When any creature naturally relies on or gravitates toward a specific food, you can be sure Mother Nature has a hand in it.
And monkeys and other primates, and their love for bananas, is no exception.
So, why do primates actually love their bananas so much? Well, it’s safe to say they don’t likely convene daily to discuss the nutritional value of this common fruit with their fellow primates. It’s more likely, in fact, probable, that they simply just know—innately—that their bodies need them.
And just like our primate cousins, humans can also gain a lot from simply eating three bananas a day, according to a study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
High Potassium = Lower Risk of Blood Clot
Apparently, researchers from both England and Italy, found that eating one banana for breakfast, one for lunch and then another one at dinner actually provides enough potassium to reduce the risk of developing a blood clot in your brain, which can ultimately lead to a stroke—and by as much as 21 per cent!
These results were derived from the pooled analysis of 11 studies that date back as far as the mid-60s and reveal that approximately 1,600 mg of daily potassium intake is enough to lower your risk of stroke.
When you consider that the average banana contains approximately 500 milligrams of potassium that means you only have to eat about three average size bananas to obtain enough potassium to get these life-saving results.
Researchers at San Diego School of Medicine, also found that an overall diet high in potassium can actually reduce the risk of stroke by as much as 40 percent.
The dietary fiber in bananas has been shown to help reduce inflammation in your bowels because it helps eliminate waste and toxins from your body, which then generally helps to keep your arteries clean and clear from dangerous plague build-up that can cause cardiovascular issues. That’s a lot of kick from just be eating something you probably already love!
But reducing the risk of strokes is not the only thing this yellow fruit is good for. Here are 10 pretty impressive reasons you should start adding bananas to your daily diet right now.
1. Excellent Source of Nutrients Nutrition
One banana contains about 110 calories and is full of nutrients and vitamins. In fact, the average banana contains:
• 0.5 grams of fat
• 27 grams of carbohydrates
• 14 grams of sugar
• 3 grams of fiber
• 1 gram of protein
• 25% vitamin B6
• 16% manganese
• 14% vitamin C
• 12% potassium
• 12% fiber
• 10% copper
• 10% biotin
• 8% magnesium
• 2% Iron
2. Quick Energy Boost
Studies show that if you eat those three stroke-reducing bananas in one sitting prior to your workout, they will give you the extra energy boost you need to make it through a strenuous 90-minute workout, with energy to spare!
And post-workout, the bananas provide your body with the vital nutrients it needs to repair your muscles and balance your water retention (after all that sweating from your high-intensity workout.)
Bananas are an excellent food to help replenish your glucose reserves, giving your body the energy it needs to rebuild muscle.
A 2012 study published in PLOS, revealed bananas are basically as effective as Gatorade for providing nutritional support to “trained cyclists during prolonged and intensive exercise.”
So, instead of relying on those glucose-packed sports drinks or snacks, try eating a banana instead.
3. Improves Circulation/Blood Pressure
Potassium is necessary to help regulate blood flow and hydration levels within your body, thereby allowing oxygen to reach your cells.
Potassium can further help to lower high blood pressure by counteracting the effects of sodium within your blood.
And according to studies, the best way to get potassium is naturally—through food in your diet in such things as fresh fruits and vegetables, including, of course, the banana.
4. Increase Bone Mass
Diets rich in potassium-packed fruits such as bananas may help women prevent osteoporosis, according to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.
And this is especially true if you love salty foods since “…potassium appears to counteract the increased urinary calcium loss caused by the high-salt diets typical of most Americans, thus helping to prevent bones from thinning out at a fast rate,” according to Dr. Deborah Sellmeyer, assistant adjunct professor of endocrinology and metabolism at the University of California at San Francisco.
Bananas are also high in manganese and studies show that low manganese levels can contribute to poor bone health.
5. Good for your Skin
Bananas can help you keep that perfect complexion because just one banana contains 16 percent of the manganese you need for the day and about 14 percent of the Vitamin C that helps in collagen production, which, of course, helps to keep you looking young.
Research also shows that manganese is a powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant—both of which naturally slow aging by reducing free-radical damage and oxidative stress.
6. Improve Your Mood
You may have heard of the amino acid tryptophan in relation to your Thanksgiving dinner—turkey is said to be high in tryptophan, which is why you always feel more relaxed and even tired after a nice turkey dinner.
But turkey is not the only food that contains tryptophan, bananas also contain significant amounts of the amino acid, which helps to regulate serotonin—the hormone responsible for your mood.
It’s a well-known fact in the scientific community that proper levels of serotonin can alter your mood (make you happy) and prevent such things as depression and even anxiety.
Not only that, but bananas also contain specific antioxidants that have been shown in studies to promote the release of dopamine—another mood-enhancing hormone—within your brain.
7. Anemia
Iron deficiency and anemia affect around 24.8 percent of the world’s population according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
While bananas are not a significant source of iron, they do apparently stimulate the production of hemoglobin in your blood, which can help in cases of anemia.
8. Brain Power
Manganese is essential for healthy brain function and studies also show that it can help to prevent brain-related conditions such as epilepsy and Parkinson’s.
9. Constipation
Bananas are high in fiber, which for starters, helps you feel fuller, longer, so dieters will love bananas.
But more importantly, the dietary fiber and starches in bananas help to bind the waste in your digestive tract—combined with the potassium that helps to balance water retention in your gut—together, they help keep you from becoming dehydrated.
And as you already know, fiber has another key function—it helps keep you regular so you don’t become constipated. And in doing so, it also helps to eliminate the toxins that build up in your body over time. So eating bananas regularly, can essentially keep you “regular” without having to use harsh laxatives.
10. Healthy Nervous System
Bananas are loaded with vitamin B6 (called pyridoxine). In fact one banana contains 25 percent of your recommended daily intake of this important nutrient.
Vitamin B6 is known to help produce chemicals, called neurotransmitters, that allow your brain and nerve cells to communicate with one another, thereby ensuring that such metabolic processes as fat and protein metabolism run effectively.
This vitamin is essential for proper immune system function, especially in older people. Vitamin B6, is also very important for calming and maintaining a healthy nervous system. In fact, a lack of vitamin B6 is known to actually cause nerve damage.
source: http://www.healthyfoodplace.com/
