Banana Health Facts

If you need more reasons to justify your constant cravings for bananas, then banana health facts might just be the information to get you over the edge. Bananas are cheap, delicious, and readily available fruits featuring heavily in many desserts and recipes. When you factor in the fact that bananas are also a great source of many nutrients, then there’s basically no reason to curb your desire for bananas in your everyday diet.

The first thing to remember about bananas is that it is a good source of healthy carbs. Healthy carbs are those which come from complex plant sugars, and are digested over an extended period as opposed to simple sugars which are burned quickly. Healthy carbs also imply that the food is a good source of other nutrients, a stark contrast to empty carbohydrates which means that a certain food only provides carbohydrates and nothing else. For this, bananas are great for breakfast because a serving gives about 90 calories on top of all its other nutritive content.

Many banana health facts also arise from the other nutrients which are present in a serving of fresh bananas. These nutrients include Vitamin C which is apparent in its yellow color, potassium, manganese, and Vitamin B6. Bananas are also great sources of dietary fiber. From here, banana health facts become readily apparent to the informed consumer:

The Vitamin C in bananas is great for improving one’s immune resistance. Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant which helps combat the unwanted effects of free radicals. Free radicals are oxidative substances which destroy cells and tissues. The increased amount of Vitamin C intake via bananas justifies the disease-resistant benefits of banana health facts.

The potassium in bananas is great for improved heart function and muscular performance. You will commonly find many athletes such as tennis players munching on bananas in between matches. Bananas are also a constant fixture in many long distance races like marathons. This is because of the high concentration of potassium in bananas which improve muscular contraction and relaxation, boosting performance, and delaying the onset of muscle cramps.

The same potassium which helps in improving muscular performance is also essential in lowering blood pressure. This in turn benefits the heart because it does not have to work as hard to deliver blood to the different tissues and organs. A serving of banana contains about 13% of an adult’s recommended dietary allowance for potassium.

The fiber in bananas lead to one of the most notable banana health facts that we know – improved digestive function. Dietary fibers sweep the lower digestive tract, cleansing it and preventing the build-up of nasty toxins. This results in lowered risk for constipation and diarrhea. It also promotes the secretion of pectin, a naturally-occurring polysaccharide which helps promote natural digestive processes.

Banana health facts combined with the accessibility, affordability, and ubiquity of this tropical fruit, make the banana an indispensable actor in everyone’s diet. Grab one today and eat your way to health and wellness with the ever reliable banana fruit.