Bananas are one of the most widely consumed fruits in the world. Eating them could help lower blood pressure and reduce the risks of cancer and asthma.
Bananas are rich in a mineral called potassium. This mineral is important because it helps maintain fluid levels in the body and regulates the movement of nutrients and waste products in and out of cells.
Bananas are fruit that grow on a banana tree, most farmers plant them in rows leaving space between the trees to allow space for harvesting. As a child I used to play in those farms because my grandmother is a farmer and had a big acreage of banana plantations among other things.
Below is a mature banana tree with the mature fruit. The tree, even though called a tree it is not of wood nature but is of herb nature in the family of ginger, it is not consumed as ginger, I am making reference to ginger tree to describe the banana tree.
The fruit seen on the picture below is still green and can be used to cook mashed bananas or boiled, can also be fried as unripened plantain.
Some farmers sell them unripened like the one above and some leave them on the trees until they are ripe then cut them like in the picture below
Potassium also helps muscles to contract and nerve cells to respond. It keeps the heart beating regularly and can reduce the effect of sodium on blood pressure.
Potassium may reduce the risk of kidney stones forming as people age. In turn, healthy kidneys make sure that the right amount of potassium is kept in the body.
Bananas provide a variety of vitamins and minerals:
Vitamin B6 - .5 mg
Manganese - .3 mg
Vitamin C - 9 mg
Potassium - 450 mg
Dietary Fiber - 3g
Protein - 1 g
Magnesium - 34 mg
Folate - 25.0 mcg
Riboflavin - .1 mg
Niacin - .8 mg
Vitamin A - 81 IU
Iron - .3 mg
The recommended intake of potassium for adults is 4,700 milligrams per day.
In the recent past my mother introduced me to banana chips, which basically is bananas fried in coconut oil which is also packed with nutrients (will discuss coconut oil in another top). Instead of regular chips, I opt to eat the banana chips which quench's the sweet tooth and allow me to indulge in the fried food taste.
Bananas can also be used to make wine which is made by fermenting peeled, mashed, ripe bananas. Water is added to dilute the rather thick banana mash, wine yeast and sugar is also added
Moving from chocolate bars to bananas saved me £'s and shed me lb's. They may not be perfect but the benefits out weigh the negatives. Get my vote every time.
Did it? Switching from chocolate bars to bananas helped your lose weight? I like bananas A LOT but for some reason (no evidence) I always thought that they were fattening. As for chocolate, I've read a lot that dark pure chocolate is good for you. In any event, I'm happy that the switch worked out well for you and thanks for sharing your thoughts and observations. I love original content (not just in posts but in comments as well) and it's nice to see something that a human wrote and not just a general one liner either.
Awww thank you @fortyplus. I agree the banana sugar is better than the chocolate sugar, less weight and more money is a reason to celebrate! :)
Heck yeah, bananas are amazing. I used to work in produce and they were my go to snack. Thanks for the info!
Hahaha yes @cammaster, I am snacking on the banana chips as we speak, the same bag as the picture above. They help :)
Thank you for the feedback comment and the upvote :)
Welcome to Steemit @fshllc, I have upvoted and sent you a tip. Check my blogs if you are looking for tips on how to earn more Steem and SBD.
@earncrypto, thank you for the comment, upvote and tip. Always looking for ways to earn so I will definitely look at your blogs, thanks! :)
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Hahaha thank you @fitzgibbon
Potassium yum
Yesssss yummy :)
Thank you for your comment @enginewitty
Sure thing!
:) Have a lovely day @enginewitty
Why thank you! May yours be bright too :)
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STOPBananas are great, and so cheap. I've been trying to eat healthier. I eat at least 1 banana... sometimes 2 per day now.
Fun fact: bananas are also slightly radioactive!
@caith thank you for the feedback! Yes they are very affordable and a good source of nutrients. Eating healthier is a very good choice and hopefully more people will be motivated to do so :)
Hello again fshllc!
I congratulate you for your post, very good and instructive, to put banana recipes, you missed the delicious banana split hahaha.
Success and we are still reading!
@carmenalicia hahahaha banana split is a great idea especially this hot afternoon, fortunately I do not have ice cream ;)
I wish we had real bananas here in the US! The real ones are so yummy
@arbitrarykitten it is unfortunate most of our food is genetically modified but I think the whole foods organic section might have the real ones. Couple years ago I went to an international market inside the union market in DC and found the real ones, they even had the very sweet little yellow ones. Try the organic section or international grocery stores, hopefully there is one in your area.
I have not found a "real" banana in years, and definitely not in the US- even when I lived in border states like CA and TX!
But I will be visiting Bolivia soon and seriously- real bananas are on my list!!!
Thanks for the great information! Upvoted & following :)
You are welcome @countrylover, thank you for the follow, I look forward to seeing your posts and comments. Have a lovely day :)
Excellent information, made me remember my high school and college classes. Thanks for passing my post, I will be visiting more often, I have interested your post. They get along with me;)
@lucyrlerma thank you! Haha it is interesting how certain foods are nostalgic, the remind us of a particular time frame in our lives. Yes please be visiting my blog from time to time, I look forward to your feedback and your posts. Have a lovely day
A very good article, in my place there is also a tree called "PISANG" tree, We often process the fruit into fried bananas or people often call it with "BADA". How to make it very easy, banana smeared with flour that has been mixed with spices and then fried. It tastes very good and tasty, krez..krezz ..
Have a nice day !
Wow @ponpase, this looks very appetizing. Where is this from? And which spices do you use?
This is from Aceh, a province on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia, do you know?
Great info! WE eat a LOT of bananas in our house, and I didn't realize all of these health benefits. Good to know – thanks! :)
YOU are welcome @silverscreenings
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