Peanuts are an interesting type of nourishment. They can be found in many places, such as trail mix or in their own container. Some people choose to like peanuts and some choose to hate peanuts. Peanuts contain many healthful nutrients and are beneficial to the human body.
Eating peanuts regularly helps prevent disease, improves life expectancy, and delivers generally positive effects throughout the body. Small amounts of peanuts to peanut butter have been associated with a reduced risk of cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. Peanuts also help memory because peanuts penetrate the area of the brain involved in learning a memory. They also increase the blood flow to the brain, helping enhance mood.
Peanuts themselves grow underground and are considered drupes. Peanuts are also a type of legume, but for culinary purposes, they are considered a nut. Legumes are known for their edible seeds enclosed in pods, as seen in beans and peas. They provide the best source of protein in the plant kingdom. Since the peanuts' structure is considered that of a legume, its use in cuisines are more similar to nuts'.1
Peanuts are full of protein, fat, and various healthy nutrients. According to Healthline, "Studies show that peanuts may even be useful for weight loss and are linked to a reduced risk of heart disease." Peanuts consist of mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids and are often used to make peanut oil.2
Peanuts are a very interesting kind of nut. “Peanuts contain approximately 50% to 55% oil. Normal peanut oil is composed of about 80% unsaturated fatty acids containing 45% oleic and 35% linoleic (18: 2) acids”(Online Library). Peanuts intrigue many scientists such as George Washington Carver who was fascinated by peanuts and started to study them.3
“Carver heard the complaints and retired to his laboratory for a solid week, during which he developed several new products that could be produced from peanuts. When he introduced these products to the public in a series of simple brochures, the market for peanuts skyrocketed. Today, Carver is credited with saving the agricultural economy of the rural South.” (LiveScience).4
Carver was a smart scientist and helped create some peanut based products. Carver helped Henry Ford create a peanut based replacement type of rubber. Carver also created the idea of crop rotation. Carver urged southern farmers to rotate cotton with soil enhancing crops such as soybeans and peanuts. To improve the lot of poor southern farmers, Carver produced a series of free, easily understood bulletins that included information on crops and cultivation techniques. Carver later on started studying other crops such as sweet potatoes because of their nitrogen properties.5