Is a PB & J Nutritionally Equivalent to a Donut?

One time, a doctor I knew excitedly admonished his patient who had just told him he liked to eat an English muffin with peanut butter and jelly for breakfast. He was killing himself, he asserted, eating the nutritional equivalent of a donut!

This morning, as I enjoy a plain bagel, toasted, with peanut butter and strawberry spread on each side, I find myself revisiting that conversation.

The doctor had a fair point.

An English muffin —or, for that matter, a bagel— is just a yeast dough, based on white flour, just like most donuts (some are not made with yeast, but that’s splitting nutritional hairs). Peanut butter adds a fair amount of fat, just like frying a donut does; jelly (spread, preserves, jam, or whatever you want to call it) is just a good dose of pure, high-fructose sugar, just like the sugar used in a donut.

But there are differences.

Those differences are just as important to understand and acknowledge as it is to understand and acknowledge how nutritionally similar a PB&J is to a donut.

I can hear many people saying, “well, the peanut butter has protein!”

True. That’s a bit of a point. The donut is practically protein-free. And yes, the peanut butter in a PB&J does offer some protein. But not an awful lot. Peanut butter might give you some protein, but unless you’re planning your diet carefully to make it work, you are probably not well-served to consider it a protein source. It’s very high in fat as protein sources go.

Some might bring up that a PB&J has less sugar.

Potentially true. It depends on the donut we’re comparing it to and how much jelly is used. In the case of my bagel with peanut butter and jelly, however, the total sugar load is going to be even higher than a donut. Even though I didn’t use a whole lot of spread on mine.

Why? Because the bagel all by itself is already 300+ calories worth of glucose. A typical donut is going to be around 250-350 calories… total. The glucose load in a donut could well be significantly less than some PB&Js. That’s because yeast donuts have so much air. There’s less carbohydrate from dough compared to the same volume of bread. The amount of white sugar found in and on a donut is often more than many PB&Js… but not necessarily enough to fully offset the difference in starch (white flour dough). Let’s call this aspect of PB&J vs. donut a draw. It varies. But not really enough to matter.

What might matter regarding sugar content is that some donuts do carry a lot more fructose than a small or modest PB&J (jelly donuts, custard donuts, heavily glazed donuts are going to be a lot higher in fructose).

Fructose… matters?

Fructose gets a lot of attention, especially on the internet. And I do agree it’s a problem nutrient. BUT… let’s not get carried away on the other hand. Fructose does not have to matter. That’s another post for another time. Just keep in mind that fructose CAN fit into your diet safely enough. As far as this donut vs PB&J analysis goes: it’s a fair point by the doctor here. You’re not doing your diet favors on the fructose front by choosing either option. But depending on how you prepare your PB&J, and depending on your health status, fitness status, and how the rest of your day goes, it might be a material difference between the donut and the PB&J. Or not.

Fiber? Do I hear anyone saying “there’s more fiber in the PB&J”?

Ok, Jan. Sure. And there’s also more fiber in white rice than there is in a serving of Cap’n Crunch. Suffice to say, this is not a factor.

What about the fat load? Now here’s something worth looking at.

The fat in a donut is probably going to be more than that in a PB&J. But fat content itself is not inherently bad.

Aha! But the fat in a donut IS very, very, very bad! The fat in peanut butter is considerably better. How much better depends on the peanut butter in question, but pretty much any will be substantially less harmful than donut grease.

Plain, dry roasted peanuts are just about an optimal fat. Downright healthy, even. But peanut butter, despite all of its processing, is still a decent fat option. Even disregarding our comparing it to the utter nightmare that is donut grease.

Frying grease will kill you. End of discussion.

Throw in sugar and simple carbs… and you have a concoction having no purpose other than to excite your taste buds, induce a dopamine rush, accumulate new fat on your body, and… most of all, push you that much closer to vascular damage and metabolic ruin.

Therein lies the biggest problem with donuts. PB&J is maybe not the best thing you could eat. But it’s definitely not on the same level as a donut because it is not fried.

Not all frying oils or greases are created the same. Not all are handled the same. Not all frying methods are the same. All of that is also another post for another day. (In other words, you will hear me advising you on how to fit fried foods into your life with the least possible fallout; but some fallout, there will be.) And let’s be realistic, most of us are going to still eat fried stuff here and there.

Now, I do love a good donut. But I don’t ever pretend I’m not making a big trade in life when I enjoy one (or two!).

I also do love a good PB&J, and they may not be as good as oats, or eggs or other things you might think of for breakfast. Fine. But to compare them to a donut and say they are the same… is to oversimplify things in a way that can do more harm than good.

So, enjoy a PB&J in moderation, using all-natural peanut butter, from a manufacturer who you can trust to be using fresh product and quality manufacturing practices, and maybe with a fruit spread that is more fruit and less white sugar.

In moderation… you’ll be just fine.