In an elementary school cafeteria, this substance is included on almost every sandwich, it often goes hand-in-hand with a sticky material starting with the letter ‘j,’ and today it has many varieties including chunky, creamy and natural; it’s peanut butter.

Peanut butter was first created in 1890 by Dr. John Kellogg, known for his corn flakes fame, as a healthy protein substitute for people that had trouble eating meat because of teeth problems. The manufacturing process for peanut butter was equipped by George A. Bayle Jr., and a patent for a peanut butter machine was issued to Abrose W. Straub in 1903.

Since peanut butter is expected to continue to be on many more sandwiches in the future, it is important to know the truth about this popular substance.

*Peanut butter is good for your heart: True*

Peanut butter is known to contain very important nutrients that support healthy hearts, like Vitamin E.

“Vitamin E in certain amounts can actually reduce the risk of heart disease,” said Jeannette Andrade, University graduate student and dietician at McKinley Health Center.

However, Rebecca Roach, an associate professor in FSHN, said that there is a distinct difference between peanut butter being good for your heart and peanuts being good for it.

“It’s the peanuts that are good for your heart, not the peanut butter,” Roach said. “It’s a polyunsaturated fat so those are good for your heart.”

*Peanut butter contains no cholesterol: True*

Surprisingly enough, it’s not just Cheerios that are cholesterol free.

“Nothing that doesn’t come from an animal contains cholesterol,” Roach said. “So if it comes from a plant it never contains cholesterol.”

Because peanut butter’s main ingredient is peanuts (which are actually not nuts but members of the legume family along with peas and beans), peanut butter also contains no cholesterol. This also contributes to peanut butter’s health benefits.

*Peanut butter is fattening: Sort of true*

“(This is) true in moderation,” Andrade said. “(Peanut butter) has healthy fats in (the) two tablespoons of recommended amount, so if you are going to be over consuming it then it defeats the purpose.”

Although moderation is key, it is also important which kind of peanut butter you are consuming. Roach recommends a natural peanut butter.

“When you buy a processed peanut butter, it has a lot of sugar and salt added to it, which is not the best way to go,” Roach said.

Andrade wanted to stress, however, that the fat in peanut butter should not deter one away from eating it.

“I don’t want anyone to say ‘oh I’m not going to eat peanut butter because it has too much fat,’ because those are actually healthy fats that do a lot of good for your body,” she said.

*Peanut butter makes a good face mask: True*

According to carefair.com, peanut butter has become quite a popular facial treatment among young women. Although natural, creamy peanut butter is said to be the best kind to use on your face, the brand of peanut butter doesn’t matter. This peanut butter facial mask can be used once to twice a week to get rid of facial impurities.

First, cleanse your face and then apply a spoonful of peanut butter to your entire face, avoiding your eyes. Allow the mask to dry until your skin starts to feel tight, then rinse your face with water and towel dry.

Although using peanut butter as a mask has been said to do wonders for some peoples’ skin, this isn’t the case for everyone. So, if you have severely sensitive skin, I’d stick to just eating it on your PB&J sandwiches.

_Morgan is a sophomore in Media._