Bananas are delicious and famous all over the world. They are highly rich in nutritional values that benefit the body a lot. The Health benefits of bananas are so numerous. They contain nutrients that are very important for our health. Also, they are a good source of fiber, various minerals, and vitamins. They are rich in antioxidants that protect the body from chronic diseases.
In this article, we will explore the nutritional components, health benefits, and side effects of this fruit.
Let’s start with the most important nutritional constituents of bananas that are necessary for the body:
Bananas are a rich source of carbohydrates whose composition changes dramatically during ripening. Health professionals have found that unripe bananas contain starch and ripe ones contain sugar i.e., sucrose, fructose, and glucose. Their glycemic index is relatively low due to their high fiber content.
Bananas are a good source of many types of fiber, such as pectin. Unripe ones contain resistant starch, which acts like fiber. This helps improve gut health and keep blood sugar levels within normal limits.
Potassium is one of the most important components of bananas. It helps regulate fluid levels in the body and regulates the movement of nutrients and waste to and from cells. Potassium also helps muscles contract, and respond to nerve cells. Besides, it maintains a regular heartbeat and reduces the effect of sodium on blood pressure.
A medium-sized banana contains a quarter of your daily need for vitamin B6. This is essential for a healthy body, metabolism, healthy immune system. and brain development during pregnancy and lactation.
Bananas contain vitamin C which fights free radicals produced when exposed to cigarette smoke and pesticides. It also works to promote a better immune system function.
Bananas contain 8% of the body’s daily need for magnesium which helps control blood pressure, regulate blood sugar levels, and maintain bone strength.
Dopamine is an important neurotransmitter in the brain that affects mood. Bananas contain dopamine, but it does not penetrate the blood-brain barrier. Therefore, it does not affect mood but acts as an antioxidant, instead.
Bananas contain many antioxidant flavonoids, most notably catechins. Eating catechins has been linked to many different health benefits such as reducing the risk of heart disease.
Looking at the components of bananas, we find that bananas are a healthy source of fiber, potassium, and many vitamins. Here are the nutritional values of each 100 gram of banana:
Calories: 85 energy
Fats: 0.22 g
Water: 78.3 g
Carbohydrates: 20.1 g
Fiber: 1.7 g
Sugars: 15.8 g
Vitamin C: 9.7 g
Vitamin B6: 0.234 g
Potassium: 360 milligrams
Protein: 0.73 g
As stated above, bananas, in addition to their delicious taste, have lots of health benefits. So, to fully take advantage of these benefits, we should include them in our daily diet. Listed below are the most important benefits of bananas.
Thanks to the fact that bananas contain carbohydrates, they help increase energy in the body. They, thus, raise the level of daily activity. So it is recommended to eat a banana in the morning. But you should not eat other fruits rich in sugar to keep your blood glucose within the normal limits.
One of the benefits of eating bananas is that they contain high levels of potassium, as one banana is rich in about 422 mg of potassium. This helps reduce the risks of muscle contraction quickly, which is one of the problems that occur as a result of sudden pressure on the muscles, especially during exercise.
Heartburn is a common problem for many people, especially after eating fatty foods. As an ideal solution, one should eat bananas to reduce the possibility of developing this problem. By relieving heartburn, they provide the body with comfort because it neutralizes acid in the stomach.
The fact that bananas contain high levels of potassium, helps maintain normal blood pressure levels in the body. We know that a high percentage of potassium and a low percentage of sodium help reduce high blood pressure.
Bananas are rich in fiber that helps you feel satiated and decreases the feeling of hunger for a long time. This leads to a decrease in the amount of food eaten and, thus, losing weight. Yet, one must not eat many bananas to avoid developing other heal problems such as raising blood sugar levels.
Although bananas contain a type of starch that reduces appetite. it is preferable to eat green ones because they are low in calories which contributes to weight gain.
Anemia occurs as a result of a low number of red blood cells and a low level of hemoglobin in the blood. This can be due to not eating enough foods rich in iron which are important elements for the body.
Bananas are rich in vitamin B6 which regulates glucose levels in the blood. They also contain a large proportion of iron which helps stimulate the production of red blood cells.
They are easy to digest in the stomach. But the resistant starch in them is not digested easily to reach the large intestine, where it acts as an effective food mediator for healthy bacteria. You can eat bananas when you suffer from stomach inflammation and diarrhea. Eating them also helps to promote the health of the digestive system and replace lost minerals caused by diarrhea.
Thanks to their antioxidant and potassium content, bananas may help prevent wheezing in children who suffer from asthma.
Bananas contain the protein lectin, which acts as an antioxidant. They also contain vitamin C, which may help prevent cancer cells from growing.
Because bananas contain fiber, potassium, folate, and antioxidants that support heart health and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease
They help lower blood sugar levels because of the fiber they contain.
Bananas help enhance the ability to learn, remember and maintain memory thanks to the amino acid tryptophan, which forms the serotonin hormone known as the hormone of happiness.
They also contain magnesium, which is responsible for improving mood and sleep quality.
They provide a range of vitamins and minerals that the body needs, such as vitamin B6. They contain about 20% of the daily need for this vitamin. This helps produce insulin, hemoglobin, and important amino acids to create healthy cells.
One banana also contains 15% of the body’s need for vitamin C, which is an antioxidant vitamin that neutralizes harmful free radicals in the body and promotes healthy blood vessels and collagen production. It also improves immune system functions to reduce the risks of infection.
After stating the benefits of bananas, let’s ask the following question: does eating too many of them have harmful effects on our health or damage any of our body organs? The answer of course is yes.
Below, we will state the side effects of not respecting the normal banana intake necessary for our body.
Bananas may be a cause of weight gain because they are rich in sugars, starches, and proteins.
One medium-sized banana contains 105 calories, unlike the rest of the other fruits which contain about 60 calories. So if you are planning to lose weight, they are not a good choice for you, because they are rich in calories.
If you suffer from migraine attacks, it is best to avoid eating bananas because they contain large amounts of tyramine which causes migraines.
It is a condition that occurs when you eat lots of bananas as they contain a high percentage of potassium.
Therefore, people who use beta-blockers should eat potassium-rich foods in moderation.
Because bananas are rich in sugars and contain large amounts of starches, eating a lot of them may cause tooth decay. If you consume them in large quantities, you are prone to tooth decay, as they contain particles that remain in the mouth for about two hours. But you can avoid this problem if you take care of your teeth and clean them regularly.
We often hear that starting your day with a banana is a good option. But this may cause drowsiness because they contain a large proportion of magnesium which leads to relaxation and calms the nerves and muscles. Therefore, it is preferable to eat bananas in the evening to improve sleep quality.
Despite the benefits of bananas, excessive consumption of this fruit may cause problems in the intestines and indigestion such as constipation or diarrhea. That depends on the nature of the body.
Eating bananas in large quantities may create gases in the intestines because they contain fructose and soluble fibers that the stomach finds difficult to digest. This condition produces gas and may cause embarrassment for some people.
It is preferable for patients with kidney disease to refrain from eating bananas because of their high potassium content. Potassium, first, stresses kidney functions, and, second, is difficult to be removed from the body by the kidneys.
Bananas may cause allergies in some people. So people who are allergic to this fruit should stop eating it.
It is not possible to determine the number of bananas to eat daily. This varies from person to person according to some factors like the number of calories that the body needs, as well as the dietary habit that a person follows.
Therefore, it is recommended to eat one or two pieces a day. This is a moderate number that is suitable for healthy people. But cautions against eating a great number of this fruit still remain because an excess in potassium may be harmful to people who suffer from kidney problems. In this case, the kidneys will not be able to remove the excessive amount of potassium from the blood.
Besides eating bananas, it is recommended to eat various other fruits, vegetables, dairy products, as well as whole grains that are rich in important nutrients for the body such as lean proteins and healthy fats.
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