Hello - I have been reading through raw recipe ideas and there are very few recipes with raw peanuts. I can get peanuts here much cheaper than almonds or other nuts. My husband eats a lot of them as locals view them as a very healthy food. My raw food book says they are very acid forming. I am wondering how people can know that? How can you test body pH after eating some peanuts?
Does anyone know if they are a good food and also if they are better when sprouted?

many thanks!!!

I wouldnt worry about the whole acid/alkaline theory, its aload of crap in my opinion. These same people blame the acidity for the breakdown of bone. But this is actually due to the high levels of phosphorus and you would have to take in massive amounts for this to even occur.

Basically all in all the acid/alkaline theory is a load of crap, the sites link every disease under the sun to acidity when most have no relation to acidic PH at all. If you had an overly acidic PH you'd know about it as you'd be suffering acidosis symptoms.

I disagree with powerlifer[sorry, buddy!] about this hypothesis being "crap." We Americans know from observation that the more so called acidifying foods our fellow citizens eat, the more likely they are to suffer from debilitating, chronic, frequently fatal health problems. Put another way, I have yet to meet a cancer patient who was eating a mostly alkaline diet. They may exist, and I have not met all cancer patients the world over, but, well, it's unlikely that a diet composed of mainly "alkaline" foods will make you ill.

Regarding peanuts: I think you'd have to eat A LOT of peanuts to get the same adverse effect on your body as one Big Mac. Especially if you eat a great variety of alkalizing, or what powerlifer might call plain healthy foods--fresh raw fruits and vegetables. Basic ratio in the traditional alkaline/acid forming diet regimen is to consume about 10%-20 % healthy acidifying foods(like some nuts and berries, which have good things in them) anyhow, so I wouldn't worry about it.

Tamukha Wrote:
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> I disagree with powerlifer about this hypothesis
> being "crap." We Americans know from observation
> that the more so called acidifying foods our
> fellow citizens eat, the more likely they are to
> suffer from debilitating, chronic, frequently
> fatal health problems. Put another way, I have
> yet to meet a cancer patient who was eating a
> mostly alkaline diet. They may exist, and I have
> not met all cancer patients the world over, but,
> well, it's unlikely that a diet composed of mainly
> "alkaline" foods will make you ill.
>
> Regarding peanuts: I think you'd have to eat A
> LOT of peanuts to get the same adverse effect on
> your body as one Big Mac. Especially if you eat a
> great variety of alkalizing, or what powerlifer
> might call plain healthy foods--fresh raw fruits
> and vegetables. Basic ratio in the traditional
> alkaline/acid forming diet regimen is to consume
> about 10%-20 % healthy acidifying foods(like some
> nuts and berries, which have good things in them)
> anyhow, so I wouldn't worry about it.

This is correct but in my opinion is nothing to do with acidity or alkaline. Many people eating to a more alkaline diet are eating lots of fruits and vegetables, this alone would be accountable for the lack of health problems and cancer. Cancer has many different causes but one that can be attributed to many cancers is of viral origin. Many compounds in fruits and vegetables have anti-viral and immune boosting properties.

Theres nothing wrong with basing your diet around healthy alkaline forming foods, but i wouldnt get hung up on the acid/alkaline theory as its quite slack at best in my opinion. You would know if your were suffering from an acidic blood PH.

I was quite sad to here of an old friend recently who has been suffering chronic acid reflux, now i know modern doctors dont understand acid reflux properly as they prescribe ant-acids and proton pump inhibitors willy nilly. Excess acid production in the intestine is actually not a common condition like were led to believe. Low stomach acid on the other hand is very common due to antibiotic use and diets high in protein/fat. Low stomach acid causes exactly the same symptoms as excess acid.

Anyway rant i should get to the point, he wasnt getting any better on proton pump inhibitors so he went to see a bogus naturopath who prescribed him an alkalizing tablet to add to his water which was based around bicarbonates. Anyway he got back in touch with me to ask my thoughts when i directed him to some of the posts on here about how much i hate these bogus alkalizing waters. There not only detrimental to digestion by neutralizing stomach acid, but they can cause candida to overgrow due to alkalinity and so on. I suggested he try a bitter herb to increase his stomach acid and he thought i was mad for the suggestion but hes using dandelion and now has no more acid reflux.

Long winded story i know lol, but thats just my point even some of these doctors promoting acid/alkaline either are disregarding science so they can sell these products or just dont understand it properly. Many areas of the body need to be acidic to function and most of these sites just totally disregard those facts.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/23/2010 06:22PM by powerlifer.

Dude, good to know. I suspect I have low stomach acid and I am highly attracted to bitter greens like dandelion and the like but find them hard to include in out diet because the kids loathe them, of course. It's pretty hard to make separate meals for each of us ever time we eat so foods they hate appear in very limited quantities. I can take a dandelion extract of some sort, or a tea, tincture?

As far as peanuts, they are one of the most highly sprayed crops out there so stick with organic exclusively if you're going to eat them. Even then, have you tasted a really raw peanut? OMG Disgusting. Usually the ones you see labelled raw have been heat treated in some way which Greatly changes the flavour in my opinion.

Coco, bitters must come in contact with the back of the tongue which is where the bitter receptors are located. A tincture would work, so would a tea. In this case a tincture would be better. Or if you can pick up the herbal powder form even better. You only need half a teaspoon or a pinch pre meal.

I too had low stomach acid and it was a nightmare to be fair. Not only that i went through the whole problems above with proton pump inhibitors and such. I went in saying i have digestive problems such as poor digestion of foods, stomach pains etc and without any investigation prescribed me the above. Very poor took me years to work out what was going on.

Stupid doctors. I was diagnosed with IBS, given pills and told that was all I could do to help the situation out. Brought me to raw, never suffered from it again. But I do still have some digestive issues for sure. So, if I'm taking the powder how does it come into contact with the back of the throat, sprinkle it in food? Doesn't sound so much like a flavour enhancer...

Beware of aflotoxins in raw peanuts.

Follow food combining principles, don't over eat, and acid reflux should go away naturally.

You can take the powder in a little water swallow and it will come in contact with the back of your tongue. Other people take it by the spoon and just swallow.

Bitters are the best way to cleanse/flush the liver so you may need to up your water to counter the initial detox/flu type symptoms.

RocketShip Wrote:
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> Beware of aflotoxins in raw peanuts.
>
> Follow food combining principles, don't over eat,
> and acid reflux should go away naturally.

i dont really agree with that if you have low stomach acid overeating wont really matter as the cause will still be there which needs to be addressed.

I concur.
Food combining, chewing well and eating in moderation are all very helpful but not the root of all problems. During a lifetime one can make many choices that may be perfectly healthy for one type of body but just don't work well with another. After years of this behavior the system can become stressed, weak, have difficulty functioning properly even under ideal conditions. There are times when a little re-balancing is in order which may require more than just good eating, etc.
I'll get some dandelion tincture or powder and see how it goes. Thank you.

I just wrote and deleted a long description of my personal experience with acid reflux as well as my experiences with friends and family with acid reflux. Some so severe their esophagus is damaged. And how those who follow food combining principles have found relief, myself included.

Is it possible that acid reflux will act up even when someone is strictly following food combining principles? I suppose it is possible but have not seen it in my experiences.

I can't opine on the acid/alkaline balance question. But peanuts although high in monounsaturated fat are relatively high in saturated fat (close to 20 percent of their fat total) and have a very high ratio of Omega 6 to Omega 3 fatty acids. That with their high calorie content makes them something to be eaten in moderation, if at all since raw peanuts can also be a growing medium for aflatoxin, a potent liver carcinogen. Caveat: aflatoxin has also been found in walnuts, pecans and pistachios, not just peanuts. And though raw peanuts in Africa where they are a staple have been linked to liver cancer, that doesn't appear to be true in the US [www.drweil.com]

Paul

omfg. wild jungle peanuts are awesome. THe only major source of arachidonic acid.

Ok Non, you owe me eight dollars and ninety five cents! I went to the health food store and bought some of those so called awesome jungle nuts thinking they'd be good and they. are. AWFUL! Gah, blah, gross! They don't taste any different than other raw peanuts. It's like eating an undried bean straight off the vine, starchy and pasty and definitely not tasty. The squirrels are getting an expensive gourmet treat this week is all I can say.

coco,

Bummer. The only two times I've tried jungle peanuts they were fantastic--like the nuttiest, sweetest Valenica peanut.

Really Tam? These are so horrible. I'm disappointed.

id return them to the store, sounds like they have gone bad, I had them once myself, and have to say they where much closer to tams description for me...

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Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

They aren't bad, there's no rancidity at all. They just taste like freshly shelled beans out of the pod which is basically what they are. Starchy and Gross!

weird...maybe the ones I had weren't truly raw? mine where crunchy delicious and nutty...

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Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

Wow! $8.90 - how many peanuts do you get in a pack? I pay about 50c equivilant for mine here!!
I can say the peanuts should definitely be raw because they sprout pretty easily and fast.
The afaltoxin thing is a little worrying so I suppose better to go easy on them...does anyone know if that is denatured by sprouting the peanuts??