Plumpy'Nut: Just How Much Can This Peanut Paste Reduce Hunger?

Dr. Sanjay Gupta recently penned a piece for CNN describing how Plumpy'Nut, a peanut paste, is helping children in Somalia that are suffering from severe hunger. Plumpy'Nut contains, in addition to peanut paste, vegetable oil, milk powder, vitamins and minerals. It can be consumed at home and costs less than fortified milk formulas, which were used in years past to attempt to curb malnutrition.

In a blog post for The Huffington Post last year, Jeffrey Sachs extolled the benefits of Plumpy'Nut but also cautioned against overstating its impact. He was responding to a New York Times calling it a "miracle product."

Sachs explains:

It is critical, however, that we not confuse the many types of hunger and malnutrition (poor nutrition) around the world. Plumpy'Nut is not a miracle cure for global hunger or for global malnutrition. Plumpy'Nut addresses only one kind of hunger -- acute episodes of extreme food deprivation or illness, the kind mainly associated with famines and conflicts. Plumpy'Nut is not designed for the other major kind of hunger, notably chronic hunger due to long-term poor diets. Nor is it designed to fight long-term malnutrition that is due to various kinds of chronic micronutrient deficiencies, such as iron, zinc and vitamin-A deficiencies.

The current situation in Somalia, however, would fall under Sachs' definition of acute hunger. There are over 1,300 famine-affected Somalis crossing into Kenya every day.

As of last year, 26 million children currently suffer from malnutrition and between one and two million are receiving Plumpy'nut or a similar product. Watch the video below to see how Plumpy'Nut works.

Comments

[Koeiseun]

07:18 PM on 08/14/2011

Now if we could just mix PlumpyNut with birth control....

[Daisytoo]

05:11 PM on 08/13/2011

Flagged. Your comment and attitude are disgracefully abusive. Do you have ANY idea of what's going on in Somalia?

[BothSidesSuck]

10:45 AM on 08/19/2011

How did that work out for you?

[cira23]

12:36 AM on 08/14/2011

Are you serious? Zero compassion? Are you human?

[raker]

08:08 PM on 08/12/2011

Reduce hunger? I thought Plumpynut was for the purpose of saving lives from day to day with little doses of nutrition.

[Richard Aron]

03:57 PM on 08/12/2011

For those questioning why PlumpyNut is not causing children to have allergic reaction to peanuts like we have here in the US: The answer is simple, they are NOT made in the US.

PlumpyNut is created by the French who know a thing or two about GOOD food. Peanuts grown outside the US are not GMO (genetically modified). GMO foods cause severe allergic reactions. Unless organic, all soy, corn, and peanuts grown in the US are unfortunately GMO. This is a manipulation by the big companies to reap more profits from crops.

Many European countries, including UK, France, and Germany have banned the sale and imports of GMO products. At least they think wisely!

[adamben]

03:18 AM on 08/13/2011

what about us-grown "organic" peanuts? are these "safe"? and if so, then why isn't that info out there, along with the "fact" that gmo is the real culprit, not just peanuts in general?? just askin'.

[DenaSilver]

01:52 PM on 08/13/2011

Where is your source? Please provide.

Let's hope someone with a peanut allergy will check this out before eating organic peanuts.

[Richard Aron]

03:45 PM on 08/12/2011

Nuts are excellent source of protein, and those children need any amount they can get even if it's too small. So, it doesn't matter what type of "scientifically classified" hunger, those children need every bit of nutrition.

[Karl Wilder]

03:36 PM on 08/12/2011

Amazing isn't it how starving children don't have peanut allergies? Yet if little Amber gets within sniffing distance she will have to be rushed to the hospital.

[azonjj]

01:28 AM on 08/13/2011

Every bit as amazing as your ignorance. The U.S. processes peanuts differently than other countries, which is one explanation given for the increase in peanut allergies in recent years. My husband worked for a consulting company a couple of years ago... The company also had offices in India, so he wound up working with a lot of people from there - some would come over to work on projects, some moved here, but would return to India to visit family for vacations. Anyway, several of his Indian colleagues had children with life-threatening peanut allergies (like our daughter). These kids could not eat peanuts here, but they could eat peanut products produced in India, when they would go back to visit.

All that aside, I'm going to take a guess that you never had to rush a 2 year old to the emergency room the first time she ate a peanut product, right? Never had to watch enormous hives form on her body, hear her screaming, watch her face turn blue and then go unresponsive, right? Yes, there are parents who self-diagnose, or over-exaggerate a child's allergies, but there are plenty more people who legitimately suffer from severe, life-threatening allergies. Comments like yours add nothing of value to any sort of discussion.

[Carrie Dowell McCully]

09:20 AM on 08/12/2011

If Plumpy'Nut alleviated to pain of even one episode of acute hunger then it is a no-brainer to keep supplies available.

[cyoohoos]

06:08 AM on 08/13/2011

Whose paying for Plumpy'Nut?

[Daisytoo]

05:15 PM on 08/13/2011

The Saudi's should be, since their installment of Wahabbism in Somalia is directly related to the abject misery there. But I seriously doubt they are contributing a cent.

[emmapeeldallas]

02:42 AM on 08/12/2011

What about peanut allergies? Seriously, they seem to be rampant in the US; what about the rest of the world?

[Sunwyn Ravenwood]

03:25 AM on 08/13/2011

Babies are born with non-functional immune systems. For the first 6 months of their lives they are totally dependent on the anti-bodies produced by the mother which they receive in the mother's milk they drink.

In most countries with traditional cultures the baby has nothing but mother's milk for the first year to 18 months of life. By the time they eat regular food their immune systems are fully developed. Food allergies are usually contracted when an immature immune system comes in contact with a novel protein.

Since few American children receive mother's milk for any length of time there are enormous numbers of American children with compromised immune systems. This results in food allergies, asthma, and diabetes. Obesity and cancer are also consequences of failure to nurse.

Since formulas do not have all the nutrients of mother's milk the infants drink too much trying to make up the deficit. Also they are usually weaned earlier, and the sooner a baby starts eating solid food the more obese he is likely to become. As for cancer, mother's milk has a chemical which is converted in the infant's stomach to a potent cancer tighter. Formula does not have this, as it does not have antibodies.

[DenaSilver]

01:53 PM on 08/13/2011

Not rampant.

[InedaName]

06:37 PM on 08/11/2011

Anderson Cooper did a 60 Minutes piece about Plumpy'Nut almost four years ago. Is he advocating for it while he's reporting from Somalia?

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/10/19/60minutes/main3386661.shtml

[French Toast]

06:33 PM on 08/11/2011

It sounds good. Honestly, it sounds like it should replace the candy bars in the snack food section.

[mazzetta]

06:32 PM on 08/11/2011

Plumpy'Nut is a life saver, but it doesn't address nutrition's problems, nor solves famine, it "just" keeps children alive

[peegan]

09:12 PM on 08/11/2011

Sometimes buying a little time is what you need when children are days, even hours away from starving to death.  As far as proper nutrition, follow Scarlet O'hara's advice and worry about it tomorrow.

[tiemposdepaz]

06:12 PM on 08/11/2011

Interesting article. I would question if these kids will be affected by peanut allergies, but I'm sure they know what they are giving them. Its more important something is in their stomachs right now.

[peegan]

09:08 PM on 08/11/2011

I doubt many of these children have peanut allergies. While the exact cause is unknown, the allergy is much more prevalent in western countries and may be related to our obsession with sterilizing our homes and not allowing children to get dirty, play with animals and just do the kid things that build up a healthy immune system.

[Daisytoo]

05:21 PM on 08/13/2011

Peanuts are a staple in many parts of Africa. Not sure if they are in Somalia. Anyone? The peanut allergy thing is overblown.

[ProgressivePicon86]

05:58 PM on 08/11/2011

This is a great method to help these children across the world get the nutrition they need to keep going through these unimaginably tough times. Its easy to help out by just going to globalgiving.org and within minutes you can save lives in Somalia and other nations.