HMHB look at the many reasons we need Bananas in our diets. It's a cracking fruit.

 

Bananas are extremely healthy and delicious.  They contain several essential nutrients and provide benefits for digestion, heart health and weight loss.  Aside from being very nutritious, they are also a highly convenient snack food.

Bananas are among the world’s most popular fruits.  Native to Southeast Asia, they are now grown in many warm parts of the world.  They are found to vary in colour, size, and shape.  The most common type is the Cavendish, which is a type of dessert banana.  It is green when unripe and it yellows as it matures.

Bananas contain a fair amount of fibre, as well as several antioxidants,

One medium-sized banana (118 grams) also contains:

·      Potassium:  9% of the RDI

·      Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine):  33% of the RDI

·      Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid):  11% of the RDI

·      Magnesium:  8% of the RDI

·      Copper:  10% of the RDI

·      Manganese:  14% of the RDI

·      Net Carbohydrates:  24 grams

·      Fibre:  3.1 grams

·      Protein:  1.3 grams

·      Fat:  0.4 grams

Each banana averages around 105 calories (depending on size) and consists almost exclusively of water and carbohydrates. Bananas hold little protein and almost no fat.  The carbohydrates in green, unripe bananas consist mostly of starch and resistant starch, but as the banana ripens, the starch turns into sugar (glucose, fructose, and sucrose).

Bananas are rich in pectin, a type of fibre that gives the flesh its spongy structural form.  Unripe bananas contain resistant starch, which acts like soluble fibre and escapes digestion.  Both pectin and resistant starch may moderate blood sugar levels after meals and reduce appetite by slowing the emptying of your stomach.

Furthermore, bananas also rank low to medium on the “glycaemic index” (GI), which is a measure (from 0–100) of how quickly foods increase blood sugar levels.  The GI value of unripe bananas is about 30, while ripe bananas rank at about 60. The average value of all bananas is 51.  This means that bananas should not cause major spikes in blood sugar levels in healthy individuals.  However, this may not apply to people with type 2 diabetes, who should probably avoid eating a lot of well-ripened bananas and monitor their blood sugar carefully if they do.

Bananas may improve digestive health as Dietary fibre has been linked to many health benefits.  A medium-sized banana has about 3 grams of fibre, making bananas a fairly good fibre source.

Bananas contain two main types of fibre:

·      Pectin:  decreases as the banana ripens.  Some test-tube studies propose that pectin may help protect against colon cancer.

·      Resistant Starch:  Found in unripe bananas.  Resistant starch escapes digestion and ends up in your large intestine, where it becomes food for the beneficial bacteria in your gut.

Bananas are a great dietary source of potassium.  One medium-sized banana (118 grams) contains 9% of the RDI.  Potassium is a mineral that is essential for heart health, especially blood pressure control.

Despite its importance, few people get enough potassium in their diet.  A potassium-rich diet can help lower blood pressure, and people who eat plenty of potassium have up to a 27% lower risk of heart disease.  Furthermore, bananas contain a decent amount  of magnesium, which is also important for heart health.

Many fruits and vegetables are excellent sources of dietary antioxidants, and bananas are no exception.  They contain several types of potent antioxidants, including dopamine and catechins.  These antioxidants are linked to many health benefits, such as a reduced risk of heart disease and degenerative illnesses.

However, it is a common misunderstanding that the dopamine from bananas acts as a feel-good chemical in your brain.  In reality, dopamine from bananas does not cross the blood-brain barrier.  It simply acts as a strong antioxidant instead of altering hormones or mood.

Bananas are often referred to as the perfect food for athletes, largely due to their mineral content and easily digested carbs.  Eating bananas may help reduce exercise-related muscle cramps and soreness, which affect up to 95% of the general population.  In fact, when I ran the New York Marathon in 2000 we were advised to eat a banana before we ran!!

The reason for the cramps is largely unknown, but a popular theory blames a mixture of dehydration and electrolyte imbalance.  However, research gives mixed findings about bananas and muscle cramps. While some studies find them helpful, others find no effects.  That said, bananas do provide excellent nutrition before, during and after endurance exercise.