Bananas are popular fruit which most people take for granted as part of their normal food intake. One of the facts below confirms that virtually every household in the U.S., at least, purchases bananas at some time in each month.
In fact, botanically speaking, a banana is actually a form of berry.
Although most Americans regard the banana solely as a sweet fruit, there are many societies in which another type of banana, called a plantain, is used for cooking.
We tend to think of ripe bananas as being yellow in color and unripe ones as green. In fact, there are versions which, in addition to these two colors, can be red, purple, or brown, when fully ripe.
Here are some more fascinating facts about bananas you probably don’t know:
1. Quick ripening tip
To ripen bananas quickly place them in a paper bag with an uncut and unpeeled apple, pear or tomato. The ethylene gas that those fruits emit accelerates the bananas’ ripening process.
2. Bananas can give you a feeling of happiness
This is not just because you enjoy the taste – the reason is chemical. A small banana provides 27 mg magnesium, which may help boost mood. Men and women need 420 mg and 320 mg of magnesium per day, respectively. Low levels of this mineral are linked to depression, anxiety, irritability and other mood disorders.
3. Bananas can lower blood pressure
A medium banana has 422 mg potassium while being sodium-free. The high potassium-to-sodium ratio helps to neutralize the blood-pressure raising effects of sodium in your diet. It’s known that you are less likely to have high blood pressure and have reduced risk for stroke if you maintain your potassium level.
A medium-sized banana provides nearly 10 percent of the daily requirement.
4. Bananas help a disturbed digestive system
Upset tummy? Bananas are great because they’re easy to digest and considered non-irritating for the stomach and upper GI tract. They are included in the clinical BRAT diet — bananas, rice, applesauce, and dry toast — which is a diet plan dietitians use to relieve acute diarrhea.
5. Today’s bananas in the U.S. are different
The bananas we eat today in America are not the same as the ones our grandparents and great-grandparents ate. The most popular type of banana today is called the Cavendish. Two or three generations ago, people ate not only Cavendish, but the Gros Michel banana, a variety that everyone agreed was tastier.
Unfortunately, from the 1920s -1950s a soil fungus called “The Panama Disease” ravaged banana farms and banana shortages were frequent. By 1960 this disease had annihilated the Gros Michel banana. The Cavendish was its replacement.
6. Who invented the banana split?
The Banana split was invented in 1904 by David Evans Strickler, a 23-year-old apprentice pharmacist at a pharmacy in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. The original banana split recipe was three scoops of ice cream (chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry) a whole banana split lengthwise, chocolate sauce, strawberries, and pineapple chunks, chopped peanuts, whip cream and maraschino cherries. A typical banana split can contain anywhere from 530 calories to over 1,000 calories and 40 grams of fat.
7. Bananas are full of Vitamin C
A serving of banana provides 15 percent of the daily requirement for vitamin C, which is an important antioxidant that helps neutralize damaging free radicals and helps keep systemic inflammation at bay. It also helps produce collagen that holds muscles, bones and other tissues together.
8. 96 Percent of American Households Purchase Bananas Each Month
On average, Americans consume over 28 pounds of bananas each year, with over 96 percent of households purchasing bananas at least once each month. Americans eat as many bananas as apples and oranges combined.
Total annual world production is estimated at 86 million tons with India producing 23 percent of the world’s total banana production. The other leading banana producing countries are Brazil, Ecuador, China, Philippines, Indonesia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Thailand. and Colombia.
9. Bananas are good for your diet
A medium banana contains 110 calories and provides 30 grams of carbs and 3 grams fiber. In addition to filling fiber, bananas contain resistant starch, a type of carbohdyrate you can’t digest, but helps you feel fuller longer.
10. Bananas are one of the cheapest fruits
Banana expert Dan Koeppel told NPR in 2011, “The banana is the cheapest fruit in the supermarket, and that’s pretty weird because it’s shipped from great distances, and it requires a lot of handling and refrigeration, much more than apples, for example.” Bananas pack an incredible amount of nutrition and health benefit at an incredibly low cost.
11. Bananas are good for athletes
A recent study from Appalachian State University’s Human Performance Lab found that consuming half a banana every 15 minutes during a cycling time trial test was as effective as drinking a carbohydrate matched sports drink every 15 minutes. For athletes, bananas are a great option to fuel your muscles while providing antioxidants and other nutrients.
12. The smell of bananas is an appetite depressant
According to a study performed at the Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago, smelling certain foods when you are hungry can trick you brain into thinking that you’ve actually eaten them. One of those foods is bananas.
So, now you know more than you did about bananas.
Do you eat bananas on a regular basis? If not, why not?
Share your thoughts about this fascinating subject by making use of the comments feed below.
