best” nut butter depends on various factors, including taste preferences, dietary needs, financial situation, and health goals. And while each nut butter will fit into a balanced and healthy diet, some choices are “better” than others for certain individuals.
As a rule of thumb, just remember to opt for nut butters that are free from excessive amounts of added sugar, salt, and other ingredients that may not support your health goals.
Pistachio Butter: Best for an Antioxidant Boost
Pistachio butter is made from the naturally colorful pistachio, and it provides a mild flavor and boost of nutrients. Pistachio butter is rich in healthy fats, including monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, as well as essential vitamins and minerals like potassium, magnesium, zinc, and copper.
One factor that makes pistachios unique is their high antioxidant capacity. In fact, the antioxidant capacity of pistachios rivals that of popular antioxidant-containing foods, including blueberries, pomegranates, cherries, and red wine.
Free radicals can cause harm to healthy cells, and over time, this damage may contribute to inflammation. This effect may speed up aging at the cellular level while potentially promoting heart disease and certain cancers. Consuming antioxidant-rich foods like pistachio butter (and pistachios!) may help protect cells from free radical damage in the body.
Walnut Butter: Best for Heart Health
Walnuts are the only tree nut that are an excellent source of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), the plant-based omega-3 essential fatty acid. And between being a source of this healthy fat along with fiber, plant-based protein, antioxidants, and key micronutrients, walnuts (and hence walnut butter) are a heart-healthy food, especially when it is enjoyed as a part of an overall healthy and balanced diet.
Specifically, walnut consumption has been linked to a reduction of LDL “bad” cholesterol when enjoyed every day for two years, according to a study published in Circulation.
According to theAmerican Heart Association, walnuts are especially high in omega-3 fatty acids, which are heart-healthy fats. A serving size is a small handful or 1.5 ounces of whole nuts or 2 tablespoons of nut butter.
What Makes Walnuts Healthy?
Cashew Butter: Best for Iron Deficiency
Approximately 10 million people are iron deficient in the United States, including 5 million with iron deficiency anemia. People with iron deficiency can experience symptoms that include fatigue, headache, and even hair loss.
While sources of heme iron will likely be your best bet to combat iron deficiency, like lean beef, including plant-based sources of iron in your diet may offer some benefits as well. Among the nuts out there, cashew butter tends to be one of the top sources of iron per serving.
Just keep in mind that, like all nuts, cashews contain compounds that may negatively affect iron absorption, so you should not solely lean on this nut butter for all your iron needs.
Iron Deficiency (Low Iron)
Peanut Butter: Best for an Economical Nutritional Boost
Peanuts are the main ingredient in the most popular nut butter, and the perfect pairing for a sweet and fruity jelly spread. When it comes to bang for your buck, peanuts may be your best bet for nut butter selection.
One jar of peanut butter can sell for as little as $3 and change, which is far less than many other varieties, like almond and cashew.
Cost aside, peanut butter is a nutrient-packed spread that contains healthy fats, protein, vitamins, minerals, and unique plant compounds.
Almond Butter: Best for Blood Sugar Balance
Almond butter packs more fiber compared to many other but butter varieties, Shaw said. In fact, when compared with classic peanut butter, almond butter provides significantly more of this satiating nutrient, with more than 3 grams of fiber per each 2-tablespoon serving vs. 1.6 grams of fiber provided by an equivalent serving of peanut butter.
Fiber can help manage blood sugar since consuming it doesn’t lead to a blood sugar spike. And data shows that a high-fiber diet can often improve blood glucose control.
Almond butter also provides healthy fat and plant-based proteins, two other macros that help support healthy blood sugars.
Data published in Nutrients suggests that almond butter consumption is linked to reduced glycated hemoglobin A1C (HbA1c), suggesting improved blood glucose control.
What This Means For You
If you are deciding which nut butter is best for you, keep in mind each variety offers unique health benefits, and that some nut butters tend to be more expensive than others.
