Eat Bananas for Health

Banana, also called Musa Acuminate, is not a tree but an herbaceous plant, known otherwise as a herb. The plant grows from 6 feet to as tall as 26 feet and comes in different sizes and colors when ripe â€" red, yellow, and purple. Grows abundantly in tropical countries in South and Southeast Asia, bananas are harvested throughout the year.

Bananas are delicious and creamy. A 126-gram ripe banana possesses 400 mg potassium, which is equivalent to 10% of the daily recommended value, and 4 g dietary fiber, which corresponds to 16% of the daily recommended value. Furthermore, this amount of banana contains 14.8 sugar and 110 calories. A medium banana provides 20% of our daily recommended protein, 16% of daily recommended vitamin C, and 20% of our daily recommended vitamin B6. Above all, banana has no fat and no cholesterol!

That higher potassium and lower salt proportion of bananas is significant for our healthy heart and nervous system. It helps keep blood pressure down and lowers the chance of stroke, atherosclerosis and further heart illnesses. Furthermore, the potassium to be found in bananas helps in regulation of the fluid balance of the body.

As well as the cardiovascular advantages, potassium found in bananas is also helpful for the kidneys and our bones while regulating calcium excretion in urine to avoid diminution of calcium from the body, therefore reducing the risk of osteoporosis.

Bananas also contain iron that boosts the output of hemoglobin in the blood and therefore decreases the risk of anemia. The fruits of the banana plant are similarly a reasonable way of obtaining dietary fiber, which when united with its high potassium content, should help lower bad cholesterol.

Some studies show that bananas contain vitamin B6 and vitamin C that assist in protecting the heart from harm and plaque formation. What is more, vitamin B6 helps in the production of antibodies that should strengthen the immune system and convert carbohydrates to glucose to sustain a normal blood sugar level.

If adding bananas to low-fat yogurt constitutes part of a healthy heart diet, savoring whole-grain breakfast cereals with chopped bananas on top can constitute a healthy breakfast too.

Article Written By Nigel Wickenden

Nigel Wickenden's father died when comparatively young. Nigel had a checkup and found that both his cholesterol and blood pressure were high. He decided that he need to follow a healthy heart diet and has set up a blog on what he finds out. He is not a doctor but believes his high level of self interest will make him find information that is relevant and useful to himself and others who believe that what we eat can affect our future health and likely life expectancy. The latest article is on bananas and the healthy heart and is a bit more detailed than this one.