In a previous post, I compared Peter Pan creamy peanut butter with Meijer natural creamy peanut butter.
Last week, while camping, I shopped in an unfamiliar grocery store. I didn’t see a store brand natural peanut butter, so I grabbed a jar of Skippy Natural creamy peanut butter. I didn’t read the label before purchasing it. When I later looked at the ingredients list, I was dismayed to find that in addition to peanuts, Skippy Natural peanut butter contains palm oil, sugar, and salt.
My initial reaction was to feel betrayed. I thought I was buying a healthier peanut butter by choosing one that was labeled “natural”, but I bought the added fat, sugar, and salt that I had intended to avoid. Upon reflection, I figured that this natural peanut butter differs from regular peanut butter in that it doesn’t contain partially hydrogenated oils.
I compared the Nutrition Facts and found that one serving of Skippy Natural creamy peanut butter contains the same quantity of saturated fat and sugar and slightly more sodium than one serving of Peter Pan creamy peanut butter. (150mg sodium vs. 140mg)
This serves as a reminder that “natural” is not the only quality upon which we should judge our food. The fact that something is natural doesn’t mean it is superior, or even safe. Poison ivy is natural. Snake venom is natural. It would be very easy to eat a grossly unhealthy diet of all-natural foods, including oil, butter, and eggs.
The next time I buy a natural peanut butter, I will be checking to be sure it contains nothing but peanuts.
One Yellow Marker 
I didn’t read the previous Meijer post, and I don’t know what sort of peanut butter Meijer peanut butter is, so this comment may be useless. Anyhow, many bulk food stores carry nuts and will grind them into butter while you wait. Some stores will let you mix and match so you can have cashew-almond butter or something like that. It’s pretty economical, too, as you usually pay the bulk price of the nuts.
By: Carolina on August 4, 2008
at 1:46 pm
From what I’ve read, palm oils (as in coconut palm) are much better for us than many oils – they rev up our metabolism, the oil is immediately used instead of stored as fat, and have anti-fungal. The bonus is that it is solid at room temp. I personally do not like plain natural peanut butter that has oil on the top and no salt or sugar – yuk, there is a very different taste. Hydrogenated oils ….. well, they are just bad, there is absolutely nothing good about them – they are harmful to our bodies, nuf said… so my family does not buy anything with hydrogenated oils/fats, if we can help it.
By: Linn on February 11, 2011
at 1:46 pm
oh, and cottonseed oil …. affects fertility in a negative way…. Haven’t actually done any reading about rapeseed.
By: Linn on February 11, 2011
at 1:48 pm
Natural is peanuts and salt. Calling qnything else natural is false advertising and misleading. They are aiming to catch the shopper who does not take the time to read the label.
By: Ken on July 30, 2012
at 6:03 pm