Boiled peanuts, a regional treat from the southern United States, may be as healthy as they are delicious. In the Oct. 31 issue of ACS'
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Alabama scientists report that boiling these legumes imbues them with more antioxidants than roasted peanuts or peanut butter.
Peanuts are usually consumed as processed products, mainly as peanut butter and roasted nuts. Studies have shown that peanuts contain powerful antioxidants called isoflavones which may reduce the risk of cancer, diabetes and coronary heart diseases.
Although the effect of processing on the isoflavone content of legumes has been extensively studied, there has never been such a study on peanuts.
Lloyd Walker and colleagues evaluated the effect of boiling and oil- and dry-roasting on peanuts. They found that boiled peanuts - South Carolina's official snack food - contained up to four times more isoflavones than raw peanuts or oil- and dry-roasted ones.
Source: ACS
Related stories:
Consumption of nut products during pregnancy linked to increased asthma in children
Expectant mothers who eat nuts or nut products like peanut butter daily during pregnancy increase their children's risk of developing asthma by more than 50 percent over women who rarely or never consume nut products during pregnancy, according to new research from the Netherlands.
Researchers evaluating food allergy treatment
Researchers at National Jewish Medical and Research Center are conducting trials to evaluate a method to prevent allergic reactions to food. They are feeding peanut- and egg-allergic people increasing doses of an investigational protein extract from the foods to see if they can induce the participants’ immune systems to tolerate the food.
Dutch chocolate ice cream recalled
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced the voluntary recall of Pierre's brand Dutch Chocolate Ice Cream due to a labeling error.
Peanut Allergies Showing Up At Much Earlier Ages
Children are being exposed to peanuts and exhibiting signs of life-threatening peanut allergies at much earlier ages, according to a new study from researchers at Duke University Medical Center, who caution parents and care-givers to be alert to the trend.
Paying peanuts for clean water
Peanut husks, one of the biggest food industry waste products, could be used to extract environmentally damaging copper ions from waste water, according to researchers in Turkey. Writing in the Inderscience publication the International Journal of Environment and Pollution, the team describes how this readily available waste material can be used to extract toxic copper ions from waste water. The discovery offers a useful alternative to simple disposal of this ubiquitous food industry waste product.
Earliest evidence of peanut, cotton, squash farming
Anthropologists working on the slopes of the Andes in northern Peru have discovered the earliest-known evidence of peanut, cotton and squash farming dating back 5,000 to 9,000 years.
Peanut allergies overstated, study finds
Despite hundreds of families being told their children have peanut allergies every year, many of the children may be able to eat peanuts safely, a study by researchers at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and Sydney Children's Hospital has found.
Harry & David recall nut-containing candy
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced the recall of approximately 2,000 boxes of candies distributed by the Harry & David Operations Corp.
