# Are dry roasted peanuts a healthy snack? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 11, 2008, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dry-roasted-peanuts-a-healthy-snack/433061 "2008-01-11T00:32:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dry-roasted-peanuts-a-healthy-snack/433061/1 "2008-01-11T00:32:16Z")
Trying to cut down on sweets and so on - are dry-roasted peanuts a healthy snack? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dry-roasted-peanuts-a-healthy-snack/433061/2 "2008-01-11T00:55:15Z")
Sodium is high, but otherwise, they are pretty good as a snack. Peanuts in the shell (unsalted) are even better. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dry-roasted-peanuts-a-healthy-snack/433061/3 "2008-01-11T01:02:18Z")
They have a lot of calories. 1/4 cup (basically a good handful) has 200 calories. Not a big deal if your only goal is to cut back on sweets, but maybe a big deal if you are cutting back on calories. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dry-roasted-peanuts-a-healthy-snack/433061/4 "2008-01-11T01:32:28Z")
[QUOTE=Hello Again] They have a lot of calories. 1/4 cup (basically a good handful) has 200 calories. Not a big deal if your only goal is to cut back on sweets, but maybe a big deal if you are cutting back on calories. [/QUOTE] Yeah, but they’re “good” calories, for lack of a better word. Something like candy or chips will have almost all the calories from carbohydrates, mostly simple ones. Peanuts, OTOH, have a nice balance of carbs, protein, and fat (and good fat, too.) ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dry-roasted-peanuts-a-healthy-snack/433061/5 "2008-01-11T01:32:51Z")
Yeah, and it’s possible to ingest a lot more calories than you intended, sitting there crunching peanuts, because you don’t feel as guilty eating an entire jar of Planters Dry Roasted Peanuts as you would eating an entire bag of Snickers Minis. Watching the Snickers wrappers pile up tends to slow you down a bit (“Whoa! Did I really eat that many?”) but the nuts don’t have any kind of visual cue like that, so the next thing you know, you’ve polished off an entire jar, which is, what, 20 quadrillion calories or something… Sign me, BEEN THERE WITH CASHEWS ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dry-roasted-peanuts-a-healthy-snack/433061/6 "2008-01-11T02:24:52Z")
Which is why you sould eat them from the shell. It burns up calories getting them out and gives a visual cue as well. Of course eating them in the shell would be best if you are trying to get more fiber in your diet. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dry-roasted-peanuts-a-healthy-snack/433061/7 "2008-01-11T02:34:04Z")
The Mayo Clinic’s web site has a good article. [Link.](http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/nuts/HB00085) I think you’d be better off munching on almonds, though. I buy them raw, unsalted and they’re pretty darn tasty. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dry-roasted-peanuts-a-healthy-snack/433061/8 "2008-01-11T02:41:13Z")
Note that “dry roasting” makes little difference. I agree with **Si Amigo** about eating them in the shell. The sodium makes no difference for most healthy dudes. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dry-roasted-peanuts-a-healthy-snack/433061/9 "2008-01-11T02:47:09Z")
Walnuts are healthier. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dry-roasted-peanuts-a-healthy-snack/433061/10 "2008-01-11T06:58:15Z")
And be sure that you are eating just dry roasted peanuts. Many of them have various coatings added to them (not just the ones labeled ‘honey roast’, etc.) which usually contain sugars. That will significantly decrease the ‘healthfullness’ of this snack. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dry-roasted-peanuts-a-healthy-snack/433061/11 "2008-01-11T08:59:12Z")
[QUOTE=DrDeth] Note that “dry roasting” makes little difference. I agree with **Si Amigo** about eating them in the shell. The sodium makes no difference for most healthy dudes. [/QUOTE] do you mean there’s no difference between dry-roasted and in the shell, or between dry-roasted and the ones that have some sort of oily coating on them? I would have thought that the latter would have more fat, of a bad type? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dry-roasted-peanuts-a-healthy-snack/433061/12 "2008-01-11T12:56:21Z")
I think the idea of “snack” is the problem. The least healthy thing we do is “snack”. Snack is an innocent-sounding word covering for “eat a bunch of unnecessary food for no nutritional purpose with no awareness of how much or (usually) even what it is.” Rather than seeking a supposedly healthy snack, we should kill the snacking to solve the problem. Which is why I have a bowl of chocolates on my desk & a small but growing weight problem. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dry-roasted-peanuts-a-healthy-snack/433061/13 "2008-01-11T14:16:48Z")
[QUOTE=Si Amigo] Which is why you sould eat them from the shell. It burns up calories getting them out and gives a visual cue as well. Of course eating them in the shell would be best if you are trying to get more fiber in your diet. YMMV. [/QUOTE] Technically, yes, but in practice, I suspect the first peanut or two pays the calorie cost for the whole session. Even if you moseyed on down to the peanut patch and dug 'em up yourself you’d eat more calories than you burned. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dry-roasted-peanuts-a-healthy-snack/433061/14 "2008-01-11T15:34:02Z")
Peanuts are a lousy snack. Nuts in general suck as snacks. Let’s cut to the chase. At snack time, you need to curve hunger, and the best way to do that is with a food that is of large volume and is very filling, yet low in calories. A paltry amount of peanuts could eat into 1/3 of your daily caloric allotment! Take a medium-sized woman. Her calorie goal might be about 1500 calories to put her on a 1lb weight loss pace per week. A half to 3/4 cup or so of peanuts is nearly 500 calories! Yes, technically you could eat 1/4 cup, but you won’t feel very satisfied. Nutritionists would like to see you throw nuts in as compliments to a salad or such, but a proper snack would be something like an apple, which has fiber, is more filling and contributes about a mere 110 calories. I would never recommend such calorie-dense foods (nuts) as snacks. Throw them on salads, coat your salmon in some pistachios, but at snack time they are putting a hurt on your calorie allotment. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dry-roasted-peanuts-a-healthy-snack/433061/15 "2008-01-11T15:50:42Z")
[QUOTE=Philster] At snack time, you need to curve hunger, and the best way to do that is with a food that is of large volume and is very filling, yet low in calories. [/QUOTE] How can something be “very flling” and “low in calories” at the same time? Do you mean physicall filling (large volume)? If so, is water the ideal snack? 😕 [nitpick: it’s “curb” not “curve”] ---
**Author:** ![Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harriet_the_Spry)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dry-roasted-peanuts-a-healthy-snack/433061/16 "2008-01-11T17:06:22Z")
[QUOTE=scr4] If so, is water the ideal snack? [/QUOTE] This position has its staunch advocates. For example, some claim that we often mistake thirst for hunger and eat when we are actually thirsty. It’s also common diet advice to have a drink of water, wait 15-30 minutes, then have a snack only if you are still hungry. ---
**Author:** ![VernWinterbottom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c67d28/32.png) [@VernWinterbottom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VernWinterbottom)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dry-roasted-peanuts-a-healthy-snack/433061/17 "2008-01-11T17:09:05Z")
[QUOTE=scr4] If so, is water the ideal snack? [/QUOTE] Actually, yes. I’ve read, but don’t have a cite, that sometimes we eat when, in fact, we’re thirsty. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dry-roasted-peanuts-a-healthy-snack/433061/18 "2008-01-11T17:42:23Z")
[QUOTE=scr4] How can something be “very flling” and “low in calories” at the same time? [/QUOTE] One word: veggies. Vegetables have very few calories compared to things like peanuts. A single leaf of looseleaf lettuce contains a grand total of [two](http://www.calorie-count.com/calories/item/11253.html) calories. So you could eat an entire chef’s salad bowl full of lettuce, fill your stomach to bursting with lettuce, and still only ingest a paltry amount of calories. You’d be “full”, but you’d be full of low-calorie food. A single baby carrot contains [5 calories.](http://www.calorie-count.com/calories/item/11960.html) A cup of raw cauliflower is only [25 calories.](http://www.calorie-count.com/calories/item/11135.html) This is why people on weight-loss diets frequent the veggie tray and the lo-cal dip at parties. Veggies fill you up but don’t put you over your calorie limit. ---
**Author:** ![SomeUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e480ec/32.png) [@SomeUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SomeUserName)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dry-roasted-peanuts-a-healthy-snack/433061/19 "2008-01-11T17:56:46Z")
[QUOTE=Duck Duck Goose] BEEN THERE WITH CASHEWS [/QUOTE] :eek: I thought I was the only one. They were on sale. Planter’s Deluxe Cashews. The next morning was very rough. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dry-roasted-peanuts-a-healthy-snack/433061/20 "2008-01-11T18:29:50Z")
[QUOTE=Northern Piper] do you mean there’s no difference between dry-roasted and in the shell, or between dry-roasted and the ones that have some sort of oily coating on them? I would have thought that the latter would have more fat, of a bad type? [/QUOTE] My understanding is that both types (cocktail peanuts and dry-roasted peanuts) have essentially the same amount of fat. It seems counterintuitive, but here’s the data: [http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/Products/ProductInfoDisplay.htm?SiteID=1&Product=2900007210](http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/Products/ProductInfoDisplay.htm?SiteID=1&Product=2900007210) [http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/Products/ProductInfoDisplay.htm?SiteID=1&Product=2900007325](http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/Products/ProductInfoDisplay.htm?SiteID=1&Product=2900007325) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dry-roasted-peanuts-a-healthy-snack/433061.md?page=2)