Banana: Latest discoveries about nutrition, benefits, risks and banana peels

is a very popular fruit in hot and tropical regions like Vietnam, Central America and Africa. Bananas are popular because of their sweet taste. Scientifically, can eating bananas have health benefits, risks and eating banana peels?

According to LiveScience, bananas are one of the most attractive fruits in the world. United Nations statistics show that global banana export turnover reached 18 million tons in 2015, of which the US and European markets accounted for half. In the United States, bananas are the favorite fruit of many people and on average every American citizen eats about 5kg of bananas a year, according to the US Department of Agriculture.

Banana is the favorite fruit of many people.

This charming curvaceous yellow fruit gives us a variety of health benefits such as rich potassium (potassium), pectin (a type of fiber), magnesium supplement, vitamins C and B6.

According to the nutritionist Laura Flores in San Diego (USA), thanks to the high content of vitamin B6, bananas help reduce inflammation, support treatment, lose weight, enhance nervous system function and produce white blood cells (white bridge).

In addition, bananas are rich, providing the ability to protect you from free radicals that we often touch every day in the sun, skin moisturizer.

A recent study of meta-analysis published in Prilozi Section of Medical Sciences shows that even unripe green bananas have many health benefits. Specifically, support for control of gastrointestinal diseases such as diarrhea, gastric ulcers, and reduction in blood pressure and cholesterol. Some studies have also suggested that lectins in green bananas may help treat HIV disease.

The more ripe bananas, the higher the nutritional level. Bananas with black dots enhance the power of white blood cells more than 8 times stronger than green bananas, according to a study in the Food Science and Technology Research magazine in 2009. In our bodies, white blood cells are responsible for fighting bacteria, viruses, fungi and other pathogens.

The more ripe bananas, the higher the nutritional level.

Nutrition in bananas

Below is a nutrition information table in the bananas under the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which manages food labeling under the national education and labeling law:

Servings: 1 medium sized banana (banana size in the US, about 126g)

1. 110 calories
2. Calorie from fat: 0

% of daily value (% DV) based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Table of nutrition information in bananas.

Health benefits of bananas

Heart health

Bananas are good for the heart because they are high in potassium, electrolyte minerals that keep the current flowing in the body to help the heart function normally. According to the FDA, high potassium and low sodium levels of bananas help protect the cardiovascular system from the risk of high blood pressure.

Bananas are good for the heart because they are high in potassium.

An Alabama University animal study found that potassium in bananas is also involved in arterial activity: your arteries will be harder to harden when you eat more bananas. In the experiment, mice fed a low banana diet had arteries harder than mice that consumed a normal amount of bananas. In humans, arterial stiffness is related to heart disease.

Depression and stress

Banana's concentration of tryptophan (a substance converted to serotonin, a neurotransmitter cell that is arousing), is known for its ability to help sleep and is very helpful in helping you overcome depression. , Flores said. Not only that, other minerals in bananas like vitamin B6 will help you sleep and magnesium helps relax muscles.

Fiber-rich bananas help you balance.

Digestion and weight loss

High-fiber bananas help you balance, only one banana provides nearly 10% of daily fiber requirements (calculated on a 2,000-calorie diet). Also, according to Flores, substances that protect you from type 2 diabetes and support weight loss in bananas are vitamin B6. In general, bananas are great weight-loss foods because they are sweet and dense, suitable for you to cope with cravings for sugar.

Bananas are also particularly rich in resistant starch, which has recently been noticed by scientists.Resisstant starch is a type of starch that is not easily digested and absorbed in the small intestine, so the rate of hyperglycemia is not high, helping to control blood sugar. Resistant starch also increases the production of short-chain fatty acids that enhance liver health, according to a report in this year's Nutrition Bulletin Nutrition Journal.

This starch is abundant in green bananas and gradually decreases when ripe bananas so it is more difficult to digest than ripe bananas. In addition to green bananas, resistant starch is found in beans (near shells), potatoes, grits, grains such as brown rice, corn, millet, wheat .

Exercise

The more green bananas, the higher the dopamine content in bananas.

Bananas are more effective than sports drinks in regenerating energy and providing electrolytes. A study on the PLOS One in 2012 found that in street bike races, a group of athletes when energized every 15 minutes with famous Gatorade sports drinks compared to recharging with bananas and water All have the same increase in body capacity and physiology. But when bananas are used, antioxidant capacity, hypoxia and overall ability improve with serotonin and dopamine in bananas.

Dopamine is a type of neurotransmitter monoamine necessary for the functioning of the central nervous system. Dopamine depletion is associated with diseases like Parkinson's. According to F * ck Portion Control, the more green bananas the higher the dopamine content in bananas. An unripe banana can have up to 800mg of dopamine and this ratio decreases as the bananas ripen.

Eye sight

The familiar tuber makes your eyes better, but everyone knows it's carrots. As for eye protection, bananas are not as popular as carrots, but they are also very useful because they contain a small amount of vitamin A to help maintain normal vision and improve night vision, according to the National Health Academy. USA (NIH). Vitamin A has minerals that protect the membrane around the eye, which is a factor in proteins that help brighten the cornea. In addition, bananas also contribute to the prevention of macular degeneration in the elderly, loss of vision in the center of things that according to Western medicine is very difficult to cure.

Bone

Bananas also make your bones strong. According to an article in the Journal of Physiology and Biochemistry in the Journal of Physiology and Biochemistry in 2009, bananas are rich in fructooligosaccharides, a starch that does not consume priobotic and the body's ability to absorb calcium.

Priobotic is also known as "friendly bacteria" or "beneficial bacteria", which are useful bacteria or yeasts that help restore intestinal balance.

Cancer

Some evidence suggests that eating bananas with moderate amounts may help protect us from the risk of kidney cancer. According to a study by Swiss women in 2005, the risk of kidney cancer will be reduced by 40% when eating more than 75 servings of fruits, vegetables and halving when eating between 4 and 6 bananas per week.

Bananas are effective at preventing kidney cancer because they are rich in antioxidant phenol compounds.

Pregnancy

A study by the Royal Society found that potassium in bananas is involved in women giving birth to boys. Experiments on 740 women who use bananas are more likely to give birth to boys than the rest.

Bananas also help prevent gestational diabetes, as diabetes only occurs in women during pregnancy. One of the causes of gestational diabetes is lack of sleep, according to a study on Sleep Medicine Reviews. Women during this period will sleep better thanks to magnesium and tryptophan in bananas.

Health risks when eating lots of bananas

Eating too much will cause headaches and drowsiness.

If you eat bananas with moderate amounts, there will be no serious side effects. However, eating too much will cause headaches and drowsiness due to high levels of tryptophan, said nutritionist Flores. The amino acids in bananas will expand the blood vessels that are more abundant in ripe bananas in other bananas. In addition, magnesium helps relax muscles, this is both a benefit and a risk depending on the case.

Bananas with lots of sugar should eat too much banana without proper oral hygiene will lead to tooth decay. Bananas also do not have enough protein and fat to become a healthy meal or an effective snack after work.

Eating bananas only becomes a significant risk if you eat too much. The US Department of Agriculture recommends that adults eat two fruit cups a day (equivalent to 300 grams), or two bananas. If you eat up to a dozen bananas a day, of course, you are at risk of high levels of minerals and vitamins that exceed your body's needs.

According to the University of Maryland medical center report, excessive potassium consumption can cause hyperkalemia-muscle weakness, temporary paralysis, and irregular heartbeat. Signs of hyperkalemia can occur and have serious consequences if you eat 43 bananas in a short time.

According to NIH, consuming more than 500mg of vitamin B6 per day can destroy nerve damage to limbs. You have to eat thousands of bananas, the amount of accumulated B6 causes this phenomenon.

Banana peels are harmful or beneficial?

As stated in the fitness section, the best way to eat bananas is to eat the skin. The biggest risk from banana peels can only be . slipping banana peels. Banana peels are not toxic, but they are also nutritious. According to nutritionist Flores, banana peels are eaten in many parts of the world, although this is not common in the West.

In banana peel there are many vitamins B6 and B12 and magnesium, potassium, fiber, protein. A 2011 study in Biochemistry and Applied Biotechnology (Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology) shows that banana peels also have many bioactive compounds (compounds that produce biological activities in the body). like polyphenols, carotenoids .

According to F * ck Portion Control, if you only eat bananas, this meat contains hormones that reduce dopamine (the monoamine type essential for the nervous system mentioned in the Exercise section). So it is best to eat bananas whole (though this is not a common habit in Vietnam). If you are having health problems, eating bananas often, eating only bananas inside can make you depressed and suffer from metabolic diseases such as diabetes.

To eat banana peels, first wash it carefully to remove the pesticides sprayed on the banana dust. Banana peels can be eaten raw, blended with other fruits or boiled / fried as a dish. Of course, banana peels are not as sweet as banana meat and ripe banana peels will be sweeter than green bananas.

Banana peels are not toxic, but they are also nutritious.

Other interesting information about bananas

Bananas can be the first grown fruit in the world. There is archaeological evidence of banana cultivation in New Guinea around 8,000 BC.

Biologically, banana plants are classified as a perennial herb group with plant growth and development. And the banana is considered a berry (berry) such as tomato, pumpkin, watermelon, avocado, blueberry (blueberry), cranberry (cranberry) .

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Fund (FAO), there are about a thousand different banana varieties in the world, but most bananas sold in the US in the US are Cavendish bananas native to South Asia.

Ecuador is the world's leading banana producer, followed by the Philippines. Bananas are also grown in many tropical and subtropical regions such as Asia, Africa, the Americas, the Canary Islands and Australia. Wild bananas grow throughout South Asia but are not for humans because of the hard seed.