More than simple peanuts The healthy miracle peanut

Anyone who bothers to translate the English "Peanut" already suspects that this plant is reluctant to put in drawers. Because the "pea nut", so the translation is somehow both. With her closed sleeve she has something in common with nuts. On the other hand, you can see the krautigen, up to 70 centimeters high plant with the delicate pinnate leaves at first glance, their close relationship with the pea. And that is well known to be one of the legumes.

Also in the field, the peanut proves to be a free spirit. For flowering, it takes two months and more time, making lots of flowers, but only one in five is fertilized. Then it gets really strange: After fertilization, their pedicels bend down and grow up to eight inches deep into the ground. Well-protected, the peanut seeds develop here in the typical coarsely worn pods to maturity and thus live up to their name.

The miracle nut peanut. Picture: Greser - fotolia

It is believed that the peanut plant protects its seeds from steppe fires. That may be true, after all, it likes to keep the peanut warm and grows best in regions where such fires may well occur. To germinate alone, it needs a proud 30 to 34 degrees Celsius. In terms of water and soil, on the other hand, it is significantly less susceptible, which, combined with its high nutritional value, has made it a very popular food in many tropical areas.

In contrast to all other legumes you can also eat the peanut raw, which is especially popular in Africa. Here, however, the peanut has also been processed into porridge or flour in another form, roasted or ground, with the status of a staple food. And just in raw form, it reveals its proximity to the legumes, because fresh peanuts taste easy on beans (not peas).

However, the largest growing countries are India and China. Indians and Chinese keep the goods but almost completely in their own country. They particularly appreciate the peanut oil, which accounts for up to 50 percent of the ingredients. Peanut oil even has the status of a cure here. In the most important export country, the USA, it is for many Americans more of a kind of staple food. Peanut butter can not be missed here in any household. Their health value can be argued, but not about the valuable ingredients of peanut. High levels of protein (25 percent), plenty of potassium and the highest magnesium content of all plant foods make them a thoroughly healthy food.

A real downer is their high allergy potential. About one percent of adults in the most affected countries, USA and the UK, are allergic to protein. The number of those affected is also growing in Germany. Already quantities in the microgram range are enough to trigger extremely violent reactions such as nausea, tachycardia or breathing difficulties. Those affected only have to completely avoid foods with peanut components. The remaining 99 percent can rejoice that this weird guy named Peanut enriches our diet in so many ways. Jürgen Beckhoff, aid