Show us a fruit bowl without bananas in it? Indeed, this humble fruit, available at almost every street corner, is Nature’s gift to mankind! Easy and handy, all you need to do is remove the peel and bite into it. It is the easiest way to shoo away hunger pangs and re-energise yourself. It is a busy person’s best friend. Imagine how tough some mornings would be, if you did not have bananas and milk as a backup plan for breakfast. Fortunately, Nature has also packed a lot of health benefits into this handy fruit. From being a storehouse of energy to being rich in beneficial minerals and antioxidants, this fruit can do wonders for your good health. Find out more...
1. Provides Energy
Packed with sugars and fibre, it is a quick energy giver. It contains pectin which reduces appetite by delaying stomach emptying (1). It is therefore advisable to have bananas in the mornings, to get a full energy boost and feel fuller for a long time. This also makes it an ideal food for growing children. Almond Banana Smoothie and Date and Banana Shake are quick to make power packed breakfast drinks to start your day with.
2. High Potassium
Banana is high in potassium. Potassium helps normalize the heartbeat and regulates the body's water balance. During high stress situations, when the levels of potassium dip, eating bananas is beneficial. High potassium diets are shown to reduce blood pressure in hypertensive individuals (2).
3. Regulates Bowel Movements
Bananas help restore normal bowel movements. Pectin present in banana helps normalize movement through the digestive tract. Banana is also helpful in relieving constipation due to the presence of resistant starch and pectin (3). Bananas are also good for diarrhea due to its soluble fibre content and being a good source of potassium it is needed to restore the losses due to diarrhea.
4. Blood Pressure
High sodium foods are not recommended for people with high blood pressure. Bananas have low sodium content and high potassium content, and contribute for making it an ideal fruit for hypertensives (4) (5).
5. High Antioxidants
Antioxidants help to fight against free radicals which cause damage to the cells of our body. Bananas contain Dopamine and Catechins which are strong antioxidants (6) (7). Bananas have good amounts of Vitamin C which is a potent antioxidant. Give a punch of antioxidants to your body with Fruit Chaat.
6. Cardiovascular Health
1 medium banana of 72 grams gives 6.21% of the Recommended Daily Allowance for Magnesium which is good for heart health (8). Bananas contain good amounts of potassium which is link to lower the risk of heart diseases by 26% (9). Hawaiian Fruit Bowl with Vanilla Cream is a heart friendly recipe prepared with low fat milk with goodness of a combination of fruits.
7. Cancer Prevention
Bananas contain pectins and pectic-oligosaccharides that have colon cancer preventive properties (10). Dietary fibres from fruits and vegetables have been associated with decreased risk of various cancers.
Nutritional Information for 1 no. of Banana
One Banana is 72 grams.
RDA stands for Recommended Daily Allowance.
79 Calories
0.90 grams of Protein
17.96 grams of Carbs
0.23 grams of Fat
0.36 mg of Vitamin B6, Pyridoxine = 18.00% of RDA (about 2 mg)
5.80 mg Vitamin C = 14.5% of RDA (about 40 mg)
1.59 grams of Fibre = 6.36% of RDA (about 25 grams)
21.75 mg of Magnesium (Mg) = 6.21% of RDA (about 350 mg)
260.64 mg of Potassium (K) = 5.54% of RDA (about 4,700 mg)
0.34 mg of Vitamin B3, Niacin = 2.83% of RDA (about 12 mg)
15.01 mg of Phosphorus (P) = 2.50% of RDA (about 600 mg)
0.48 mg Vitamin E = 2.40% of RDA (about 20 mg)
0.02 mg of Vitamin B2, Riboflavin = 1.81% of RDA (about 1.1 mg)
0.28 mg of Iron (Fe) = 1.33% of RDA (about 21 mg)
1.58 mcg of Vitamin K = 1.31% of RDA (about 120 mcg)
0.10 mg of Zinc (Zn) = 1.00% of RDA (about 10 to 12 mg)
0.90 mg of Sodium (Na) = 0.04% of RDA (about 1902 mg)
Bananas in Your Diet…
Bananas make a great addition to your breakfast yogurt, cereal or smoothie. You can even use them instead of sugar in your baking and cooking. Start your day with Honey Banana Shake a calcium and protein rich drink to refresh your mornings. Banana Walnut Pancakes is a great option as breakfast or snack for pregnant ladies as well as growing children as it is energy boosting with good combination of B-complex vitamins.
Bananas are an amazing fruit option for babies as it is soft and sweet, you can make purees with combination of fruits like Banana and Papaya Puree. Or you can try making Banana Smoothie for babies and as a weaning food. Good for babies who have diarrhea as bananas will provide good amounts of potassium.
Make a unique salad using various fruits and vegetables like our recipe for Fruity Vegetable Salad to increase the intakes of fruits and vegetables.
Try our other recipes using bananas from our website or app.
Happy Cooking!!!