Peanuts in raw diet?

avabee

Hello, I am doing a little research before taking the leap into the raw diet. I have noticed that there are a ton of recipes that utilize cashews, macadamias, almonds, pine nuts and the like, but pretty much no recipes using peanuts. Is there some reason for this?

Thanks in advance!

joannabanana

I think the only raw peanuts are wild jungle peanuts. they are pretty expensive and i've never tried them before. the other nuts you mentioned are found raw more often.

Godislove

Peanuts, a legume, are very susceptible to developing alphatoxin.. more than anything i know..they are very difficult to digest unless cooked.. they are bad news.. but very tasty as i recall

pixx

Wild jungle peanuts do taste very much like peanuts- but not the oily kind. More like the kind roasted in shell. They look a bit like burnt peanuts. I believe they are actually nuts, and as has been pointed out, the peanut is not- its a legume. To my understanding regular peanuts should be cooked, prior to eating. Of course, that renders them not raw, and that is likely one reason for not using them. Another is the "toxin" mentioned already; from my understanding it's what makes some folks so highly allergic to them.

alpha toxin & aflatoxin are two different things according to wiki. I *think* the one at question here is aflatoxin. At least that is what I have read in the past. Unfortunately, it can affect quite a few things, according to wiki:

"Crops which are frequently affected include cereals (maize, sorghum, pearl millet, rice, wheat), oilseeds (peanut, soybean, sunflower, cotton), spices (chile peppers, black pepper, coriander, turmeric, ginger), and tree nuts (almond, pistachio, walnut, coconut, brazil nut)."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aflatoxin

avabee

Ah, OK. Thank you! It sucks because I love peanuts, but ah well, I love other nuts.

pixx

avabee~ You could consider the possibility that your diet need not be 100% raw. Of course, if 100% is what you want to "take the leap into" then by all means go for what you want! But otherwise, occasionally having peanuts wont break you.

Edit: Of course, that is with the understanding, since you "love them", that they are *not* problematic for you health-wise. Those who *do* have health issues with them, should obviously stay clear.