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How to choose nut and seed butters

Favs List PRINT

Nut and seed butters can be a nutritious toast topper. There’s such a wide range now, which are better choices?

What’s available?

You can now buy cashew, almond, Brazil, pumpkin and sesame butters – as well as peanut butter. Although many still contain added sugar and salt, it is the ‘no-added-sugar’ and ‘no-added-salt’ ranges that have grown recently. Even better, there are now products that are 100 per cent nuts. Nut butters also come with added ingredients, such as chia seed, spelt, LSA – and even chocolate.

Energy

All nuts are naturally high in energy (kJ). This makes nut and seed butter one of the higher energy bread or cracker toppings. We found the energy content per 100g of nut and seed butters ranged from 2100kJ to 3000kJ. Although the amount of energy was often determined by the type of nuts and seeds used, it was also influenced by the amount of added sugar or oils.

Fat

Fat is the main source of energy in nut and seed butters. Nuts and seeds contain mainly monounsaturated fats, some polyunsaturated fats and a small amount of naturally occurring saturated fat. Choosing foods that contain monounsaturated fats rather than foods that contain saturated or trans fats can reduce your risk of heart problems. But remember fat still contains a lot of energy. We found the fat in nut and seed butters ranged from 33-63g per 100g and the saturated fat ranged from 3.6 per 100g, up to 12.5g per 100g. We recommend choosing a nut or seed butter with 10g or less saturated fat per 100g. We also recommend choosing ones with no extra oil added.

Carbohydrate and sugar

The amount of carbohydrate differed depending on the type of nuts or seeds. Even the added sugar nut butters are generally a lot lower in carbohydrate than jams. Even so, we recommend choosing a nut or seed butter that has no added sugar.

Sodium

Although many products still have added salt, the amount can vary. We found some products that have more than 500mg sodium per 100g, while others with added salt have only 45mg per 100g. We recommend choosing a nut or seed butter that has no added salt, or has 250mg or less per 100g.