What on earth is it? Yes. It is "banana." As many people do, I also love banana very much. However, I think many people eat bananas without knowing what exactly banana is and how wonderful it is. Let's take a look at banana.
What is banana?
Banana means "finger" in Arabic. Why was it named "finger?" That is attributed to which type of plant banana is. Many people believe banana is fruit from a tree, but that is not true. What we know as a banana tree is actually a giant herb. That means a banana tree doesn't have woody stems but has only giant herbs, and banana is the fruit of these giant herbs. In the past, when people first found out banana, they thought it looked like fingers of herbs, so they named it as banana which means finger.
Banana originated in Asia, but India is the biggest cultivator nowadays, followed by Uganda, China and the Philippines. Uganda has the highest average per person consumption of bananas in the world. Ugandans eat on average about 225 kilo of banana per person, per year.
There are about 1000 types of banana, but there are only a few types we can eat as fruit. The most-consumed type of banana is called the "Cavendish," which we can see in markets. In the past, however, another type of banana called the "Gros Michel" was preferred over the Cavendish because it was larger, easier to transport, didn't go bad nearly as fast, and the taste was better. The reason why we can't find the Gros Michel any more is that it was completely wiped out globally by certain strains of fungus called Panama disease.
What are the benefits of banana?
One banana has 11% of the RDA of dietary fibre and only about 108 calories. The fibre in bananas not only keeps digestion regular, but also helps maintain low blood sugar and curbs overeating.
Energy Booster
Because of the abundance of vitamins and minerals, bananas are a great source of natural energy. Eating only two bananas will give you enough energy to exercise or workout for an hour and a half. Bananas are also ideal for eating during that midday lull when you feel tired and sluggish.
Instead of drinking caffeine or having a sugary snack, bananas provide a level of energy that lasts longer without the dramatic crash caused by caffeine.
Making You Cheer Up
Besides a banana gives energy to you, eating a banana can cheer you up. Bananas are the only fruit to contain the amino acid, tryptophan plus Vitamin B6, which together help the body produce seratonin. Seratonin is the natural chemical which alleviates mental depression.
Lower Blood Pressure
Studies show that the high amounts of potassium in bananas (over 13% of the RDA) can lower one's blood pressure, which in turn lessens the possibility of atherosclerosis, heart attack and stroke.
Good for Digestive Tract
Bananas can diminish the uncomfortable effects of diarrhea and constipation. The high amounts of potassium in bananas can restock electrolytes that are easily depleted when suffering from diarrhea - potassium being an important electrolyte itself. Furthermore, bananas can relieve the body from constipation and help restore regular digestion with pectin, a soluble polysaccharide that helps normalize the digestive tract.
High Nutrient Absorption
Bananas also contain high levels of fructooligosaccharide (FOS) that--along with insulin--promotes calcium absorption. FOS further nourishes healthy bacteria in the colon that manufacture vitamins and digestive enzymes that boost the body's overall ability to absorb nutrients.
As seeing above, there are a lot of benefits of eating bananas, making it reasonable that banana is the most popular fruit. So, why not trying it? However, remember that eating underripe bananas or too many bananas could cause constipation.
What kind of recipes?
Many people just eat bananas as they are, but there are many other recipes with which people can enjoy bananas.
Bananas are sometimes used as an ingredient of bread. Banana muffin and banana pie are one of the good ways of enjoying bananas.
Chocolate is also a great mate of bananas. People can enjoy sweet flavour with chocolate banana.
Banana juice is one of the best drink made of fruit. Since banana itself is sweet, no sugar is needed for banana juice. Plus, I sometimes enjoy chocolate banana frappuccino or mango banana frappuccino at Starbucks. It is tasty.
There are many other recipes using bananas along with those recipes above. Why not making your own recipes using bananas?
We have taken a look at banana. Now you know what banana is and how great banana is. Doesn't banana seem tastier than before? Why don't you keep your body healthy with nutritious bananas? However, remember that eating only one kind of fruit too much cannot be good for health.
Reference
http://www.healthdiaries.com/eatthis/8-health-beneits-of-bananas.html
http://www.lifescript.com/food/articles/0/14_banana_health_benefits_you_might_not_know_about.aspx
http://www.healthdiaries.com/eatthis/25-facts-about-bananas.html
http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/gobananas/banana_facts/
http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2010/09/15-facts-you-probably-didnt-know-about-bananas/
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