Last year, I had a nasty ’bout of Diverticulitis. Seriously, I thought my guts were going to explode all over my living room floor. It was only after my husband called an ambulance that I accepted that I was in need of some serious medical attention. Thankfully, I arrived at the hospital before anything exploded! They gave me some morphine (which I hated) and told me some pretty terrible news…no more seeds…or nuts.
Wait? What? No more nuts? You have to be kidding me?! I live on nuts – you can’t be serious! No peanuts? No cashews? No pistachios? No crunchy peanut butter? NOOOOOOOO!
For a serious nut lover like me, this was very terrible news. I use nuts as a vital source of protein and energy in my very busy schedule, and I had no idea how I would fill the gap in my diet. Like lots of moms, there are times where I accidentally forget to eat. Maybe I’m running 9,000 errands that day. Or maybe I finally squeezed in a hair appointment to dye my wildly gray hair. Or maybe I just forgot to buy any sort of food that resembles “adult-food” on my last grocery trip. Whatever the reason – nuts are always in my pocketbook (or hidden in my car in the glove compartment) and they are my go-to snack whenever I’m feeling a little low on energy. #PowerofthePeanut
I was pretty determined not to give up on nuts, so I headed down to my local Health Food store and begged them for a remedy. They put me on a heavy duty course of probiotics, and after a few months, my symptoms disappeared. I couldn’t believe it! (Now I will not even remotely promise that diverticulosis can be fixed for everyone, but don’t give up hope. Doctors used to tell patients like me to avoid all seeds and nuts, but recent studies have shown that diets high in fiber – which may include seeds and nuts – can actually help reduce the risk of diverticular disease.)
Once I was feeling better, I decided to test the waters with my most favorite nut of them all – peanuts! Since I had continued eating peanut butter while I healed, albeit the smooth kind, I figured that they were a safe bet. I would chomp the peanuts down to little bits – think smooth peanut butter – and swallow. Each week, I would get a little more daring – adding a few more nuts – a little less chomped – to my diet.
By being smart, and carefully incorporating them back into my diet, I’m happy to report that I’m back on nuts! It may seem like such a silly little thing, but when you’re craving peanuts, nothing else will do. Besides, they’re full of nutrients like manganese, phosphorous, niacin, protein, magnesium, vitamin E, and fiber. What’s not to love?
In Planter’s new video series, they take a humourous approach towards explaining all the benefits of the #PowerofthePeanut. In the video, “Nature’s Tiny Miracle”, Mr. Peanut rattles off all sorts of facts about peanuts. For example, did you know that peanuts have 7 grams of protein? Science doesn’t lie, so check out this video for more great facts about peanuts:
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
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