Bananas are one of the most popular fruits in the entire world among the fitness enthusiasts. Majority of professional athletes or sportsperson consider bananas in their daily diet thanks to its highly-nutritious contents that help in tons of health benefits. In this article, we are going to look into top 10 health benefits of banana so that you can realise how important it is to include banana in your daily diet!
Bananas are inexpensive and available in the whole world although they are widely available in the Southeast Asia. While the yellow and ripe bananas are eaten raw as a fruit, the green and unripe bananas are mostly consumed cooked as a vegetable. Both are almost equally healthy. Only two differences are: unripe bananas have more fiber than ripe ones and unripe bananas contain starch that helps in increasing the production rate of good bacteria in your colon which results into improved digestion. Everything else are same for ripe and unripe bananas so it doesn’t really matter. Without further ado, let’s know the 10 health benefits of bananas right now!
Improves Digestive System
Being rich in both soluble and insoluble fiber, Banana is really beneficial for our digestive system as we already know that soluble fiber helps to reduce cholesterol and insoluble fiber can soften your stool which leads to regular bowel movements.
Moreover, several antibacterial plant compounds of bananas help your stomach stay protected against harmful bacteria that can cause stomach ulcers and hyperacidity. They can also lower the chances of gastronomical issues.
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Maintains Cardiovascular Health & Lowers The Blood Pressure
One of the greatest benefits of banana is that eating bananas can help you enjoy a healthy heart with low blood pressure because bananas are rich source of potassium (10% of the DV per medium size banana) and low in sodium. This is a perfect combo that can regulate the blood pressure in your body.
Furthermore, bananas are good source of B6 vitamin that helps to control the production of harmful amino acid called homocysteine in your blood. Less production of this amino acid also improves heart health and lowers the risk of cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks, blood clots, strokes etc.
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Helps to Improve Bone Health
Neither bananas are rich sources of calcium nor they are high in vitamin D so how do they can improve the bone health? Well, bananas contain a prebiotic called Fructo-oligosaccharides. (Yea, we know you didn’t read the name!) so, what this prebiotic does is to increase the your body’s ability to absorb calcium much like how vitamin D works. That’s how, this plant sugar can help you to improve your bone health.
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Helps in Muscle Recovery
One of the many reasons why fitness models, athletes and professional bodybuilders consume bananas is also because it is great for muscle recovery. We already know that bananas are great sources of healthy carbs that gives us energy during workout but very less people know that they can also help us to recover from soreness after workout. That’s why, we feel like this is one of the underrated benefits of banana.
Actually, bananas are rich in magnesium and potassium. Both these two minerals help you to reduce the pain and inflammation of the muscles just like Omega-3 does. In that way, these minerals are very beneficial for muscle recovery and it is no surprise now that better muscle recovery means better muscle growth. So, eating bananas after workout is also a good choice.
Reduces The Risks of Kidney Issues
Again, banana’s high potassium content comes into play because as bananas are an excellent source of potassium, they play a vital role in maintaining healthy and clean kidneys. Research indicates that individuals who include bananas in their diet 4–6 times a week have a nearly 50% lower risk of developing kidney disease compared to those who do not consume this fruit.
Can Reduce Bloating
Bloating in the stomach after eating or anytime can be really uncomfortable and if you want to reduce the bloating, consuming bananas can help you with that. Bananas can boost the production of good bloat-fighting bacteria which help to reduce the gas and bloating in the stomach and as banana is rich in potassium, that mineral can help to minimize the unnecessary water or other fluids in the stomach and other organs of your body. This is one of the unknown benefits of banana that many people are not aware of but it is really helpful if you suffer from bloating again and again.
Promotes Fat Loss & Weight Loss
Within bananas, you can find approximately 12 mg of choline. Choline, a B vitamin with fat-burning properties, directly influences the genes responsible for storing abdominal fat. This component in bananas facilitates the body’s ability to effectively burn fat when combined with exercise.
In addition, due to banana’s high fiber content, the hunger hormone ghrelin can’t dominate in your stomach so you will feel less hungry and ultimately eat less which can lead to weight loss. In that way, bananas are very beneficial for losing fat and unnecessary weight from the body. It is another reason why fitness freaks have bananas in their daily diet.
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Can Make You Disease-free
Bananas contain three varieties of carotenoids—beta-carotene, provitamin A carotenoids, and alpha-carotene—which can be converted by our bodies into Vitamin A. Research suggests that consuming foods rich in carotenoids can provide protection against chronic ailments such as diabetes, specific cardiovascular diseases, and cancer. If this is not one of the most outstanding benefits of banana then what is!
Makes You Feel Fuller
Consuming unripe bananas can promote a prolonged feeling of fullness due to their abundance of resistant starch, a specific type of starch that resists digestion. This starch aids in suppressing hunger and promoting satiety. To overcome the bitterness of raw bananas, they can be blended with other fruits and vegetables to create a nutritious smoothie or you can also boil and cook them using spices.
Can Support Eye Health
Bananas contain essential nutrients such as vitamin A, vitamin E, lutein, and antioxidants that contribute to maintaining optimal vision health. Lutein, in particular, is a nutrient that can potentially reduce the risk of macular degeneration. This is undoubtedly one of the greatest benefits of banana that you can’t ignore if you realise the importance of eyes.
Conclusion
Therefore, these are the top 10 amazing health benefits of banana that you can enjoy if you eat them in a regular basis. From fat loss to muscle recovery to provide protection from various diseases, bananas can help you in all of them thanks to its excellent nutrition value and versatility. There are more health benefits of eating bananas such as detoxifying your body, providing relief to the anaemia patients etc. But these 10 benefits that we discussed here are the best ones. Now, you may have realised how necessary it is to include banana in your diet. Bananas are as important as apples if not more. Hopefully, you have found this article about 10 benefits of banana helpful enough. If it is really so then don’t hesitate to express your valuable thoughts in the comment section below. Thanks for visiting and appreciating our work.