BANANA'S I found some interesting facts about banana's
By OURDEW
@OURDEW (4809)
United States
April 20, 2007 7:14pm CST
I NEVER KNEW ALL THE POWERS OF BANANAS
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Never, put your banana in the refrigerator!!!
This is interesting.
After reading this, you'll never look at a banana in the same way again.
Bananas contain three natural sugars - sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fiber. A banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy. Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute work-out. No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world's leading athletes. But energy isn't the only way a banana can help us keep fit. It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet.
Depression: According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a banana. This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.
PMS: Forget the pills - eat a banana. The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood.
Anemia: High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anemia.
Blood Pressure: This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it perfect to beat blood pressure. So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration has just allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit's ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.
Brain Power: 200 students at a Twickenham (Middlesex) school were helped through their exams this year by eating bananas at breakfast, break, and lunch in a bid to boost their brain power. Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.
Constipation: High in fiber, including bananas in the diet can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without resorting to laxatives.
Hangovers: One of the quickest
ways of curing a hangover is to make a banana milkshake, sweetened with honey. The banana calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood sugar levels, while the milk soothes and re-hydrates your system.
Heartburn: Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body, so if you suffer from heartburn, try eating a banana for soothing relief.
Morning Sickness: Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness.
Mosquito bites: Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing the affected area with the inside of a banana skin. Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation.
Nerves: Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous system.
Overweight and at work? Studies at the Institute of Psychology in Austria found pressure at wor k leads to gorging on comfort food like chocolate and crisps. Looking at 5,000 hospital patients, researchers found the most obese were more likely to be in high-pressure jobs. The report concluded that, to avoid panic-induced food cravings, we need to control our blood sugar levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foods every two hours to keep levels steady.
Ulcers: The banana is used as the dietary food against intestinal disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chronicler cases. It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.
Temperature control: Many other cultures see bananas as a "cooling" fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature of expectant mothers. In Thailand , for example, pregnant women eat bananas to ensure their baby is born with a cool temperature.
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): Bananas can help SAD sufferers because they contain the natural mood enhancer tryptophan.
Smoking &Tobacco Use: Bananas can also help people trying to give up smoking. The B6, B12 they contain, as well as the potassium and magnesium found in them, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.
Stress: Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body's water balance. When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby reducing our potassium levels. These can be rebalanced with the help of a high-potassium banana snack.
Strokes: According to research in The New England Journal of Medicine, eating bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the risk of death by strokes by as much as 40%!
Warts: Those keen on natural alternatives swear that if you want to kill off a wart, take a piece of banana skin and place it on the wart, with the yellow side out. Carefully hold the skin in place with a plaster or surgical tape!
So, a banana really is a natural remedy for many ills. When you compare it to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrate, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around So maybe its time to change that well-known phrase so that we say, "A banana a day keeps the doctor away!"
5 people like this
11 responses
@BrainTeaser (1428)
• Pakistan
21 Apr 07
Really cool research and i totally agree with it, i just love banana's ,banashake,bananapie,banana icecream,banana custard you just name it, and as i sportsman i know how effective it is to generate energy and maintain stamina, banana's do generate staminia thats why its recommended especially for sports people.Banana a day really keeps a doctor away.
@deputysalty (57)
• United States
22 Apr 07
I love all banana foods, especially banana cream pies!
Try putting chocolate syrup on your bananas, it is delicious!
@gemini1960 (1161)
• Philippines
22 Apr 07
that was a complete narrative and informative kind, i really like it it makes me more likely to eat banana first before any other fruits.
2 people like this
@lilaclady (28207)
• Australia
21 Apr 07
wow that is really something, I love bananas but I was told by the Chemist I should have too many as I am on High Blood Pressure Tablets so I only limit myself to one every now and then but the banana would have to be my favourite fruit, it is amazing that if is so good for so many things, it should be called the wonder fruit...
@PurpleTeddyBear (6685)
• Canada
21 Apr 07
Thanks so much for sharing OurDew! I hope you don't mind, but I copied and pasted it to a notepad and it's on my computer so I can email it to my family. My parents love bananas and now they should love them even more lol. Thanks again for sharing and have a good day :)
2 people like this
@joyce959 (1559)
• Philippines
24 Apr 07
This is a very thorough and informative discussion you had shared. Thanks a lot for sharing this information OURDEW. Although I dont eat much of bananas before, now I'll try to eat more of this fruit.
I wonder if all types of bananas contain all the useful ingredients/ vitamins you mentioned because there are many varieties of bananas.
I also wonder and would like to ask what happen when you put the bananas on the refrigerator. Are there any effect on the potency of vitamins in the fruit?
1 person likes this
@vamsimmaddula11 (1802)
• India
24 Apr 07
what do u want about bananas bananas are very good fruit bananas give us a lot of energyBanana is the common name used for herbaceous, cultigenic plants of the genus Musa, and is also the name given to the fruit of these plants. They are native to the tropical region of Southeast Asia, the Malay Archipelago, and Australia. Today, they are cultivated throughout the tropics.[1]
Banana plants are of the family Musaceae. They are cultivated primarily for their fruit, and to a lesser extent for the production of fiber and as ornamental plants. Because of their size and structure, banana plants are often mistaken for trees. The main or upright growth is called a pseudostem, which for some species can obtain a height of up to 2–8 m, with leaves of up to 3.5 m in length. Each pseudostem produces a single bunch of bananas, before dying and being replaced by a new pseudostem.
The banana fruit grow in hanging clusters, with up to 20 fruit to a tier (called a hand), and 3-20 tiers to a bunch. The total of the hanging clusters is known as a bunch, or commercially as a "banana stem", and can weigh from 30–50 kg. The fruit averages 125 g, of which approximately 75% is water and 25% dry matter content. Each individual fruit (known as a banana or 'finger') has a protective outer layer (a peel or skin) with a fleshy edible inner portion. Typically the fruit has numerous strings (called 'phloem bundles') which run between the skin and the edible portion of the banana, and which are commonly removed individually after the skin is removed. Bananas are a valuable source of Vitamin A, Vitamin B6, Vitamin C, and potassium.
Bananas are grown in 132 countries worldwide, more than any other fruit crop. In popular culture and commerce, "banana" usually refers to soft, sweet "dessert" bananas that are usually eaten raw. The bananas from a group of cultivars with firmer, starchier fruit are generally used in cooking rather than eaten raw. Bananas may also be dried and ground into banana flour.
Although the wild species have fruits with numerous large, hard seeds, virtually all culinary bananas have seedless fruits. Bananas are classified either as dessert bananas (meaning they are yellow and fully ripe when eaten) or as green cooking bananas. Almost all export bananas are of the dessert types; however, only about 10-15% of all production is for export, with the U.S. and EU being the dominant buyers.
Bananas and plantains constitute a major staple food crop for millions of people in developing countries. In most tropical countries green (unripe) bananas used for cooking represent the main cultivars. Cooking bananas are very similar to potatoes in how they are used. Both can be fried, boiled, baked or chipped and have similar taste and texture when served. One green cooking banana has about the same calorie content as one potato.[citation needed]
In 2003, India led the world in banana production, representing approximately 23% of the worldwide crop, most of which was for domestic consumption. The four leading banana exporting countries were Ecuador, Costa Rica, Philippines, and Colombia, which accounted for about two-thirds of the world's exports, each exporting more than 1 million tons. Ecuador alone provided more than 30% of global banana exports, according to FAO statistics.
@vicky19810 (1600)
• China
24 Apr 07
oh my god,yes,the banana is truly a wonderful thing.lol...
1 person likes this
@angelofdeath (345)
• Philippines
22 Apr 07
its good to hear that but unfortunately, i dont eatt banana. i end up puking and throwing everythng up.
but iu'll try because of thsi info you have posted.. who knows, it might be my fave fruit soon.
thanks for the info and happy eating.
1 person likes this
@sunshinelady (7609)
• United States
23 Apr 07
Glad you posted this. I didn't know there was so many different things a banana could be used for. I found all the information here very useful and will keep that in mind. My son had mentioned to me about not keeping bananas in the refrigerator. I was putting them in there until he explained that it makes them go bad faster.
1 person likes this