Bananas Anyone
Benefits of Eating Bananas
We have all heard about the benefits of eating fresh fruit. An apple a day keeps the doctor away or so the old saying goes. The apple does not stand alone. Move on down the alphabet and find the banana comes in at a close second. Bananas are sweet. The sweet taste will change your mind about grabbing a high sugary treat and a small banana contains only one hundred calories. Bananas can be considered a super food. The high carbohydrates found in bananas help increase energy and many an athlete have eaten them for a quick pick me up.
Bananas with their high potassium and low sodium have the perfect combination for keeping blood pressure normal. Not only do bananas provide plenty of vitamins, but they contain just the right amount of B vitamins together with potassium and magnesium to make a formula for those battling the withdrawal from nicotine. In addition these B vitamins will help improve nerve function. Bananas contain tryptophan, an amino acid that converts to serotonin which will help fight depression. Any type of emotional upset can be reduced by eating this brain friendly fruit.
Vitamin C is found in bananas. Vitamin C will help fight arthritis flare up. Instead of reaching for an orange to get your vitamin C you could try a banana. Vitamin C can slow down the aging process and the unwanted wrinkles showing up to make us look older at an early age. A banana could be our own fountain of youth. This could be why so many seniors eat bananas in their daily diet.
Bananas are high in fiber. High fiber has been said to reduce certain forms of cancer. Research has already proven the importance of eating whole fruits and vegetables. So now we have yet another reason to consume them.
Bananas serve as a natural antacid that will relive heartburn. Bananas can treat hangovers by giving the victim a boost in potassium levels. Alcohol will lower potassium levels when too much is consumed. Potassium in bananas can prevent leg cramps, however too much potassium can cause an adverse reaction and the leg cramps could become worst because of it.
More About Bananas
Bananas are a natural flea control. Fleas are drawn to a banana skin, but the enzymes will kill them. You can rub the banana peel on an insect bite for quick relief of itching. This works as well for mosquito bites as it does for fleas. A banana peel placed here and there around the yard your pet plays in could prevent the pest from bothering him and from bothering you.
The nutrition DATA for a banana contains vitamin B6, vitamin C, potassium, dietary fiber, manganese, and iron. Dark patches on the yellow skin produces a substance called TNF (Tumor Necrosis Factor). TNF has the ability to fight abnormal cells stopping the growth of cancers and the riper the banana the better. Don’t throw out those brown skinned bananas. If you can’t eat them like they are perhaps using them in a recipe will be more appealing. They could be our link to a cancer free life. Most people like banana bread even if they won’t eat a ripe banana.
Other Ways to Eat Bananas
Bananas can be frozen skin and all if you want to save them for bread making at another time. Toss those black ripe bananas directly into the freezer. Just peel them before you are ready to make the bread. The peel will protect the fruit from freezer burn just as well as a freezer container would with less space needed to store them. Below you will find the recipe to banana bread the way my grandmother made it.
Banana Bread
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup margarine or shortening
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 well ripe bananas, mashed
A pinch of salt
2 cups all purpose flour
Add ½ cup of chopped nuts if desired.
Mix all together well and put in greased loaf pans. This will make 2 fair size loaves. Bake at 350 degrees about 50 minutes. Pierce bread with knife if it pulls out clean the bread is done.
