Banana Nutrition Facts And Health Facts: Nutrients And Calories
Health Benefits Of Bananas
This article will discuss the banana nutrition facts. Bananas are one of the most popular fruits. In fact, because bananas are so popular they often destroy rainforests to pave the way for more banana plantations. The banana is a good fruit in many ways. For one thing they are the most satisfying of the fruits because of their high starch content. Athletes and active performers eat bananas in between performances for energy. Bananas are also one of the most protected of fruits available. What do I mean by protected? They have a thick skin around them that helps protect them from other insects, chemicals, and pesticides. Of course the skin isn't foolproof, but it's thickness does help. If you like bananas however, it is still better to buy them organic.
Banana Nutrition Facts: Vitamin B6
The banana is known as the world’s best no fat natural source of B6. Bananas are loaded with vitamin B6. They provide 0.7 milligrams of B6 per banana. Now that is some healthy eating. Other plant sources for B6 are walnuts, peanuts, wheat germ, whole grains, avocados, and black strap molasses.
Bananas are great eaten alone, made into a smoothie, or sliced and added to your favorite breakfast cereal in the morning. No matter how you decide to eat a banana, it is always best to eat fruit raw and on an empty stomach.
Otherwise, it will ferment with the rest of the food in your digestive system. Even so, banana bread or muffins sure make a fine sweet.
Banana Nutrition Facts: Potassium
Even children love bananas. Slice a banana with some fresh strawberries and watch your children eating healthy for breakfast.
Bananas are very high in potassium, an important mineral for regulating blood pressure, and prevention of stroke. Most fruits and vegetables have potassium in them but not as much as the banana.
Potassium also helps to control water balance in the body’s tissues and cells. It can also be found in good amounts in dried fruits, oranges, and potatoes. Don’t forget to eat a daily banana for good heart health.
Banana Nutrition Facts: Calories
Eating healthy food is a great idea and one way to do that is to eat more raw fruit. The banana only has 100 calories and virtually no fat!
They carry about 30% percent of the daily-recommended requirements of B6 and 20% percent of the daily requirements of Vitamin C. So it is a good idea to eat a banana every day.
Fruit is very good for you. Mix matching with the different varieties of fruit available results in a perpetual variety of healthy snacks. Here is a tad bit of information you may not have heard about the banana.
According to the online nutritional guru, Dr. Mercola, the green tipped bananas are better for your health than the over ripe bananas. Umm, that’s interesting.
Homemade Banana Bread
Don’t know what to do with those three or four overly ripe bananas in the fruit bowl? Don’t throw them out. Let’s make some banana bread. This recipe makes one large loaf of banana bread or 24 banana muffins. It is pretty healthy and should be considered as eating right as far as sweet foods go.
Ingredients:
- 3 or 4 ripe bananas
- 4 cups whole-wheat flour
- 2-teaspoon baking powder
- 1-teaspoon baking soda
- 1-teaspoon sea salt
- 3 eggs
- ½ cup safflower oil or real butter
- ¾ cups raw honey or other natural sweetener
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup walnuts, chopped (optional)
Preparation:
In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients, including nuts if using. In a small bowl mix together the wet ingredients. Mash the bananas well with a fork. Add the bananas and the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well.
Pour the batter into a well-greased bread pan and bake in a 350-degree oven for 30 to 40 minutes. If making muffins, fill muffin cups 2/3 full and bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.
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