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Are bananas evil?
Because of their impressive potassium content, bananas are highly recommended by doctors for patients whose potassium is low. One large banana, about 9 inches in length, packs 602 mg of potassium and only carries 140 calories. That same large banana even has 2 grams of protein and 4 grams of fiber. No wonder the banana was considered an important food to boost the health of malnourished children! Those reducing sodium in their diets can't go wrong with a banana with its mere 2 mgs of sodium. For the carbohydrate counters there are 36 grams of carbs in a large banana.
Vitamins and minerals are abundant in the banana, offering 123 I.U. of vitamin A for the large size. A full range of B vitamins are present with .07 mg of Thiamine, .15 mg of Riboflavin, .82 mg Niacin, .88 mg vitamin B6, and 29 mcg of Folic Acid. There are even 13.8 mg of vitamin C. On the mineral scale Calcium counts in at 9.2 mg, Magnesium 44.1 mg, with trace amounts of iron and zinc.
Putting all of the nutritional figures together clearly shows the banana is among the healthiest of fruits. The plantain, when cooked, rates slightly higher on the nutritional scale in vitamins and minerals but similar to the banana in protein and fiber content.
Anaemia: High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of haemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anaemia.
Blood Pressure: This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it the perfect food for helping 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 an English 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 fibre, including bananas in the diet can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without resorting to laxatives.
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.
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 heart-burn, 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 need to control our blood sugar levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foods � such as bananas � every two hours to keep levels steady.
PMS: Forget the pills � eat a banana. The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood.
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): Bananas can help SAD sufferers because they contain the natural mood enhancer, trypotophan.
Smoking: Bananas can also help people trying to give up smoking, as the high levels of Vitamin C, A1, 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 normalise 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 re-balanced 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-chronic ulcer cases. It also neutralises 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!
Well, even though I like all the positive answers, I have a negative thought to add:
The pesticides which are used to keep the bananas safe on plantations are badly misused (meaning that they are put on far too strong). This poisons the plantation workers, leading to open skin lesions, infertility in some men, and babies frequently born with cleft lips and other problems.
So the innocent healthy banana is having quite a bad effect on the people who grow them. One plantation worker was asked if he enjoyed eating the bananas he grew and he said: 'No way, we've all seen what goes on them!'
The good news is: Organic bananas are fine! They don't use the chemical pesticides and they are often Fair Trade too. So organic bananas are not evil. I can buy them in most of my local supermarkets. Can you?
While the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil is represented in Western art and tradition as an apple nowhere in the Bible is the kind of fruit identified. I've read arguments that the fruit was in fact was a banana.
If that is the case it could be argued that the banana is the cause of all evil in the world!
flossheas: I find organic bananas to taste much better than conventional. Organic bananas remind me of the bananas I ate as a child where non-organic ones seem comparatively dull and flavorless. I don't buy 100% organic because of the price but bananas seem to be one area where it is money well spent.
I think you are asking because of the whole carb thing. Bananas got a bad rap because they are high in carbs - but good carbs. In fact, eating green bananas, even though they are not sweet and tasty can help you lose weight.
I think so too. My kids don't need bananas so much that I'm prepared to let other kids have cleft lips to provide them.
Only if you find them driving you Bananas !! - if you do, give 'em the 'slip' and 'peel' outta there !!
OMG how cab you ask such a question they're convicted criminals BEWARE THE BANANANAS!!! ...hehe
No, they are goodies. As the ruler of th pickles, they always try to kill me, but it's too late.
Bananas are one of the healthiest food you can eat.
Only when you draw mean faces on them.
Only when you slip on a banana peel!
I love my boyfriends banana!
I mean banana XD
