Peanuts

Food · Grains & Legumes · Nuts, Seeds & Oils

Connected to · 1

food source · 1

Protein
Peanuts are the seeds of a legume and have about 25 g of protein per 100 g, high among plant foods; but on their own they are not complete protein, being low in both lysine and methionine.
Mechanism · 2
Mechanism · Count it as a bean
Peanuts are legumes: bacteria in nodules on their roots fix nitrogen from the air, and nitrogen is an essential building block of protein, which is why beans in general are high in protein. On their own peanuts are not complete protein, since they are low in both lysine and methionine; grains, milk, eggs or soy foods over the day fill the gaps. The kitchen treats them as nuts, but the nutrition works like a bean's.
In practice · Calories and allergy
Peanuts have about 25 g of protein per 100 g, and most of their calories come from fat; with peanut butter, also check for added sugar and salt. Peanut allergy is real and separate from their nutritional value: if the lips or throat swell or breathing becomes difficult after eating them, go to the emergency department or call emergency services right away.

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Peanuts are legumes, not nuts

EVIDENCEGUIDE 1

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The peanut is the seed of a legume, and its pods ripen underground. Being a legume gives it plenty of protein; being a seed that must store energy gives it plenty of oil; and growing in soil puts it, from the start, right next to molds that make toxins. Why high-risk babies who eat peanut early end up with less allergy, and how the immune system tells food from an invader, is covered in the later chapter on babies eating peanut early.

Its other English name, groundnut, says exactly this: after the flower is pollinated, the stalk pushes into the soil and the pod grows underground. So botanically the peanut is a bean, a relative of soybeans and lentils, not a tree nut like walnuts or almonds. In nutrition and use, though, it behaves like a nut: high in fat (mostly monounsaturated), high in protein, low in water, and eaten as a snack or as a spread.

If your lips or throat swell or you struggle to breathe after eating peanuts, it is an emergency: go to the emergency department or call your local emergency number right away. As for when a baby should start eating peanut, follow the advice of a pediatrician or allergist.

An opened peanut pod holds two red-brown skinned seeds, beside a whole pod and a cut pale kernel. — A CLOSER LOOK
Seeds inside a pod: a legume
Pod, skin and kernel make the peanut's legume identity concrete. This is an object study, not an infant feeding method or a safety assessment.

Educational content, not medical advice — consult a clinician.

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