The Banana

[vbhoutex]

After Reading THIS, you'll NEVER look at a banana in the same way again!

Bananas Containing three natural sugars - sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fiber, a banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy. Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world's leading athletes. But energy isn't the only way a banana can help us keep fit. It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet.

Depression:
According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a banana. This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.

PMS:
Forget the pills -- eat a banana. The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood.

Anemia:
High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anemia.

Blood Pressure:
This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it the perfect way to beat blood pressure. So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration has just allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit's ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.

Brain Power:
200 students at a Twickenham (Middlesex) school were helped through their exams this year by eating bananas at breakfast, break, and lunch in a bid to boost their brain power. Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.

Constipation:
High in fiber, including bananas in the diet can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without resorting to laxatives.

Hangovers:
One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to make a banana milkshake, sweetened with honey. The banana calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood sugar levels, while the milk soothes and re-hydrates your system.

Heartburn:
Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body, so if you suffer from heartburn, try eating a banana for soothing relief.

Morning Sickness:
Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness.

Mosquito bites:
Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing the affected area with the inside of a banana skin. Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation.

Nerves:
Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous system.

Overweight and at work?
Studies at the Institute of Psychology in Austria found pressure at work leads to gorging on comfort food like chocolate and chips. Looking at 5,000 hospital patients, researchers found the most obese were more likely to be in high-pressure jobs. The report concluded that, to avoid panic-induced food cravings, we need to control our blood sugar levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foods every two hours to keep levels steady.

Ulcers:
The banana is used as the dietary food against intestinal disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chronicler cases. It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.

Temperature control:
Many other cultures see bananas as a "cooling" fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature of expectant mothers. In Thailand, for example, pregnant women eat bananas to ensure their baby is born with a cool temperature.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD):
Bananas can help SAD sufferers because they contain the natural mood enhancer tryptophan.

Smoking:
Bananas can also help people trying to give up smoking. The B6, B12 they contain, as well as the potassium and magnesium found in them, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.

Stress:
Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body's water balance. When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby reducing our potassium levels. These can be rebalanced with the help of a high-potassium banana snack.

Strokes:
According to research in "The New England Journal of Medicine," eating bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the risk of death by strokes by as much as 40%!

So, a banana really is a natural remedy for many ills. When you compare it to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrates, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around. So maybe its time to change that well-known phrase so that we say, "A banana a day keeps the doctor away!"

PASS IT ON TO YOUR FRIENDS and don't be surprised the next time you see me, if I'm growing a tail.

[Miss Mary]

I've always said if I had to choose one and only one food to have for the rest of my life, I would choose bananas!

When my daughter Nina went on what's called the Zone Diet (short lived phase), she told me bananas are bad for us. Of no nutrional value. I just said oh no, that's not right! No way. I could not stuff a banana in her mouth, during that phase. LOL That diet plan did a real number on her way of thinking. Thankfully she's back to her vegetarian ways and trying to eat healthy on a college campus.

A drummer we know eats 2 bananas before performing (2 to 3 hour shows). He arrives with his drum kit and bananas. We used to laugh but he's one awesome drummer. He said they give him incredible energy, better than coffee would.

That's my input on the subject of banana's usefullness - 100% agreement!

Mary

[alicia-w]

yea!!! another banana advocate! didnt they used to be advertised as the perfect food?

[gtalum]

I LOOOOVE bananas.

[vbhoutex]

Actually I haven't had one in years. I guess I better start eating them!!!!

[stormie_skies]

Bananas are wonderful things - and so cheap! I keep them around the house to grab for a quick breakfast, and there are always free bananas in the kitchen at work if I ever have the munchies. I've read some of the things on that list before - but wow!

They certainly are a good "survival" food, too. When I spent time in India as a youngin, I had a hard time getting used to the food at first...I'd never had curry before, just bland midwestern food, and Indian food is kind of an acquired taste..... anyhow, for that first week I think I ate nothing but freshly picked bananas, peanut butter & na'an. Good stuff.

[Pondbuilder]

A banana and an apple a day for lunch...cannot be beat.

[Miss Mary]

My mom never would buy them when I was growing up. Using the excuse they were too expensive. Each week I'd ask, did you buy bananas? And then THE explanation. When I'd visit friends' houses they'd offer me cookies, chips, popsicles, I'd say no thank you, just a banana please. They'd roll their eyes - oh those things, we're sick of them! My parents split when I was 17 and I stayed with my dad. We went a little crazy at the grocery store the first time. I think 50% of our cart was fresh produce. When I asked my dad if I could get a bunch of bananas, he said sure you can. I could finally sit on my couch and eat a banana. Or pack one in my school lunch - a first.

So there's the skinny on why I think ~I~ love bananas!

You deny a kid one food like this and that kid as an adult always keeps it on hand. Yes, right now we have bananas in our kitchen!

In fact, I ask my family what they would like from the grocery store each week. Within reason, I try to please them, 99.9% of the time.

BTW, my family was not poor growing up. Blue-collar income, nice modest home, my dad gave my mom plenty of money for groceries each week. I'll never figure out why she said no. She said no to lots of foods that she claimed were too expensive.

Back to bananas!

[azsnowman]

I received this in an email over a month ago and since then, I eat 2 naners a day!

[alicia-w]

i dont care for apples much because most of them in the stores around here must be old or something. they're kind of mealy, not crisp like the ones we used to get.

[Dee Bee]

Bananas are forbidden on the South Beach Diet. Since I'm on bp meds, my doctor has told me to eat a banana a day (for the potassium). When I was following South Beach, I stopped eating bananas altogether and tried potassium supplements. Well, my cholesterol went WAY up (probably from the diet) and my potassium balance went down, and to make a long story short, I'm off South Beach and back on the banana bandwagon again!

P.S. to alicia-w: The apples here in SoFla are unreliable, too--mostly mealy, rarely crispy.

[arkess7]

very interesting! i love bananas!

[azsnowman]

i dont care for apples much because most of them in the stores around here must be old or something. they're kind of mealy, not crisp like the ones we used to get.

It's because they've been in storage since harvest, usually mid September to the first of October

[alicia-w]

YUCK! we used to pick apples and peaches over at Date Creek Ranch (on the road out of Wickenburg to Vegas) and those were yummy. We had apple and peach anything for weeks! I even made peach and apple butter. But I'd rather do without than eat a mealy apple. UGH.

[DaylilyDawn]

I also love bananas but I don't buy them because I don't have extra maoney for them in my grocery budget. I have to buy enough groceries to last for two weeks at a time since I get paid every other week. Bananas are something Grandpa will buy when he goes to the store.