Bananas Are Healthy, Silly and Sexy And of Course So Yummy

Bananas are healthy for you and that’s a good thing since they are the most popular fruit in North America. Everyone loves bananas. There are more songs, jokes, and silliness with this food than with any other plant on earth. They are Superfoods!

5 Health Benefits of Bananas:

Normalized Blood Pressure and Heart Function:
1 cup of bananas has a whopping 800 mg of potassium. Most Americans have an imbalanced sodium/potassium balance which is correlated with hypertension, heart disease, and diabetes. This is also critical for nerve impulse transmission and muscle contraction.
Improved Elimination:
Contain significant amounts of pectin, a soluble fiber.
Low Glycemic Level:
Although bananas have a lot of sugars, these digest relatively slowly with a glycemic index of 30 for unripe bananas and 60 for ripe. This means you get energy without the rapid blood sugar yo-yo.
Improved Calcium Absorption:
Are high in fructooligosaccharide, a probiotic that encourages growth of friendly bacteria. These friendly bacteria promote proper digestion, including calcium and other minerals. They also reduce the risk of colon cancer.
Heartburn:
Bananas are naturally an antacid. Eating a banana helps with heartburn.

Interesting Facts:

The banana is the largest herb on earth. What looks like a banana tree is not a tree but a herbaceous plant that grows up to 40 feet tall.
All bananas are slightly radioactive. Along with their high potassium content come small amounts of the isotope potassium-40, found in all naturally occurring potassium.
The yellow banana you eat is a mutant: a genetic variation on the hundreds of other varieties and rainbow of colors. It is the sweetest.
United States immigrants were given bananas when they reached Ellis Island in New York. Many had never seen a banana before. They didn’t know they needed to peel them and ate them whole.
Some bananas are fuzzy pink; some when cooked taste like strawberries.
There are over 500 varieties; they come in many shapes and sizes, from small finger fruits to big purple plantains.
Many species of bananas have lower sugar content than the common yellow one, and are often cooked. These are commonly referred to as plantains.

Banana Nutrition:

Rich source of potassium. A 100 g fruit provides 358 mg of potassium.
Have three times the vitamin C as apples.
There are about 110 calories in a banana.
Like many fruits, bananas are alkaline-forming.
One banana contains 3 grams of fiber and 1 gram of protein.
They are a good source of vitamin B6 (pyridoxine).
Also have minerals like copper, magnesium, and manganese.

Banana Trivia:

There were more than 300 banana accidents in Britain in 2001, mostly from people slipping on skins.
You can buy banana beer in East Africa.
Although the banana is considered a phallic symbol in many cultures, with many crude jokes in the west, the banana fruit is produced asexually.
Ripe bananas are fluorescent when exposed to ultraviolet light.
Bananas grow in Iceland. Well, actually in greenhouses heated by volcanic underground springs.

The Bananas We Now Eat are Second Rate:

The yellow bananas we eat now are called Dwarf Cavandish (or just Cavandish). This particular species was chosen for its transportation and shelf life rather than its taste. They became popular after their predecessor the Gros Michel was commercially wiped out by disease.

Most people agree the Gros Michel tasted much better. During the Gros Michel time, bananas were more popular than they are today. That is why there are so many songs and skits involving bananas. Bananas were so popular that in some areas, modern garbage pickup started because of the need to deal with the mounds of bananas peels leftover.

The Cavandish may also be wiped out commercially. Hopefully, the next major brand will taste better!

There Are More Songs About Bananas Than Any Other Fruit:

Banana Rap Song: 12 million views (fun and silly)

Chiquita Banana Song: Lip synced by a grandma…educational too.

How to Buy, Store and Ripen Bananas

They are picked when they are green because they ripen after being picked.
Most commercial bananas are picked unripe (green) and shipped in containers just cool enough to stop ripening.
Once at the market, they are stored at higher temps with just a small amount of ethylene gas until they are yellow or green-yellow.
Bananas (and other fruits) produce ethylene gas, so when you have green bananas, the best way to ripen putting them in a paper bag. It will take 1-3 days to ripen depending on how green they are. Also, putting the bag on top of your fridge or another warm place can make it happen faster. Adding other fruit, like an apple, will also help.
If you put bananas in your fridge, this will make the skins brown and stop the ripening process.
Most commercial bananas are fumigated. Monkeys and chimps can tell the difference – they will eat the whole banana if it is organic, but will only eat the inner fruit if not.
Bananas have the most antioxidants when they are the most ripe!

Controversial Side of Bananas:

Bananas have been cultivated in Asia from seven- to ten thousand years but modern banana production for the west has been centered on banana plantations in the Caribbean and Central America. These plantations have been accused of not contributing to the local or national economy or well-being.

Huge multinational corporations (like Chiquita and Dole) developed the banana industry and used political manipulation to further their commercial interests along with US international interests. This is why the terms “Banana Republic” and “banana war” arose.

Banana Cautions:

In eastern energetic orientation, the banana is both cooling and wet.
This is a great balance for hot dry conditions but maybe unbalancing for certain constitutions or situations such as a cold or flu.
Bananas, like avocados and chestnuts, contain chitinases, that are associated with the latex-fruit allergy syndrome.
If you have an allergy to latex there is the possibility of a reaction. This effect may be moderated for organic and cooked bananas.

Randy Tries Dr. Oz’s Banana Hair Conditioner

Dr. Oz commissioned his researchers to find the best treatment for damaged hair and they ended up with bananas.
Here is the simple recipe with before and after pictures: Banana Conditioner

Banana Recipes:

Banana Pudding: This is easy peasy to make… and delicious!
Green Smoothie with Banana: In less than 3 minutes you can whip up a green smoothie that is the healthiest way possible to start your day.