Trivia

Peanut oil is used for underwater cooking in submarines. Undersea fleets like it because it does not smoke unless heated above 450 degrees F.

Findings of a study demonstrating that diets high in peanuts, peanut butter and peanut oil are as effective as olive oil in protecting against heart disease and are more heart healthy than very low fat diets were announced today at the Experimental Biology annual meeting in San Francisco.

In the study, conducted by researchers at The Pennsylvania State University and the University of Rochester in New York, 22 healthy subjects with slightly elevated blood cholesterol levels consumed five diets -- low fat, olive oil, peanut/peanut butter, peanut oil, and typical American -- for four weeks each.

Results show that the peanut/peanut butter, peanut oil and olive oil diets (all low in saturated fat and cholesterol and high in monounsaturated fat), which lowered total and LDL cholesterol and triglycerides levels, did not lower the beneficial HDL cholesterol levels. The low fat diet did lower LDL cholesterol levels but also lowered HDL cholesterol and increased triglyceride levels.