Because of their impressive potassium content, bananas are highly recommended by doctors for patients whose potassium is low. One large banana, about 9 inches in length, packs 602 mg of potassium and only carries 140 calories. That same large banana even has 2 grams of protein and 4 grams of fiber. No wonder the banana was considered an important food to boost the health of malnourished children! Those reducing sodium in their diets can't go wrong with a banana with its mere 2 mgs of sodium. For the carbohydrate counters there are 36 grams of carbs in a large banana.


Anaemia: High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of haemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anaemia.

Blood Pressure: This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it the perfect food for helping to beat blood pressure. So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration has just allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit’s ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.

Brain Power: 200 students at an English school were helped through their exams this year by eating bananas at breakfast, break and lunch in a bid to boost their brain power. Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.

Constipation: High in fibre, including bananas in the diet can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without resorting to laxatives.

Depression: According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a banana. This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin – known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.

Hangovers: One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to make a banana milkshake, sweetened with honey. The banana calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood sugar levels, while the milk soothes and re-hydrates your system.

Heartburn: Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body so if you suffer from heart-burn, try eating a banana for soothing relief.

Morning Sickness: Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness.

Mosquito bites: Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing the affected area with the inside of a banana skin. Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation.

Nerves: Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous system.

Overweight and at work? Studies at the Institute of Psychology in Austria found pressure at work leads to gorging on comfort food like chocolate and crisps. Looking at 5,000 hospital patients, researchers found the most obese were more likely to be in high-pressure jobs. The report concluded that, to avoid panic-induced food cravings, we need to control our blood sugar levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foods – such as bananas – every two hours to keep levels steady.

PMS: Forget the pills – eat a banana. The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): Bananas can help SAD sufferers because they contain the natural mood enhancer, trypotophan.

Smoking: Bananas can also help people trying to give up smoking, as the high levels of Vitamin C, A1, B6, B12 they contain, as well as the potassium and magnesium found in them, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.

Stress: Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalise the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body’s water-balance. When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby reducing our potassium levels. These can be re-balanced with the help of a high-potassium banana snack.

Strokes: According to research in ‘The New England Journal of Medicine’ eating bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the risk of death by strokes by as much as 40%!

Temperature control: Many other cultures see bananas as a ‘cooling’ fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature of expectant mothers. In Thailand, for example, pregnant women eat bananas to ensure their baby is born with a cool temperature.

Ulcers: The banana is used as the dietary food against intestinal disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chronic ulcer cases. It also neutralises over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.

Warts: Those keen on natural alternatives swear that, if you want to kill off a wart, take a piece of banana skin and place it on the wart, with the yellow side out. Carefully hold the skin in place with a plaster or surgical tape!

>Did you eat a banana today?

As a matter of fact, yes, I did. It was getting kind of old and mushy though.

Of the fruits, which do you think is BEST? I know and believe what you said about bananas--we surely eat them a lot.

But which fruit is the King of all fruits? Anyone have an idea?

Hope I dont seem too baised by saying that the banana is best.

With grapes a very close second...

That's easy!

DURIAN is the King of Fruits!
me and my wife's favourite!


or is it he MANGO ?

Mango and Indian natural healing

ooops...double entry, please delete

Well, I must put in my two cents worth. I love bananas--surely they are one of the top fruits.

And grapes are mentioned in the Bible and SOP says the grape juice is good for the system, so they must be up there too.

I also like mangoes but must call a halt at "durian" fruit--hmmm, Phil, I smelled it once and was talked into tasting it--and THAT was all I could take of that one!

Okay, the top of the fruits must be the APPLE. Afterall we live on an apple farm and we grow red delicious/golden delicious and gala apples! How could they not be the TOP fruit???

Ï would suggest a handfull of currant berries.

/Thomas

Greetings All,

Did you know?
The banana plant is not a tree. It is actually the world's largest herb!

In the beginning:
Genesis
1:29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which [is] upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which [is] the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
1:30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein [there is] life, [I have given] every green herb for meat: and it was so.

After sin entered:
Genesis
3:17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed [is] the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat [of] it all the days of thy life;
3:18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
3:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou [art], and unto dust shalt thou return.

What are the herbs for? "He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth;" Psalm 104:14

Years ago my spouse and I gathered together to watch health topics which spoke about how the pharmaceutical companies would test nature's ingredients so that they could mimic their medications. But like Dr. Lorraine Day says, "You can't improve on God."

Thank you for posting all the benefits on banana's, it truly is a wonderful post which I will print and give to my Grandmother.

Your Sister in Christ Jesus,
Cheri Fritz

Hey, for you folks who like apples, blueberries, melons, almonds etc. be sure you thank a bee keeper, without bees you wouldn't have certain fruits nor would you have that great tasting honey. Did ya'll know that honey bees are not native to the America's? But I digress, sorry.

Redfog

You are absolutely right Redfog. We have bees brought in to our orchard and they stay about a week carrying pollen from one tree to pollenize another.

The words "busy bees" come from the bees doing their work so faithfully.

I like apples and bananas, not least of all because they're so easy to eat. No muss, no fuss. You can carry one along with you in the car, pretty much anywhere you go. Just get it out and eat it! Melons have to be cut open, cut into pieces, with some of them the core seeds and pulp have to be scooped out and disposed of, etc. I do love cantaloupes and honey dews though. Watermelon too. And blueberries. And blackberries. And strawberries. And.... and....

Hi Debbie, we have pollinated apples in the past but now we usually just do blueberries and this last year took them to California for the almonds, (where we had 256 hives stolen)

Redfog

has anyone ever heard of this? When my gall bladder is acting up, which it does if my diet is too high in fat,and I try to eat a banana...it causes extremely painful abdominal spasms to where I can hardly breath for about 10 minutes or so. I love bananas but this has happened several times.

Yes, I ate today.
Banana is an ideal fruit for the muscles recovery.
Diet experts recommend the banana for the bodybuilders to gain the muscles and make stronger body.
Banana provides the iron for the strong body.
I eat at least 2 bananas daily for muscles gaining.