Jif peanut butter is made by the J.M. Smucker Company. Creamy Jif was first introduced in 1958 and now features several different creamy versions such as reduced-fat, honey or omega-3 fats. Peanut butter, even commercially-produced versions such as Jif, can be a healthy addition to any diet.
Calories and Macronutrients
Regular creamy Jif peanut butter, along with Natural Creamy Jif, Omega-3 and Simply Jif, have 190 calories per 2-tbsp. serving. These creamy peanut butters offer 16 g of fat, 3 g of which are saturated. Most of the fat in peanut butter is healthy, unsaturated types. It provides 7 g of carbohydrates and 7 g of protein. Simply Jif features 1 g fewer carbs per serving and 1 g more of protein. The honey added to Honey Jif makes it have only 180 calories per serving, but increase the carbohydrate content to 10 g and reduces the fat content to 14 g and the protein content to 6g.
Sugars and Sodium
The American Heart Association recommends limiting added sugars to six tsp. per day for women and nine tsp. per day for men. Regular Creamy Jif contains 3 g of sugar per serving, or about ¾ of a tsp. Simply Jif features even less sugar -- just 2 g per serving. Honey Jif has 6 g of sugar per serving. If you are watching your sodium intake, skip regular Creamy Jif with 150 mg of sodium per serving, and choose the Natural version with 80 mg per serving or Simply Jif with 65 mg.
Reduced-Fat Considerations
Jif offers a reduced-fat creamy peanut butter featuring 25 percent less fat, or 12 g, per 2 tbsp. serving. In order to maintain a palatable consistency and taste with less fat, the peanut butter has added corn syrup solids, salt and soy protein. As a result, the carbohydrate content of the reduced-fat version is 15 g per serving with 250 mg of sodium. The sugar content is 4 g, about a full tsp. for every 2 tbsp. of butter.
Additional Nutrition Information
All of Jif's creamy peanut butters provide between 10 and 15 percent of the recommended dietary allowance for vitamin E, based on a 2,000-calorie diet. They also offer 4 percent of the RDA for iron, 20 percent for niacin and 2 percent for riboflavin. The reduced-fat version contains added minerals, so it offers 6 percent of the RDA for zinc and folic acid, 15 percent for magnesium and 10 percent for copper. The creamy Omega-3 peanut butter has added anchovy and sardine oil which may help reduce your risk of developing heart disease.
Weight Concerns
Despite its calorie and fat density, peanut butter does not seem to contribute to significant weight gain according to study in the "British Journal of Nutrition" in August 2010. Researchers from Purdue University found that when participants added 56 g of peanut products, including peanut butter, to their daily diet, they compensated for the extra calories by eating less at other meals.
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