“Go” health benefits of “Bananas”
Bananas are common fruits that one can fine in grocery stores. Many people dislike banana for its taste, its texture, or other reasons. I am a person who do not eat banana for its taste until I came across this video: Dole Banana Nutrition Facts. It makes me think twice about it. Is it the taste of banana much important than the health benefits that it provides?
Here are some nutritional facts of bananas:
- Bananas have resistant starch that aides the digestion of fat. Including bananas in diet helps weight loss.
- Stroke is a leading cause of death in Canada, and bananas prevent stroke because the ratio between the content of potassium and the content of sodium in banana is ideal.
- Potassium also helps the body regulate hear rate and water balance.
- The high content of iron content in bananas can prevent anemia, a low level of red blood cells in blood.
- Vitamin B6 that are present in bananas helps to repair DNA and prevent cancer.
- Eating bananas in prenatal stage can decrease the chance of baby’s being born with leukemia.
- Consumption of bananas can help children build a good immune system.
- Tryptophan, an amino acid, in bananas decreases the chance of getting depression.
It is said “do not judge a book by its cover”, and I think it is true that I cannot dislike banana for its taste, because it has a lot of health benefits.
With these information in mind, be sure to consider including bananas in your diet!
Sources:
Banana Nutrition Facts, Health Benefits of Bananas, Banana Nutrients
September 27th, 2011 at 7:49 am
I absolutely love bananas. They’re amazing and you just proved my point.
September 28th, 2011 at 2:31 pm
Bananas are indeed great! I highly recommend this ice cream substitute that uses frozen bananas, it’s amazing: http://www.choosingraw.com/this-post-will-change-your-life/
I think the starch creates the creamy texture, not sure though.
I wonder if Dole has a vested interest in over-stating the health benefits of bananas. Since we don’t grow them in Canada, perhaps we can get those same benefits from a combination of local foods.
September 30th, 2011 at 12:03 am
This is good information. I did not know that people overlook bananas for their taste. I quite like the taste of bananas!
A point I found interesting in the YouTube video link you provided was, eating at least two bananas a day for a week can reduce blood pressure by 10%. This should give people at risk for heart disease a great incentive to include bananas to their diet.
It is also quite encouraging to hear that bananas can help prevent many different types of cancers, since preventative measures are all we can do currently with regards to cancer.
October 1st, 2011 at 9:41 am
This is really informative!
I wonder if there is some kind of association between all the benefits of bananas and the reason a lot of children’s medicine comes in a banana flavour!
October 7th, 2011 at 9:37 pm
Did you know? If you get cramps while playing sports, try eating a banana before doing your physical activities next time. Apparently you won’t get a cramp.