Go Bananas!

A Brief Introduction:

Haven’t you always wondered why athletes always prefer bananas before or after a workout, or why if a runner gets a leg cramp, they eat a banana? What is up with this prepacked on the go fruit? Bananas are creamy, bright yellow, and full of nutrients. Bananas generally fall into two categories, the sweet banana (most common) and the plantain banana (often found in several Caribbean and vegan dishes).

Nutritional Value:

• Bananas contain about 20% daily value of vitamin B6
• Bananas are also a good source of vitamin C (about 15% daily value)
• 11% of your daily value of potassium comes from just 1 banana (that’s about 400mg)
• You can get 4 grams of fiber from one banana
• A banana has 467 mg of magnesium
• They are only 110 calories (wow that’s nothing!)
• Bananas contain plenty of carbohydrates, which are the body’s main source of energy.

Health Benefits:

• The potassium found in bananas helps to regulate blood pressure and may reduce the risk of high blood pressure and stroke. Potassium also helps normalize the heart beat and regulate the body’s water balance. During periods of high stress (like when you are doing 5 different things and have a 3 0′clock deadline in the office) our body’s potassium levels tend to be depleted. Bananas are a great way to restore those levels naturally.
• Potassium is also essential for helping muscles to contract properly during exercise and reduces cramping up (oh, that’s why athletes prefer them!)
• Bananas are rich in Vitamin B6. Lack of B6 in a diet can cause weakness, irritability and insomnia. B6 plays an important role in converting tryptophan into serotonin, and also helps the body make hemoglobin, a crucial ingredient of your blood. B6 is also essential for antibody production to maintain a healthy immune system.
• Bananas help improve your body’s ability to absorb calcium (which leads to healthy bones. YAY!). By suppressing calcium excretion in the urine bananas minimize the risk of kidney stones. They are rich in fructooligosaccharide, a prebiotic that nourishes the probiotic (good) bacteria in the colon. These probiotics produce vitamins and digestive enzymes that improve our body’s ability to absorb nutrients, plus compounds that protect us against unfriendly microorganisms.

How to Select and Ripen Bananas:

When you go to the grocery store you usually see bananas that are going through the various stages of ripening right there on the shelf. Bananas are picked when they are green. The sizes vary so pick according to how much you can eat. Although the yellow ones look most appealing if you want to eat them right away, if you are buying for the week you might want to consider picking up the green ones instead. Bananas that are more green in color will take longer to ripen.

To ripen your bananas, simply place them at room temperature on a counter top and let nature take it’s course (for lack of a better way to say it). Can’t wait? Use a brown paper bag to speed up the ripening process. Bananas are fully ripened when they are yellow (brown spotted bananas are often used for baking). As bananas ripen, they will taste sweeter because the starch in the fruit turns to sugar. For the most antioxidants, you should eat the fruit completely ripened.

Tips For Getting More Bananas In Your Diet:

• Okay this is complicated but try to follow, pick one up, peel it, and eat it. It really is that easy. Bananas are perfect for on the go snacks. Don’t peel them until you are ready to eat them or else they will go brown. Remember the peel is not edible so don’t get too adventurous.
• Bananas are an excellent ingredient in just about any smoothie. Adds the smooth texture and light creamy flavor without the dairy.

By rawfoodnation Tags: bananas, carbohydrates, fiber, magnesium, potassium, vitamin b6, vitamin c
Posted in Raw Foods | 10 Comments »

10 Responses to “Go Bananas!”

1. Bea says:

   February 8, 2009 at 9:20 pm

   I LOVE bananas. I eat at least one a day. They are also great frozen and used for “ice cream”–yummy!

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2. rawfoodnation01 says:

   February 9, 2009 at 9:44 pm

   You are right! Bananas are awesome frozen for “ice cream” and smoothies! )

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3. organicgarden says:

   February 19, 2009 at 1:22 am

   Have you ever tried red bananas?
   They are smaller in size, red/purple skin, pink flesh, and have a slight raspberry flavor – a real taste treat.

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4. organicgarden says:

   February 26, 2009 at 3:12 am

   Glad you found red bananas.
   Does the label say where they came from?
   I will call my produce manager to get more info… or maybe I’ll just take a trip to the store (and get more!).
   Happy, healthy day to you!

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5. Futomaki says:

   March 1, 2009 at 11:35 pm

   As for the brown bag tip: you may also want to put an apple in to the same bag. Apples produce ethen, which causes many other fruits (bananas included) to ripe faster.

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6. rawfoodnation01 says:

   March 3, 2009 at 11:21 pm

   The sticker says they are from Columbia! Clearly not a local product, but we love to try new things over here so it was worth it! Let me know where yours come from! Cheers ;o)

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   rawfoodnation01 Reply:
   February 19th, 2009 at 11:00 pm

   We did find those in our research! But personally, I can’t find them anywhere locally! Are they seasonal?

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   rawfoodnation01 Reply:
   February 22nd, 2009 at 5:34 pm

   You’ll never guess what I found in Wholefoods this morning! Those little red bananas! Very unique flavor and excellent in a smoothie! Thanks for the tip!

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7. studentdoc says:

   April 17, 2009 at 6:39 am

   I love bananas, but the part about them increasing Calcium absorption probably isn’t true. Only vitamin D does this, and it is found in supplemented foods or it is produced by the body when the skin is exposed to sun. So if you’re worried about Calcium absorption, just make sure you spend at least 15 minutes a day exposed to direct sunlight. Or you could drink milk (yuk!)

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8. rawfoodnation01 says:

   April 17, 2009 at 10:45 am

   Hello! Thank you for your reply. We’re happy to hear that you love bananas as much as we do! We appreciate your view and opinion on bananas. At Raw Food Nation, we thoroughly research our articles on fruits and veggies before publishing.

   The majority of the content for this article came from World’s Healthiest Foods, a very popular book and a website. They compile their information based on research and published studies. I have pasted the detailed information below along with the link if you would like to read the full article:

   Build better bones by eating bananas? Yes, enjoying bananas frequently as part of your healthy way of eating can help improve your body’s ability to absorb calcium via several mechanisms.

   Bananas are an exceptionally rich source of fructooligosaccharide, a compound called a prebiotic because it nourishes probiotic (friendly) bacteria in the colon. These beneficial bacteria produce vitamins and digestive enzymes that improve our ability to absorb nutrients, plus compounds that protect us against unfriendly microorganisms. When fructooligosaccharides are fermented by these friendly bacteria, not only do numbers of probiotic bacteria increase, but so does the body’s ability to absorb calcium. In addition, gastrointestinal transit time is lessened, decreasing the risk of colon cancer.

   Green bananas contain indigestible (to humans) short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) that are a favorite food of the cells that make up the lining of the intestines. When these cells are well-nourished and healthy, the body’s ability to absorb nutrients such as calcium can increase dramatically.
   And here’s the article:
   World’s Healthiest Foods Banana Article.

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