Banana is a perennial herbaceous plant that grows in humid, tropical zones. It is one of the most loved tropical fruit and is thought to be originated in the Southeast Asia. Today, banana is probably one of the most widely cultivated crops in the tropical and subtropical regions.
There are many different varieties of bananas throughout the world, ranging in color (yellow to brown), sizes (from four to nine inches) and weight (70 to 150 g). The most common is the large yellow, smooth-skinned variety, called Cavendish bananas.
Banana is an economical and versatile fruit that is easy to find in any supermarket around the world. Aside from being inexpensive and delicious, the fruit also provides many important nutrients, such as vitamin A, vitamin B6, vitamin C, magnesium, and potassium, that can help prevent diseases and keep your body healthy.
Nutritional Value of Raw Banana
Apart from that, banana is also rich in fiber content and natural sugars, like sucrose, fructose, and glucose, making it a great source of energy and easily digested fruit.
Health benefits of Banana
- Allergies
Banana is very useful for those who are allergic to certain foods. Unlike other protein foods, which contain amino acids that those people can not tolerate and may causes allergy. Bananas contain only benign amino-acids which in many cases are not allergic. - Anemia
Being high in iron content, bananas are beneficial in the treatment of anemia. They helps stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood. - Boost Energy
Fructose, glucose, and sucrose contained in bananas will give an instant and sustainable amount of energy. This is the reason why athletes often eat bananas. - Constipation and Diarrhea
Bananas are a good remedy for constipation and diarrhea as they can help normalize bowel functions. They also have the ability to change the harmful bacteria in the intestines become the beneficial acidophilic bacilli. - Dysentery
Mashed banana together with little salt is an excellent medicine for dysentery. Ripe bananas are also useful in treatment of dysentery on children, but they should mashed and process to cream before apply it. - Hangover
The mixture of banana milkshake with honey is A good medicine for hangover. Banana calm your stomach, along with milk, it helps rehydrates your system. Honey is also comfort your stomach and control your blood sugar and potassium levels back to normal. - Helps to stop smoking
Nutrients contain in banana such as vitamins A1, B6, B12, C, magnesium, and potassium helps withdraw nicotine from the body - Improve Mood
Bananas contain Tryptophan, an essential amino acid which is responsible for the production of Serotonin. Serotonin is a hormone that is known to overcome depression and improve mood. - Intestine Disorder
The banana is used as the dietary food against intestinal disorders because of its easy to digest. This is the only raw fruit which can be eaten without distress in chronic ulcer cases. Ripe bananas are very useful to treat ulcerative colitis. Being a soft, smooth, and easily digested, they help out acute symptoms and support healing process. - Improve brain function and keep alertness
Potassium found in the bananas is a good source to improve brain function and keep alertness. So add a banana to your breakfast before you start the day. - Kidney Disorders
Being of their low protein and salt and high carbohydrate content, bananas are valuable in kidney disorder. They are useful in uremia, a toxic condition of the blood die to kidney congestion and dysfunction. In such cases, a diet of banana should only be taken for 3 to 4 days with consuming 8 to 9 banana a day. This diet is suitable for all kidney problems, including nephritis. - Menstrual disorders
Cooked banana flower and eat with curd is considered an effective medicine for cure menstrual disorders like excessive bleeding and painful menstruation. Banana flower helps increase progesterone hormone which reduces the bleeding. - Over weight
Diet consists of bananas and skim milk are considered as an effective remedies for weight loss. - Reduce the risk of Heart Attack and Stroke
Bananas are an excellent source of potassium which helps keep body electrolyte and fluids balance in body cells and helps in controlling blood pressure, thus reducing the risk of heart attack and stroke. Research has shown that regular intake of bananas can reduce the risk of stroke by 40%. - Urinary Disorders
Juice from banana stem is well known remedies for urinary disorders. It increases the kidney and liver function, thus reducing discomfort and pain conditions in it. It has been found very helpful to remove stones in the kidney and prostate.
Bananas need to be treated with caution because they are easily bruised. The ideal way to store bananas is to keep them at room temperature. If you store bananas in the fridge it will turn into black. But it still can be eaten.
To ripen bananas faster, you can put it in brown paper bag or wrap them in a newspaper. As the bananas ripen, they will taste sweeter because the starch in the fruit will turn to sugar. You can add the banana into your cereals, salads, yogurt, salsa, or shakes.