Among the benefits of the most treasured fruits available to man, banana health benefits can never be overemphasized! Wonderfully sweet with firm and creamy flesh, bananas come prepackaged in their own yellow jackets when ripe. In addition, bananas are very common; readily available at almost every turn in town, and at very affordable costs.
Unfortunately, a lot of people think that banana health benefits are as common as the availability of the fruit. And this perception counts among the reasons why a lot of folks ignore the fruit as they pass by it daily, thus, forfeiting the treasures nature has hidden in the fruit. These people instead, spend money buying drugs to solve minor problems bananas would have naturally solved without stress or side effects.
Well, gone are the days of ignorance, as you’ll never overlook bananas anymore after reading about the golden indispensable banana health benefits captured here.
1. Rich Source of Potassium
Bananas are officially recognized by health experts as being able to lower blood pressure and protect against heart attack and stroke. This is because it is low in salt and high in potassium, a mineral electrolyte that keeps electricity flowing through your body and keeps your heart beating. The effectiveness of potassium-rich foods such as bananas in lowering blood pressure has been demonstrated by a number of studies. In addition, Vitamin C richly contained in bananas boost immunity to colds, reduces inflammation, and slows the aging of the skin.
2. Rich Energy Supply
Bananas are rich sources of fructose energy and other forms of energy. Here comes into play the saying that bananas are food for monkeys and apes! Now, could you recall how strong these creatures are? Think of how they are always agile, jumping happily from tree to tree. That’s exactly the same effect bananas have on humans. Just two sticks of bananas can provide enough energy for an intense 90 minutes workout!
3. Relieve Stress and Depression
Eating bananas could cheer you up! Sounds like magic, huh? OK, this is it – Bananas are high in amino acids which has the ability to keep you happy and relieve your stress. They are rich in magnesium and calcium which help to overcome depression. Its high levels of magnesium, calcium, and tryptophan, are converted into serotonin, the happy-mood brain neurotransmitter. With proper serotonin levels, bananas help improve your mood, reducing your stress, and giving you a more positive outlook on life.
4. Memory Enhancement
The nutrients in bananas also support normal cognitive functions in terms of focus and memory. The positive effects of the rich supply of vitamins, magnesium, and potassium from bananas on our brain power can never be overestimated. The potassium helps the brain transmit messages while magnesium helps the brain dispose of the waste by-product of protein metabolism, ammonia. By reducing the brain’s ammonia levels, magnesium improves your ability to focus.
Moreover, according to a study by Linus Pauling Institute, the B-6 in bananas could help prevent age-related cognitive declines in memory. It has been discovered that people with higher concentrations of vitamin B6 performed better on two measures of memory than those with lower levels.
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5. Beat Hangovers/Morning Sickness
One fruit that will do you good is the banana – especially if you’ve thrown up. It’s the obvious choice to get potassium into your system fast. Beyond that, bananas are gentle on the stomach and, they’ll also provide and replace electrolytes lost during heavy drinking. Just like any other fruit with a high content of potassium, bananas help to ward off the unpleasant effects of overindulgence in alcohol or other hard drugs. It also significantly reduces morning sickness during pregnancy.
6. Prevents Constipation/Diarrhea
Banana is an excellent source of fiber and water. To aid in maintaining a healthy digestive system, bananas help food move smoothly through your digestive tract, preventing constipation. It may surprise you to know that as bananas help prevent constipation, that’s the same way it helps to correct running stomach, (especially, green bananas). Not only will it stop diarrhea, bananas also restore electrolytes that are lost through constant stooling. As an added benefit, the fibers in bananas also help relieve the symptoms of heartburn.
Banana Health Benefits: Photo Credit – troll.me
7. Beat Ulcers and Cancers
This great fruit creates a special layer in the stomach and reduces the chances of stomach ulcers. Nutrients found in bananas create a thicker, protective barrier in the stomach that defends against hydrochloric acid. Bananas also contain protease inhibitors that eliminate specific bacteria in the stomach that cause ulcers to form. Also, the fruit regulates the production of stomach acids.
Moreover, research suggests that moderate consumption of bananas may be protective against kidney cancer. A 2005 Swedish study found that women who ate four to six bananas a week halved their risk of developing kidney cancer.
8. Fight Anemia
Bananas are packed with iron which increases hemoglobin level and helps in treating anemia. With high levels of Vitamin B6, bananas are essential to producing healthy blood. They also contain a compound called cytolysin. This compound is believed to have the potential to increase white blood cells which enhance immunity.
9. Improved Vision
Bananas contain a small but significant amount of vitamin A, which is essential for protecting your eyes, maintaining normal vision and improving vision at night. Vitamin A contains compounds that preserve the membranes around your eyes and are an element in the proteins that bring light to your corneas. Like other fruits, bananas can help prevent macular degeneration, an incurable condition, which blurs central vision.
10. General Wellness
Among the very many banana health benefits is the fact that it is just great for the overall well-being of humans. Bananas are high in antioxidants which can provide protection from radicals that we come into contact with every day.
They also contain some amount of calcium which is helpful in keeping bones strong. Furthermore, bananas provide dietary fiber, which produces bulk in the intestinal tract. By stretching the intestinal wall, the fiber in bananas and other fruits and vegetables triggers the release of hormones that tell the brain to stop eating and as such, helps to check your weight and keep you in shape!
Surprisingly, when you compare a banana to an apple, bananas have four times the protein, twice the carbohydrates, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A, five times the iron, and two times the other vitamins and minerals.
In all, a banana a day keeps the doctor away!
