The bountiful banana

Banana - Basic Characteristics

Banana is a plant belonging to Liliaceae family, along with lilies and orchids. Its tree can grow to eight feet high. Big, juicy and green leaves that are quite delicate, and therefore break easily are at the top of the tree. A long branch with hanging blooms of about a meter in length appears between the leaves. The flowers are yellow and the fruits grow in the form of clusters that can contain 50-150 individual fruits.

Ripe bananas can be dried and milled to a powder, not losing their taste. They are used in food and dairy industry. Today, there are more than 100 subspecies of banana classified in two types: sweet banana and flour banana.

Health Benefits of Banana

Banana contains three natural sugars: sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fiber. Banana provides immediate, supportive, hale and nutritional energy. Studies have shown that eating just two bananas per day provide you with enough energy for 90 minutes of hard work. It is therefore not surprising that banana is considered to be the number one fruit among the world's leading athletes.

Banana also helps people to stay in shape. It can help in overcoming or preventing a substantial number of diseases, thus, becoming an integral part of human daily diet.

According to the survey conducted among people who suffer from depression, many felt much better after eating bananas. Banana contains tryptophan, a type of protein that is converted into serotonin in the body. It is known that serotonin has relaxing effect and improves mood.

It is rich in iron and can stimulate the creation of hemoglobin in the blood and thus help in some cases of anemia.

It is extremely rich in potassium and contains a bit of salt which makes this fruit perfect for problems with blood pressure.

Bananas can help quit smoking. Vitamins B6, B12, potassium and magnesium, found in bananas, help the body to recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.

Compared to an apple, banana has four times more protein, two times more carbohydrates, three times more phosphorus, five times more vitamin A and iron, and two times more of other vitamins and minerals.

Bananas are a good source of pectin - soluble fiber, which absorbs liquid and thus supports the normal mobility of the bowel and facilitates the release of stool.

Also, banana enhances the body to absorb calcium, and thus indirectly helps slowing down the loss of calcium from bone in diseases such as osteoporosis.

It neutralizes acids in the body and reduces irritability by lining the stomach inside, so if a person suffers from heartburn, he/she should try to eat a banana for relief of symptoms.

Besides that, a banana acts as an antioxidant, and is used as natural cosmetics.

Banana shake, sweetened with honey, is one of the healthiest natural remedies for a hangover. Banana calms the stomach and upgrades spent amount of sugar in the blood with the help of honey, while milk hydrates and has a beneficial effect on the entire body.

In the case of mosquito bite try rubbing the bitten area with the inside of a banana peel before you reach for insecticide creams. Many have found it very effective in reducing the swelling and irritation, resulting from mosquito bites. Banana peel is also helpful in removing warts.