Banana: our SUPERHERO

I have always wondered if Superheroes save us from bad people by continuously and bravely fighting with them, what do they eat to make themselves that strong? As a kid, my mother used to say and till today she forces me to have a banana daily. “Have a banana daily. It will protect you” I guess every mother says this to her child. But have you ever thought why?

Let me explain to you in more details:

Banana is one of the sweetest and cheapest fruits which are available all year around. It is green when unripe and yellow when ripens. Now do not get confused with the green ripened ones. They are called plantains. They both belong to the family Musaceae and grown in tropical and subtropical countries. But plantains are a bit longer with a thicker skin. Both of them vary a little in their nutritional values though both contain more or less same nutrients. Plantains when raw can be cooked as a vegetable and eaten as a fruit when ripened. In other words these two are close cousins. We can have banana in the form of salads, muffins, pies, cakes, shakes, chips, grilled, etc.

HEALTH BENEFITS:

Besides being soft and tasty it adds nutrients to your body. 100gms of Banana when eaten provides 90kilo calories, 22.84gms carbohydrates mainly simple sugars like fructose, sucrose. Dietary fibres 2.60gms, 1.09gms protein, 0.33gms fat and no cholesterol. Whereas a 100gms of plantain provides 122kilo calories, 31.89gms of carbohydrates, 1.3gms of protein and 0.37gms of fat. And yes it too does not contain cholesterol. These both cousins are a store house of vitamins like vit B-complex, vit C, vit E, vit A, vit K and minerals like iron, selenium, magnesium, manganese, zinc, calcium, copper, phosphorus, etc. and contain good amount of electrolyte sodium and potassium. [The above values have been taken from USDA National Nutrient Data Base]

Since I have mentioned about the nutrients and their values it has become mandatory to explain what role these nutrients play in our body.

1. Dietary fibres improve and regulate our bowel movement and help to prevent constipation.
2. Vitamin B-6 (pyridoxine) treats neuritis, anaemia, and helps to decrease the homocystine (a causative factor in cardiac and blood related diseases and stroke).
3. Vitamin A improves eye sight, protects from skin infection, etc.
4. Vitamin C improves immune system by giving resistance against infectious diseases and scavenges harmful oxygen radicals.
5. Copper increases red blood cell production.
6. Calcium and magnesium strengthen the bones and latter also provides protection to heart.
7. Potassium controls heart rate and blood pressure. It also keeps a check on the bad effects of sodium.
8. Bananas with dark patches have been found to contain an anti cancer power. According to Japanese Research, it has been found that yellow bananas with dark patches contain TNF (Tumour Necrosis Factor) which can produce white blood cells and destroy cancer cells.

In a layman statement Banana will protect you from serious diseases related to bone strengthening, under weight, constipation, heart problems, blood pressure, strokes, skin and eye infections, and many more.

[But be careful- Diabetics can have them in very small amount in the form of mixed fruit salad with other less sugary or citrus fruits. It might cause ORAL ALLERGY SYNDROME to some resulting in diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting, irritation and swelling of mouth and throat.]

So, I think our superheroes might be eating this to get their powers. With so many great qualities and power to fight with bad diseases, it is Banana who actually deserves to be addressed as a real SUPERHERO.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?