The Power of Banana

Philippines
February 12, 2008 12:48am CST
I got this from an e-mail. And I have some questions that you can answer after you read it. 1. Do you like bananas and do you usually eat them like almost regularly? 2. If you don't will you be doing so after reading this? Bananas... This is very interesting. After Reading THIS, you'll NEVER look at a banana in the same way again Bananas. Containing 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 workout. 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 haemoglobin 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 the 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 work 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 nee d to control our blood sugar levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foods every two hours to keep levels steady. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): Bananas can help SAD sufferers because they contain the natural mood enhancer tryptophan. Smoking: Bananas can also help pe ople 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%! 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. 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. 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!" PS: Bananas must be the reason monkeys are so happy all the time!
2 people like this
10 responses
@Swaana (1205)
• India
22 Feb 08
Bananas are poor man's apple. With rich protein Bananas always makes a good dessert. I really love banana milk shake. Being from India, I really love the variety of dishes that are made of bananas. Raw banana chips are all time favourites in our home. And so a special dish using the flower of the banana tree and some pulses mixed together. It is a wholesome good giver. Cant stop eating banana for anything. And attimes I had even lived a whole day on a dozen of bananas.
• Philippines
24 Feb 08
Hi there Swaana! Thank you very much for your response. I love banana milk shake too. We also eat banana chips here alot. We have a relative who makes them for business. Thank you very much for sharing those.
• Philippines
13 Feb 08
wow! way to go banana! i never thought it is used to help treat anemia. i have very low red blood cells. and my doctor never advised me to take banana. he gave me numerous recipes/menus but not one includes bananas. but i do know that bananas are very helpful from getting a high blood pressure.
• Philippines
13 Feb 08
Hi there loudhummer14! Thank you very much for your response. I hope bananas can really help you too. Maybe you can ask your doctor about it. By the way, I like your avatar.
@ssh123 (31073)
• India
12 Feb 08
Our ancestors have passed on generations of generations the information that one banana a day will help digestion of food. Bananas of many varieties are grown in almost all places in Karnataka State, India and it is being despatched to many other states. That being the case, banana is easily available at a low cost as 3 cents each. It is the common fruit kept on dining table, and some take 2 o4 3 immediately after meal or dinner, and some go on eat throughout the day. I have no authentic information about its nutritional value except that it helps in digestion.
1 person likes this
• Philippines
13 Feb 08
Hi there ssh123! Thank you very much for your response. From what country are you? Banana is really affordable here in the Philippines too. I myself ain't sure about these, I just got them from an e-mail. Well, I guess its being helpful with digestion is reason enough. Thanks and have a nice day.
1 person likes this
@dodoguy (1292)
• Australia
12 Feb 08
Hi nanayangel, You're so right, bananas are a very good food choice! It's a bit peculiar that such a fuss can be made over the benefits to be had by eating real food - that's what food is for, to keep one healthy, robust and active. I guess part of the problem is that so much of what we call "food" nowadays isn't really food at all, at least not for the human species. I live in a temperate climate, and would just love to be able to grow some bananas in my garden. I believe the Dwarf Cavendish variety is frost tolerant and only grows to about 6 feet in height, so would be perfect for back-yard gardens in non-tropical areas. And they only take 9 months to produce a crop, so I wish I could find a few to get started.
• Philippines
13 Feb 08
Hi there dodoguy! Yeah, it's really hard to find food that are easily available now that's really nutritious. It's nice to know that banana may help alot as the e-mail I got claims because it's really affordable. Thank you very much for your response and good luck with your garden. Hope you'll be able to grow banana trees soon.
1 person likes this
@vanities (11395)
• Davao, Philippines
13 Feb 08
Yeah i had also read that kind of information somewhere here..and i believe on it as testified by some friends of mine who lacks potassium or whatever..even the doctor advices them to eat everyday of it...im just lucky i guess since i really like eating bananas since i was still young..it is present everyday in our table..thanks for that great information..i know it will help a lot to some who dont know yet about the importance of eating bananas..
1 person likes this
• Philippines
13 Feb 08
Hi there vanities (4981)! Thank you very much for your response. Yeah, my friends testifies on some of those too. They say that it's also a good source of potassium and it'll help my son's growing pains to stop. You're welcome, and yeah, I hope it can help other people.
@chrysz (1602)
• Philippines
13 Feb 08
Thanks nanayangel for the very informative post. I now know why my daughter doesn't get ill that often, she is a banana eater and I felt better when I was pregnant with her because I eat banana a lot than when I was pregnant with my youngest.
1 person likes this
• Philippines
13 Feb 08
Hi there chrysz! You're very much welcome. You're very lucky that your daughter loves it. My son does too. He always asks me to buy bananas everytime we're in the market or in the grocery. Thank you very much for your response and I'm glad that you appreciated my post.
1 person likes this
@lingli_78 (12822)
• Australia
12 Feb 08
thanks for sharing such an informative information nanayangel... i don't really like to eat banana in the past... but i try to eat it for my breakfast everyday now as i know that it will make me healthy... my father loves banana... he can eat 2 or 3 in a day as the doctor told him that banana can helps him to strengthen his memory (like ginkgo biloba)... anyway, thanks again...
• Philippines
13 Feb 08
Hi lingli_78! You're welcome. It's also my cousin's favorite fruit. We love talking and catching up with what's happening with each other's life while hanging out in their dining area. There's always bananas in their table and she'll eat up maximum of six bananas while we're talking. Thank you very much for your response.
@janejaa (412)
• Pakistan
13 Feb 08
so interesting but I'll reply u later...coz Im too busy right now...
@janejaa (412)
• Pakistan
20 Feb 08
Well, dear thanks for all this useful information. It is a good research but some of the details lack credibility as they are not approved by any credible health organization. I still want to use bananas from today, though.
• Philippines
21 Feb 08
Hi there janejaa! Thank you very much for your response. Yeah, I guess there's nothing wrong with trying right? Some of it may not be scientifically proven but I guess there isn't anything bad that eating bananas could cause.
@olivemai (4738)
• United States
13 Feb 08
I like to buy bananas by the case! I bought a banana tree one time, but it was so small and it gets too cold here in the SF Bay Area, so I was not able to keep it alive. It was only 5 inches tall!
• Philippines
13 Feb 08
Hi there olivemai! Thank you very much for your response. 5 inches? That's really small. I don't know much about plants but there are lots of banana trees here in the Philippines. Maybe they love the weather here which is the opposite, I think, in your place. I hope you'll be able to grow one somehow though. Good luck!
2 people like this
• Philippines
14 Feb 08
Fresh lemon juice? Sounds nice. Thank you very much for the idea. We might try that at home one of these days.
1 person likes this
@olivemai (4738)
• United States
13 Feb 08
It was not outdoors but it was a mail-order tree! I was being naive. I am going to check out organic banana prices for a case! I used to slice the bananas and squeeze fresh lemon juice over them, them freeze in a ziploc baggie. We can go through a case a week!
1 person likes this
@madlees (1377)
• India
20 Feb 08
I have also seen that post in the mail. My uncle had sent it to me then. We always have bananas with our food. Even in the marriages or birthday celebrations, where many come for food etc, we place our food in the banana leaf and one fruit should be there. Most of us have banana tress grown in our backyards. Raw bananas are used in our cooking. We are from India. Bananas not only as fruits, even the stem inside is used for cooking and is supposed to be very good for Renal failure and for diabetes. There are many delicacies in our cooking which are made from bananas. There are many varieties of bananas here in India.
• Philippines
21 Feb 08
Hi there madlees! It's really nice that you do that. I also like eating on a banana leaf. We usually do it when we go out on outings and we eat rice, salted egg, fried or grilled fish and tomatoes. Thank you very much for your response.
• Philippines
24 Feb 08
Really? I didn't know that. I just have fun eating on it but I didn't know it actually has a health benefit.
@madlees (1377)
• India
22 Feb 08
It is very nice to eat from a banana leaf. It is supposd to be very healthy too.