Nutritional Facts
Nutritional Source
Frozen banana treats can be a good food source as well as a mouth-watering treat. The serving of banana in these treats is a good source of vitamin B6, vitamin C, dietary fiber, and manganese. The serving of peanuts in our nut-sprinkled products is a good source of folate, niacin, magnesium, and copper. The following tables provide more complete nutrition facts. For your information, we have also provided additional nutrition facts for bananas, peanuts, coconut oil, and dark chocolate.
PROTEIN
Peanuts and peanut butter contain high quality plant protein. When comparing peanuts to similar foods, peanuts have more protein than any other legume or nut. This is especially important for children, vegetarians and people eating more meatless meals.
UNSATURATED FAT
Peanuts and peanut butter contain mostly beneficial monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. These fats as compared to saturated fats have been shown to help lower blood cholesterol levels. Lowering your blood cholesterol level may reduce your risk of coronary heart disease.
FIBER
One ounce, or one small handful of peanuts contains 2 big grams of fiber. This is 9% of the fiber you need each day!
VITAMIN E
One ounce of peanuts provide 16% of your daily need of vitamin E. Vitamin E has been shown to act as an antioxidant which may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.
MINERALS
Peanuts are an important source of essential minerals such as magnesium, copper, phosphorus, potassium and zinc. Some of these “hard to find” minerals such as copper and magnesium may protect against coronary heart disease.
B VITAMINS
B vitamins such as folate can help prevent birth defects. They also reduce amounts of homocysteine in the blood that may be a risk for heart disease. Peanuts are a good source of folate.
PHYTOCHEMICALS
Phytochemicals are natural substances in plants which may provide a wide range of health benefits such as reducing the risk of coronary heart disease. Peanuts contain resveratrol which is one of the many phytochemicals found in plant foods.
Coconut Oil
You may have noticed that roughly 40% of the fat content in our products come from saturated fats. Although this may seem high, it is important to know that the primary source of this saturated fat comes from coconut oil which is a non-hydrogenated oil. In fact, all oils in our products are non-hydrogenated. Furthermore, the the fatty acids in coconut oil containmedium-chain triglycerides. These molecules are shorter than the long-chain triglycerides that are found in other fats and oils. When compared to other saturated fats, coconut oil is more easily metabolized by the body. For this reason, it is found in infant formulas and used to nourish hospital patients. Evidence shows that virgin coconut oil either doesn’t raise cholesterol or primarily raises HDL, the good cholesterol, thus improving the all-important ratio of good cholesterol to the bad kind. For more information on this topic, refer to the Diet & Fitness article regarding coconut oil in U.S. News & World Report.
The following similar information comes from the coconut connectionsweb site on a page entitled, Saturated Fat ~ A Vital Ingredient for a Healthy Body:
Over many decades coconut oil received bad publicity due to its saturated fat content, but research has shown that not all saturated fats are alike and coconut oil is unique in its structural make-up. It is not only the highest source of saturated fats (92%) but included in this is the highest source of saturated medium chain triglycerides (62%) of any naturally occurring vegan food source. Furthermore around 50% of these MCT’s are made up of lauric acid, the most important essential fatty acid in building and maintaining the body’s immune system.
Apart from coconut oil, the only other source of lauric acid found in such high concentrations is in mother’s milk. Tropical oils and mother’s milk are by far the richest food sources of medium chain fatty acids available. The closest other source of these vital building blocks for our immune system would be milk fat and butter, comprising around 3% of its content. Any other vegetable oil is completely deficient in these medium chain fatty acids.
Dark Chocolate
Chocolate is made from plants, which means it contains many of the health benefits of dark vegetables. These benefits are from flavonoids, which act as antioxidants. Antioxidants protect the body from aging caused by free radicals, which can cause damage that leads to heart disease. Dark chocolate contains a large number of antioxidants (nearly 8 times the number found in strawberries). Flavonoids also help relax blood pressure through the production of nitric oxide, and balance certain hormones in the body. For more health information regarding dark chocolate, see the Health Benefits of Chocolates article provided by About.com. This article has been reviewed by their medical review board.