Kitchen Confidential: Going bananas
In Kitchen Confidential, Bryan Francis outlines the benefits of eating bananas.
The banana is the butt of a lot of jokes, rather unfairly considering the fruit has the ability to keep the doctor away from your door just like the apple. Instead of monkeying around with the fruit, try eating it and you will be surprised. Compared to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrate, 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.
In ancient India this golden fruit was regarded as the nature's secret of perpetual youth. Research has thrown up evidence that regular intake of this fruit keeps blood pressure at bay, while it is also recommended in the treatment of kidney disorders, tuberculosis, and urinary disorders. It is also said to prevent heart attacks and diabetes.
In Thailand the fruit finds favour as a barbecued delicacy served with a caramel sauce. Right across the country vendors grill the fruit in its skin to the delight of many looking for a quick breakfast option.
Bananas contain three natural sugars: sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fibre, which gives an instant, sustained, and substantial boost of energy. Research has proved that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. No wonder the fruit is favoured by athletes. A banana can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions, making it a must in our daily diet.
History
Bananas are believed to have originated in Malaysia about 4,000 years ago from where they spread to India, the Philippines and New Guinea. Europeans first discovered bananas when Alexander the Great's armies invaded India in 327 BC. But bananas didn't begin their journey eastward until Arab traders carried them to Eastern Africa where slave and ivory traders took them to the west coast of Africa. In about 1482, the Portuguese found the fruit in Africa and carried it north to the Canary Islands, where some commercial crops are still grown today. A Spanish friar, Tomas de Berlanga, sailed to the Caribbean in 1516 with Spanish explorers, bringing with him the first rootstocks of the banana to the Western Hemisphere. Bananas arrived in the United States from Latin America in the early and mid 1800s.
Nutrition
A medium banana at about126 grammes or about 4.5 ounces contains about 120 calories, 32 grammes of carbohydrates, one gramme each of fat and protein, three grammes of dietary fibre, 15 per cent of the RDA for vitamin C and 2 per cent for iron. Bananas have the highest ready-to-eat source of vitamin B6 you can get with 33 per cent of the RDA. Bananas are also a decent source for folic acid and riboflavin, magnesium and copper.
A banana has more potassium by weight (over 450 mg) than all fruits except avocados. Potassium helps to lower blood pressure, regulate the body's fluid balance and improves proper muscle function. Bananas and plantains are a remedy for upset stomachs and help strengthen stomach lining against excess acid and ulcers. The pectin in bananas may be helpful in fighting colon cancer as well as lowering blood cholesterol.
Health Applications
Interestingly it is not just the fruit that has health applications, almost every part of the plant is a doctor-in-the-making. The flowers in bronchitis and dysentery and on ulcers; cooked flowers are given to diabetics; the astringent plant sap in cases of hysteria, fevers, acute dysentery and diarrhea. It is also applied on hemorrhoids, insect and other stings and bites; young leaves are placed as poultices on burns and other skin afflictions; the astringent ashes of the unripe peel and of the leaves are taken to cure dysentery and diarrhea and used for treating ulcers; the roots are administered in digestive disorders, dysentery and other ailments.
Depression: According to research people suffering from depression feel better after eating a banana. This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to relax, improve the mood.
Anemia: High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood.
Blood Pressure: This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it perfect to beat blood pressure.
Constipation: High in fibre, including bananas in the diet can help restore normal bowel action.
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.
Ulcers: The banana helps because of its soft texture and smoothness. It also neutralises over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.
Warts: Those keen on natural alternatives swear that if you want to kill off a wart, take a piece of banana skin and place it on the wart, with the yellow side out. Hold the skin in place with a plaster or surgical tape!
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