Post Update: 28-08-2022. All nutrition and facts checked by Liz Lees, Nutritionist/Dietitian, MS, RDN.
Bananas, most of us know them as that slippery gimmick used in cartoons. The health benefits of bananas are underrated and unappreciated as a food source. It is rich in potassium, and like an apple, can keep the doctor at bay. Sure, it’s old news – fruits are better for you than nightcaps or sugar-filled treats. But the banana benefits are quite unique, beckoning you to indulge.
It’s not just its bright color and peculiar shape; it’s healthy and packed with nutrients. So, stick around, and let’s see what this strange and yellow fruit can offer you. Time to throw out those “healthy bites” that taste like sun-dried Brussels sprouts coated with tears, and eat a ripe banana instead. It’s simple, it’s easy, and it’s everywhere.
Want to learn more about banana nutrition and the banana benefits of weight loss? Our guide will shed some light on all the marvelous benefits of this modest fruit.
Banana Nutrition Facts
Banana is one of the most popular fruit, we can’t say it enough; it’s magical. It is packed with vitamin C but hides more than just one or two essential nutrients. Bananas are also filled with fiber, potassium, vitamin B6, antioxidants, and phytonutrients. These nutrients won’t only help you stay healthy but also succeed in your weight loss goals.
It’s a cheerful helper for losing weight and gaining positive health, and you can gain significantly from banana benefits.
Standard-size banana consists of 89 calories, which might have just caused your eyes to stretch a bit. Calm down, it’s 75% water and contains 2.6 grams of fiber and 1.1-gram protein, making it all worth it.
Bananas are high in calories, potassium, natural sugar, and other nutrients. one medium banana, provides about 110 calories, 0 gram fat, 1 gram protein, 28 grams carbohydrate, 15 grams sugar (naturally occurring), 3 grams fiber, and 450 mg potassium.
When it comes to a high fiber diet, bananas are probably the best option for a snack and can help you lose weight, while feeling full. It’s not only the fibers you should be thinking about; it is high in potassium, a high amount of vitamin B6, and vitamin C that incorporate the natural health benefits.
Health Benefits of Banana
Bananas are not only good because of their healthy dose of essential vitamins and potassium, but also because to improve heart health. That’s right – it helps to fend off heart disease. See bananas as your heart’s protector; as an extra health benefit, they protect you from your overindulgent behavior toward unhealthy foods.
The digestive system is also taking advantage of your choice to incorporate this nutritious fruit into your life. By increasing your banana intake, you will be getting in resistant starch and pectin, which are types of dietary fiber. Interestingly enough, the pectin content is higher in an unripe banana.
Bananas Help To Build Lean Muscle
You read that right. Bananas help build lean muscle, and who doesn’t want more tone? Bananas also hide a healthy dose of magnesium. Even when your muscles are burning, the magnesium found in bananas is incredibly beneficial in reducing the pain, even preventing it. Magnesium and muscle contraction work together to help boost lean muscle mass.
Have you ever heard of Lipolysis? We can tell you that it’s not just a funky name for a Greek cat but a process that causes your body to release fat from where it stores.
Bananas Help Your Muscles Recover Faster
Have you ever gone through a couple of days of looking like the living dead, just because your body muscle can’t keep up with your fitness efforts? Well, bananas can be a prime source of potassium for your muscles to heal faster after a workout.
Otherwise, you’re left begging for mercy around every twist and corner. Imagine giving it your all and feeling like a brand spanking new pony the next day. Well, it’s all in the banana.
Bananas Support a Good Mood
If you want to boost your mood and improve mental health, have a banana. Sure, a banana is not really what you think about when your face is turning red with rage. But by then, it’s too late; so, make sure you take in a healthy dose of bananas throughout your diet, and you will be smiling like there’s more than one tomorrow. Bananas contain 6% of the recommended amount of Vitamin B9 that you need to have a lovable attitude towards life.
Do yourself (and everyone else) a favor and have a banana every day; it’s a nutrient fruit that will have you smiling at everything except your bills.
May Lower Feelings of Anxiety and Stress
Anxiety and stress are the last things you want, but we’re getting them anyway. It’s part of life but will quickly slip away with the health benefits of banana peel. A banana peel is rich not only in B9 but also in tryptophan which makes you smile more and curse less.
The tryptophan found in bananas is a helpful supplement for serotonin. It is a brain chemical that acts as a natural antidepressant to treat your anxiety and insomnia.
Whether your stress meds are nicotine, cake, or pharmaceutical, the benefits of bananas will knock them out of your system if consumed regularly.
Eat a Banana for Proper Sleep
Suffering from insomnia? Skip the sleeping pills for a while and have a banana. A little bedtime snack can do wonders, but a banana encourages sleep with tryptophan, a supplement for serotonin and melatonin that promotes relaxation and helps make you sleep better than ever.
Stress and anxiety go hand in hand with poor sleep, and banana benefits both. Banana chips, for instance, offer the perfect midnight snack, without the calories. Speaking of snacks, do not overindulge in banana bread – remember, starch and added sugar are not your friend if you are hoping to lose weight.
Help Regulate Blood Pressure Levels
It seems that bananas can help with everything from stress to muscle recovery and blood pressure. The FDA stated that if you eat a banana, you get the ultimate combination of low sodium and high potassium intake.
This combination will help you lower blood pressure and lower your chances of a stroke. The banana fruit is the first to be recognized by the FDA as beneficial in lowering blood pressure.
Bananas Can Help You Look Less Bloated
If you look at the banana benefits for weight loss, you will see that it’s one of the safest and most versatile fruits to lose a few extra pounds; not only that, but it could also help you to beat the bloat. Eat a banana to get rid of all the unnecessary gas and water retention.
By eating bananas at least twice each day before meals for two months, you can expect a staggering 50% reduction in belly bloat. Banana benefits your bloated belly by creating bacteria in the stomach; it fights your bloated belly and is an excellent source of potassium.
You Will Feel Fuller
One of the most incredible things you will experience with bananas is that they are beneficial, even before ripening. You can even get weight-loss benefits from green bananas.
Resistant starch is the main ingredient that will help you on your weight loss journey. Resistant starch resists the digestion process and makes you feel fuller for longer, and keeps you away from the kitchen.
Bananas May Reduce Harmful Cholesterol Levels
Like most of us, you are probably consuming trans fats regularly. But these are primarily found in fast foods and notoriously bad junk food. It’s a killer for your cholesterol levels and should be avoided.
Following a healthy diet and introducing bananas into your diet can immediately make a difference in your cholesterol levels. Bananas contain phytosterols – compounds that significantly affect your cholesterol.
You’ll Support a Healthier Digestive System
Your digestive system should be taken care of. See it as your cleaning system; a filter that should be clean, healthy, and fully functioning. If you introduce bananas into your diet, it will benefit your digestive system in a great way as a source of prebiotics. And let’s not forget about the healthy dose of fiber!
The Fruit May Support Regular Bowel Movements
Stomach problems come with many drawbacks, like irritability. Have you ever blamed your dog or hubby for your lousy stomach? As we’ve mentioned, bananas contain roughly 3 grams of insoluble fiber; this can significantly enhance your bowel movements and support a good digestive tract.
Inversely, If your stomach is going haywire and making you run wild for the porcelain throne, bananas’ probiotics can also help make things a bit more ”solid”.
Bananas Support Good Bone Health
Calcium is associated with healthy bones, but bananas can also help, especially if you are lactose intolerant. They can be a great nutritional option to help with calcium deficiency. Bananas can also help you to consume calcium much easier with the help of prebiotics.
Banana Is a Good Source of Energy
Suppose you are feeling tired compliments of the constant stress that life throws at us. Trust in a banana for an extra bout of energy. Before a good running session, you will benefit from eating a banana, thanks to its high glucose levels.
You will soon notice that a yellow banana is one of the most accessible digestive sources of sugar that you can introduce into your diet. It gives you almost instant energy. It is worth a mention here that diabetics should best avoid a ripe banana, as it can spike blood sugar.
Bananas Can Help to Fend Off Diseases
Feeling the flu coming on? Forget about the pharmacy for now and grab a couple of bananas. Although you will not be getting any vitamin A from eating a banana, you will benefit by being able to absorb vitamin A from other sources more efficiently. Bananas are rich in various carotenoids, which your body can turn into vitamin A.
Support Healthy Eyes and Vision
If you are struggling with your eyesight, you may want to think about introducing bananas into your diet as soon as possible. Bananas provide you with antioxidants that are essential for improved eyesight and clear skin.
Beta carotene is one of the antioxidants in bananas that helps to repair damage and protect cells. Nutrients, such as vitamin E and lutein are also beneficial in bananas that can aid you in healthy eyesight.
Bananas Can Help Your Body Burn Fat
Let’s be honest, banana benefits for weight loss are probably why you are still reading this article. It would help if you never distanced yourself from something natural that could help you on your weight loss journey.
Allow bananas to burn your fat away for good; they work fast. 12mg of choline, a fat-burning vitamin, helps you to manage your body fat percentage. It acts directly on the genes that cause fat storage, so it will help to burn those hard-to-lose fat stores.
The Pectin in Bananas Can Help Detoxify Your Body
Bananas provide you with a chance to naturally detox. The insoluble fiber clings to toxic compounds in the blood and flushes them out of the body. By now, you are probably wondering why they’re not selling bananas as miracle fruits.
It’s all-natural and provides you with many health benefits, all in one neat, yellow wrapper. The riper the banana, the better the results you will get with your banana detox. As an added weight loss benefit, you will be happy to hear that bananas can limit the amount of fat absorbed by your cells.
Get Bananafied!
Introducing your body to bananas’ health benefits can help you improve your quality of life. You’ll feel more energized and less sluggish. With all these health benefits and banana nutrition, it’s a no-brainer. The high potassium content also makes bananas a great option for improved cardiovascular health.
If you are looking for a great way to snack on something healthy while losing and regulating your blood pressure, look no further – red bananas, yellow bananas, or green, it doesn’t matter – go back to the monkey!
Reinette Robbertze is a highly qualified professional in the health and nutrition industry, having completed both Journalism and Nutrition diplomas. With a remarkable portfolio of health blogs and magazine articles to her name, Reinette’s writing is fueled by her genuine passion for healthy living. Drawing on her academic background, Reinette delivers authentic and insightful information to her readers. Her engaging writing style, blended with personal anecdotes, creates an immersive experience that keeps readers engaged and informed. Keep following her work for the latest updates and informative articles on health and nutrition.
