Peanuts: Better Than Red Wine?

Could peanuts really be better for us than red wine? Could anything? This story from the AP cites research done at the University of Georgia that found that when peanuts that were stressed, by being sliced, for example, they had levels of resveratrol, the healthful antioxidant found in red wine, that “greatly surpassed that found in red wine.” The story also reports that research at Penn State University, Harvard Medical School, Purdue University and the University of Florida have shown that peanuts may help prevent heart disease, that they can lower bad cholesterol and that they can help with weight loss, possibly by making people feel satisfied so they eat less overall. One of the Harvard studies showed an association between peanut butter consumption and a reduced risk of diabetes. The good news is we haven’t read of any research suggesting that we eat peanuts instead of drinking red wine. We’ll go with peanuts and red wine. And hold the salt.