Banana is nature's energy-rich fruit that is safe to consume and is a perfect recommendation for a healthy diet. They are creamy, fresh, and delicious dessert. Banana is a good healthy fruit that is the cheapest among all other fruits and is readily available all around the year.
Botanically, it comes from the family of Musaceae. The major crop cultivated in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world is banana. Its scientific name is Musa acuminata colla.
Characteristics of Banana
Banana is a known to be a perennial herbaceous plant. It grows from an underground rhizome. It requires tropical, humid, moisture-rich, and low-lying farmlands.
The banana has unique characteristics. The plant is known to be a false stem or pseudo stem. It consists of broad leaves, with long petioles, which overlaps one another in a disc-like manner. The height of the plant is about 2 to 6 meters from the ground depending upon the types of the cultivar.
The Health benefits of eating a banana
Banana is a tropical fruit rich in calories. Moreover, it is an excellent source of minerals, antioxidants, and vitamins. It also contains a good amount of fiber.
The banana fruit has an easily digestible soft flesh made from sugars like sucrose and fructose. Its consumption promptly replenishes your energy and refreshes the body. Due to these qualities, most athletes consume the fruit to gain instant energy. It is highly recommended for treating the under-nourished children.
It has a good amount of soluble nutritional fiber, which helps in reducing constipation and regular bowel movements.
The banana provides vitamin –B6 which is essential for treating anemia and neuritis. It also reduces homocysteine (which triggers CHD and heart strokes) levels in the human body.
It is an ideal source of vitamin – C which is vital for developing resistance for fighting infections and harmful oxygen free radicals.
They also provide a sufficient amount of minerals such as magnesium, copper, and manganese.
They are also rich in potassium which is an essential component of the body and cell fluids controlling the blood pressure and heart rate as against the unsafe effects of sodium.
How to store and choose bananas?
Bananas are very fragile fruits. They ripen in a very short span of time. The farmers harvest green and firm grown up bananas so, it is easier for them to handle and transport. It also reduces the loss and wastage of ripening fruit.
To ripen this fruit ethylene is sprayed on them or kept with other ripe fruits.
You must buy bananas based on when you want to consume; the yellow ones should be eaten in a few days while the green ones can last for more days.
Rare effects of banana consumption
Some people may be sensitive and may be allergic if they eat bananas. It happens because of the hypersensitivity towards pollens and birch tree. The symptoms may include swelling around the mouth or itching, etc.
Safety Alert for Sensitive people
Banana is a very nutritious fruit that is easily available. But it can be seen that sensitive people experience a lot of skin as well as allergic reactions after consuming bananas. Bananas can be the reason for Oral Allergy Syndrome, which is actually the itching as well as swelling of the throat and the area around the mouth soon after the consumption of the fruit. This is closely related to the cross hypersensitive reaction caused by pollens and birch tree. The other kind of allergy is caused by latex. The main symptoms are urticaria, nausea, diarrhea and vomiting.
Conclusion
Apart from exceptional and rare cases bananas, are healthy diet advice given by any physician and dietician.
