By Olufunke
My mother visited me recently and I offered her garden eggs and peanuts. She suddenly called me while eating and said, “So this is what you have been enjoying.”
I had told her several times about the combination but she never tried it; she had been eating only garden eggs. For people who have been running away from garden eggs because they are not sugary, try it with groundnuts especially when the groundnut is roasted very well and it gives a crunchy sound as you eat it. It is so yummy!
I will be talking about bananas which are botanically called Musa sapientum. It is in the family, Musaceae. Bananas are a healthy source of fibre, potassium, magnesium, vitamin B6, vitamin C and various antioxidants and phytonutrients.
Although, it is an important neurotransmitter in your brain, dopamine from bananas does not cross the blood-brain barrier to affect mood. Rather, it acts as an antioxidant. Several antioxidant flavonoids are found in bananas, most notably catechins. They have been linked to various health benefits, including a reduced risk of heart disease.
The type of carbs in a banana depends on how ripe it is. Unripe green bananas are high in starch and resistant starch, while ripe yellow bananas contain mostly naturally occurring sugars.
Resistant starches pass through your gut without getting digested. They end up in your large intestine where they can help boost beneficial bacteria. They act like soluble fibre in the body and offer lots of potential health benefits, including weight loss and reduced blood sugar levels.
Resistant starch can also slow down the absorption of sugar from foods. This keeps your blood sugar levels stable and helps you feel full. Additionally, resistant starch may increase fat burning.
According to a study performed at the Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago, smelling certain foods when you are hungry can trick your brain into thinking that you have eaten and are satisfied.
One of those foods is bananas. All of the potassium found in bananas can lead to better heart health. Studies suggest that a diet high in potassium is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke.
Bananas contain a prebiotic called fructooligosaccharides. An older 2003 study looked at this prebiotic in postmenopausal women. It found that as this prebiotic ferments in the digestive tract, it enhances your body’s ability to absorb calcium. A separate 2017 study also found that there is a link between getting enough potassium and achieving better bone density.
Unripe bananas were shade-dried, powdered and used for phytochemical analysis and as antiulcer drugs in a study. The study concluded that bananas have anti-ulcer properties. One 2012 study found that bananas are just as beneficial as sports drinks when it comes to improving energy. They even seem to have other advantages over sports drinks.
Bananas might also help decrease gastrointestinal bloating. One 2011 study looked at women who ate a banana on a daily basis in addition to their normal diet. These women reported significantly less bloating than the control group.
Research from 2019 looked at how diet affected university students’ moods as they were experiencing PMS. The scientists found that bananas may also provide a mood boost during that time of the month. How is that possible? Bananas contain a large amount of tryptophan, which boosts serotonin (the “happy hormone”).
A study published in Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics linked low blood levels of vitamin B6 to an increased risk for depression. Bananas are rich in vitamin B6, so you may want to add them to your diet to increase your vitamin B6 intake.
An older study found that unripe bananas contain more starch than ripe bananas. Since the body cannot break down starches as easily, there is a slower and more controlled increase in blood sugar when you eat a less ripe banana.
In 2022, while we were on the series called Medicine in Unlikely Plant Parts, I discussed banana peels and its health benefits, the nutrients it contains and several ways it can be used.
Let me remind you how to make banana peel tea. Place the banana skin that had been cut into tiny bits in a pot and cover it with water. Bring to a boil. Strain banana peel water into a mug or teacup and drink. If you do not want to make tea out of it, you can blend the peels with your blended fruits. Ripe banana peels are not bad but the unripe banana peel has higher antioxidant potency.
Let’s see some health benefits of bananas. Bananas promote heart health and normal blood pressure. It contains compounds that might help soothe sore muscles. Contains compounds that might help lower cholesterol. May improve kidney health. Supports regular bowel movements.
It soothes premenstrual syndrome. It supports bone health. Many bioactive compounds in bananas, like ferulic acid, lupeol and leptin, have been identified as antimicrobial activities of parts of the banana plant.
According to registered dietitian, Elyse Homan, bananas are full of nutrients and easy on the gut. Very few people have problems digesting them.
He went on to say, “Green, or unripe, bananas are high in resistant starch; your body cannot digest resistant starch, instead, it is a prebiotic that promotes the growth of good bacteria in your colon. Prebiotics improve digestive health and can be helpful if you are experiencing diarrhoea.”
The Board Certified Sports Dietitian and Certified Personal Trainer, American College of Sports Medicine, Tara Collingwood, said, “In addition to being a great source of vitamins B6 and C, bananas are an excellent source of carbohydrates.
“I recommend them all the time for athletes because potassium is great for someone who loses a lot of sweat and also a quick energy source and easy to pack into a training bag.”
According to a plant-forward culinary nutritionist and author of The All-Natural Diabetes Cookbook, Jackie Newgent, bananas contain significant amounts of bioactive compounds that offer health-protective benefits, including potential antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer and anti-diabetic properties.
Newgent noted that green bananas could be helpful in the treatment of diarrhoea, adding that the total sugar content increases and fibre content decreases as bananas go from unripe to overripe.
“So, consider enjoying your bananas while they’ve got a bit of green on them,” she added.
According to the Nutrition Lead at Cleveland Clinic’s Department of Wellness and Preventive Medicine, Alexis Supan, people with diabetes should be aware that a medium banana does have a higher carbohydrate and sugar content, so it will impact their blood glucose more than most other fruits.
