Bananas are packed with vitamins, minerals, and natural sweetness. They are a a nutritional powerhouse.
Research has shown that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. They contain three natural sugars, sucrose, fructose and glucose, and when combined with fiber, bananas produce an instant, sustained, and substantial boost of energy.
No wonder the banana is the number one fruit for world leading athletes. But energy isn’t the only way a banana helps you stay healthy. Bananas help prevent a number of illnesses and health conditions.
Depression and Anxiety
Bananas can reduce anxiety because they’re natural beta-blockers. This means that when you eat a banana, it can prevent adrenaline from binding to beta receptors. This slows nerve impulses to your heart and counteracts the effects of adrenaline, which maintains a lower heart rate and a calmer state of mind.
According to a survey taken of people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a banana. This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein the body converts into serotonin. This makes you alert, improves your mood, and generally makes you feel happier.
PMS
The vitamin B6 in bananas regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood (among other things). Forget the monthly pills – eat a banana if you’re moody from PMS.
Anemia
Bananas are high in iron, which stimulates the production of hemoglobin in your blood, and that helps with anemia.
Blood Pressure
Bananas are actually considered botanical berries and are one of the most important fruit crops in the world. They are extremely high in potassium yet low in salt making it the perfect food to help lower your blood pressure. The US FDA has permitted the banana industry to officially claim the fruit’s ability to “reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.”
Brain Power
200 students at a Middlesex, UK school were helped through exams by eating bananas at breakfast, at break, and during lunch to boost their brainpower. Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.
Constipation
High in fiber, bananas in the diet can restore normal bowel movement without 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 depleted blood sugar levels, while the milk soothes and re-hydrates the 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 keep blood sugar levels up so to 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.
Binge Cravings
Overweight and work too much? Studies at the Institute of Psychology in Austria found that work pressure leads to gorging on comfort food like chocolate and chips.
Out of 5,000 hospital patients, researchers found the most obese were in high-pressure jobs. The report concluded that to avoid panic-induced food cravings and control blood sugar levels, snacking on high carbohydrate foods every two hours kept levels steady.
Perfect “work” place for the banana.
Ulcers
Bananas can prevent intestinal disorders because of the soft texture and smoothness. It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in sensitive health situations. It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.
Control Body Temperature
Many cultures see bananas as a “cooling fruit” that lowers both the physical and emotional temperature of expectant mothers. In Thailand, for example, pregnant women eat bananas to ensure their babies are born with a cool temperature.
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
Bananas help SAD sufferers because they contain the natural mood enhancer, tryptophan.
Smoking
Bananas can also help people trying to stop smoking. B6 and B12 in bananas, as well as potassium and magnesium, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.
Stress
Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize the body’s heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain, while regulating the body’s water balance. When you are stressed, your metabolic rate raises reducing potassium levels. These levels can be rebalanced by eating a high-potassium banana.
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 as much as 40%!
Warts
If you want to destroy a wart, take a piece of banana skin and place it on the wart (with the yellow side out). Tape the skin in place with a Band-Aid or surgical tape.
Rose Bushes
Blend the soft part of the banana skin in a blender full of water, and pour on the base of your rose bushes to promote healthy roots and new growth.
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So, there you have it – a banana is a natural remedy for many things. When you compare bananas to apples, it has:
❖ four times the protein;
❖ twice the carbohydrates;
❖ three times the phosphorus;
❖ five times the vitamin A and iron;
❖ twice all other vitamins and minerals;
❖ is rich in potassium;
❖ and is one of the best value foods around.
“A banana a day keeps the doctor away.”
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If you want to learn more about healthy living and disease prevention, contact me at janethull.com. Remember that you are never alone when you are looking for good health!
I look forward to supporting you on your journey to alternative health and wellness.
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Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only, and is educational in nature. The FDA may not have evaluated some of the statements. This article is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Please discuss with your own, qualified health care provider before adding supplements or making any changes to your dietary program.
Before taking vitamins, consult your doctor; pre-existing medical conditions or medications you are taking can affect how your body responds to multivitamins.
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