The Benefits of Bananas

Bananas are a popular fruit for their convenience and sweet taste while also providing numerous health benefits! Historically bananas originated in Southeast Asia and eventually made their way to the Americas thanks to Spanish and Portuguese explorers.

What health benefits do bananas have to offer?

• Bananas are rich in potassium that helps to regulate heartbeat and cardiac functioning. It also plays a role in maintaining fluid and electrolyte balance in the body and can help to lower blood pressure.
• Vitamin B6 is found in bananas and is associated with hemoglobin which is responsible for transporting oxygen in the blood to every part of the body.
• Fiber is a great benefit found in bananas that can help to support good digestive health. The fiber found in bananas can help to keep your bowels regular.
• Bananas provide nutrients that have prebiotic qualities meaning they help nourish flora in the gut and promote the growth of good bacteria.

 

Speed Up or Decrease the Ripening Process

• To speed up ripening place green bananas in a paper bag or place near ripe fruit. The ethylene gas will help to accelerate ripening.
• To slow down ripening place the unpeeled banana into the refrigerator. The banana peel will turn a darker color however the cold air will help to keep the flesh of the fruit firm and slow down ripening. You can also wrap the stem of the banana bunch with plastic wrap. This helps to seal the stem from exposure to excess oxygen and slow the ripening process!

 

How bananas can be used in the kitchen!

Ripening contributes to changes in the taste and texture of the banana. Unripe bananas tend to have a firm waxy texture with a slightly bitter taste. As bananas ripen their texture begins to soften and they become increasingly sweeter. These unique changes allow the banana to be a diverse fruit at different stages of the ripening process. They can be prepared in many different ways and used in many different types of recipes.

Ripeness	Cooking Uses
Underripe completely green	Cooked in stews and curries or fried as a substitute for recipes that call for plantains
Barely Ripe greenish-yellow	Raw, cooked in stews and curries, mashed and fried as fritters
Ripe completely yellow	Raw, fruit salads or smoothies, frozen, sautéed for desserts
Very Ripe brown spots	Raw, fruit salads and smoothies, sautéed for desserts, made into bread, frozen
Overripe completely brown	Mashed into shakes, made into bread, cakes, pancakes, smoothies, frozen

 

A few fun facts about bananas!

• Bananas grow upside-down towards the sun giving them their curved shape.
• Botanically a banana is both a fruit and a berry that grows on a large herb and not a tree.
• The root of a banana plant can be hundreds of years old but the stem that rises above the ground is herbaceous and dies at the end of a one-year cycle.
• A bunch of bananas is called a “hand,” and an individual banana is called a “finger”.
• A hand can weigh up to 100 pounds and one hand can actually have 400 fingers!

 

5 great dorm room snacks with bananas

1. Sliced banana with peanut butter
2. Add banana to a smoothie
3. Peanut butter and banana sandwich
4. Bananas dipped in yogurt or chocolate and frozen
5. Add sliced bananas to yogurt or oatmeal

 

Resources:

1. Oxender B. Bananas: Naturally Sweet and Simple Fruit Enjoyed Around the Globe. Food & Nutrition Magazine. https://foodandnutrition.org/from-the-magazine/bananas-naturally-sweet-and-simple-fruit-enjoyed-around-the-globe/. Published March 5, 2019. Accessed November 13, 2019.
2. Segrave-Daly D, Ball S. Healthy Kitchen Hacks: Banana Rescue. Food & Nutrition Magazine. https://foodandnutrition.org/from-the-magazine/healthy-kitchen-hacks-banana-rescue/. Published November 6, 2018. Accessed November 13, 2019.
3. USDA Nutrient Data Laboratory. NAL. https://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/usda-nutrient-data-laboratory. Accessed November 13, 2019.
4. The Nutrition Source. https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/food-features/bananas/. Published October 21, 2019. Accessed November 13, 2019.

 

Prepared by: Kimberly Brown TTU Graduate Student, Dietetic Intern