Possible Health Benefits of Bananas
Bananas have been enjoyed by generations for many years and are a great, convenient way to increase your fruit intake whenever hunger pangs kick in! But what exactly are the health benefits of eating bananas?
Health Benefits of Eating Bananas
- Lowering blood pressure due to the high potassium content of bananas.
- Preventing cancers such as colorectal cancer and childhood leukaemia as a result of the high fibre & vitamin C content.
- Treating diarrhoea and regulating the bowel system.
- Reducing depression thanks to an amino acid, tryptophan, which boosts your mood.
- Supporting your heart health as a result of the fibre, potassium, vitamin C & B6 content of bananas
- Preserving our memory due to the increased serotonin levels associated with the amino acid, tryptophan.
- Helping type 1 & type 2 diabetics by lowering blood glucose levels.
- Keeping asthma away. A 2011 study by researchers at Imperial College, London found a 34 per cent reduction in the risk of children developing asthma when eating just one banana a day.
- Helping our bones grow stronger through the preservation of bone mineral density.
- Reducing the risk of stroke due to the high potassium content.
How to add bananas to your daily diet
It is very easy to incorporate bananas into our daily diet as they are readily available all year round. They should be stored at room temperature but can be refrigerated to slow down the ripening process. The outer peel will darken but the banana itself will remain intact longer.
They can be sliced onto your morning cereal or porridge, added to any fruit smoothie, used as a sweetener in cakes, muffins and fruit loaves, or just taken with you when you are out and about to curb the mid-meal hunger pangs.
A note of warning though for people who take beta-blockers for heart disease, bananas should be eaten in moderation as the medication itself can cause potassium levels in the blood to increase. This is also the case for people with kidney disease as the kidneys may be unable to remove excess potassium from the blood.
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