Starling Fitness: Daily writings on Fitness, Diet, and Health

A serving of peanuts is one ounce (28 grams). That’s a small amount of peanuts. It’s the amount that most people gobble in one bite. In that one ounce, there are 170 calories, 14 grams of fat and 7 grams of protein. One serving of chicken, on the other hand, is a huge 100 grams. For that amount of chicken, you consume 190 calories, 7.5 grams of fat and 28 grams of protein. You get a lot more bang for your buck with chicken than peanuts. Why would you choose nuts?

Well, peanuts are vegetarian. They are incredibly portable. Peanuts have vitamins that you just can’t find in chicken because they are plant matter. Chicken breasts are inconvenient to carry around for quick protein fixes, whereas one ounce of nuts fits in your pocket. That’s why nuts still exist.

From an evolutionary point of view, it makes perfect sense. You don’t have to risk your life to eat nuts (unless you are allergic to them). You don’t need to kill a huge beast. You don’t need to kill the chicken that lays eggs. You just pick them when they are ripe. You can bring a month’s supply of protein in a small bag with you if you need to migrate. Nuts are the perfect protein for cavemen.

We’re not cavemen anymore, though. Peanuts are now being hailed as the new health food. I agree. They are a perfectly healthy food in the proper portions. You just need to make sure you keep your serving of peanuts at one ounce.