Description

Description :
Peanut, Arachis hypogaea, is an herbaceous annual plant in the family Fabaceae that grew for its oil and edible nuts. Peanut plants are small, usually erect, thin stemmed plants with feather-like leaves. The leaves are arranged in alternate pairs and have leaf-like attachments near the stalk. The peanut plant produces yellow, orange, cream or white flowers that produce ‘pegs’, characteristic floral structures that sink into the ground to grow the pod. The pods can reach up to 10 cm (4 in) in length and can contain between 1 and 5 seeds. The peanut plant can reach 0.6 m (2 ft) in height depending on the variety and as an annual plant, survives only one growing season. Peanut may also be referred to as groundnut, monkey nut or earthnut and originates from South America.

Uses :
Most commercially grown peanuts are used for the extraction of their oil which is used in cooking. The by-product of oil extraction is a pressed cake that is used as an animal feed and also in the production of peanut flour. Raw kernels are also commonly roasted and eaten as a snack food.

Health Benefits:
Your Heart Will Go Nuts for Peanuts Peanuts are rich in monounsaturated fats, the type of fat that is emphasized in the heart-healthy Mediterranean diet. Studies of diets with a special emphasis on peanuts have shown that this little legume is a big ally for a healthy heart. In one such randomized, double-blind, cross-over study involving 22 subjects, a high monounsaturated diet that emphasized peanuts and peanut butter decreased cardiovascular disease risk by an estimated 21% compared to the average American diet.

In addition to their monounsaturated fat content, peanuts feature an array of other nutrients that, in numerous studies, have been shown to promote heart health. Peanuts are good sources of vitamin E, niacin, folate, protein, and manganese. In addition, peanuts provide resveratrol, the phenolic antioxidant also found in red grapes and red wine that is thought to be responsible for the French paradox: the fact that in France, people consume a diet that is not low in fat, but has a lower risk of cardiovascular disease compared to the U.S. With all of the important nutrients provided by nuts like peanuts, it is no wonder that numerous research studies, including the Nurses’ Health Study that involved over 86,000 women, have found that frequent nut consumption is related to reduced risk of cardiovascular disease.