Hello friends,

Check out this cool article on the health benefits of banana's.

Bananas contain three natural sugars - sucrose, fructose and glucose combined
with fiber. A banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy.
Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous
90-minute workout. No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world’
s leading athletes.

But energy isn’t the only way a banana can help us keep fit. It can also help
overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions, making it a
must to add to our daily diet.

1. 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.

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

3. Anemia: High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of hemoglobin in
the blood and so helps in cases of anemia.

4. Blood Pressure: This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet
low in salt, making it perfect 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.

5. Brain Power: 200 students at a Twickenham (Middlesex) school were
helped through their exams this year by eating bananas at breakfast, break, and
lunch in a bid to boost their brain power.

6. Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by
making pupils more alert.

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

8. 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.

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

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

11. 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.

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

13. 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 every two hours to keep levels steady.

14. 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-chronicler cases. It also neutralizes over-acidity and
reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.

15. 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.

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

17. Smoking &Tobacco Use: Bananas can also help people trying to give up
smoking. The B6, B12 they contain, as well as the potassium and magnesium
found in them, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.

18. Stress: Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize 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 rebalanced with the help of a high-potassium banana snack.

19. 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%!

20. 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!

So, a banana really is a natural remedy for many ills. When you compare it to an
apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrate, three times the
phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and
minerals. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around so
maybe its time to change that well-known phrase so that we say, “A banana a day
keeps the doctor away!”

PASS IT ON TO YOUR FRIENDS

PS: Bananas must be the reason monkeys are so happy all the time! I will add one
here; want a quick shine on our shoes?? Take the INSIDE of the banana skin,
and rub directly on the shoe…polish with dry cloth. Amazing fruit!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/10/2007 04:49AM by Bryan.

Cool, thanks for sharing!

" B12 they contain "
- can you possibly give a source reference for that?

Interesting, I do find that I am happier on bananas.


Gosia


RawGosia channel
RawGosia streams

Hi Gosia,

I did not write the article, I don't think the part about B-12 is accurate.

This website has the full nutrient profile of the banana:

[www.nutritiondata.com]

It says 0% B12, and for B6 it says one banana has about 0.8 mg which is 41% of Daily Value

Mike

Mike Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I did not write the article, I don't think the
> part about B-12 is accurate.

So why do you publish it on your website?

Spreading mis-information that bananas contain B12 is not a good idea!

Rob

--
Rob Hull - Funky Raw
My blog: [www.rawrob.com]

Hi Rob,

I edited the article and removed the b12 thing.
I am not sure who wrote the article, a friend
sent it to me in an email.

Mike

Bananas in their natural state are very healthy food but the hybridized kind we see all around us are not healthy at all, their sugar content is not that different from refined sugar. They have no seeds. Eating them is detrimental to your health, it is almost similar to eating a candy.

David Jubb has done some work in this area.

Those who are eating so many bananas are doing well not because of the bananas but in spite of them. They are doing other things very well to offset the bananas. You could try to find some organic plantains which may still have some seeds.

"Those who are eating so many bananas are doing well not because of the bananas but in spite of them."

Can you provide a proof of that? Thanks!

Gosia


RawGosia channel
RawGosia streams

I heard there are hundreds of different types of bananas. The only ones we can get are the yellow cavendish, and the red finger banana's. I wish there was a company that sold unique and exotic banana's that would ship them to me. I am bored with the cavendish.

Mike

According to an article which originally appeared in the February 2003 Harvard Mental Health Letter, B12 is found in bananas:

[hmiworld.org]


Gosia


RawGosia channel
RawGosia streams

Rawgosia, I just saw on your link where it says bananas have B12. I still don't believe it. I've seen many many times in many places that fruits and vegetables don't have it. Maybe I need to change my thinking. Your link also says that potatoes have B12. I am not buying into that one either unless I start seeing lots and lots of people saying that it's true. How in hell would any of us know what's true? Y' got to do the research, and even then, even researchers get things wrong.

I do feel that since bananas come from so far away that they're not ideal food, except in those places where they grow. I do sometimes eat them here, in South Korea where they come from the Philippines. But they go bad so quickly ....

I don't remember if it is the same in the US but suppose it must be. Bananas going bad fast. When I lived in the US I remember buying organic bananas from Mexico at a health food store in Santa Cruz, California. Though I don't remember, I suppose that even they are not so very good. Picked so green .... It's just not the same as getting local, ripe fruit.



This way is not compatible with Zen practice. This way IS Zen practice. - Dr. Doug Graham

Nothing whatsoever should be attached to. - Buddha

TroySantos, it is not a mere link, but a paper published in a legitimate Harvard publication. A paper reference given on another thread also gives other plant sources of B12. If you do not believe these papers, you may choose to write to the Editors of the journals and question them. I would be interested in their response too. As far as beliefs, I believe that in time many more plant sources of B12 will be confirmed in officially recognized scientific sources. See also [www.rawgosia.com] and in particular [www.roylretreat.com] for further discussion.

Gosia


RawGosia channel
RawGosia streams

Now the big news is that plantsource such as bananas has b12, and the debate is raging. This still does not explain why vegan diet without supplement fail in the long run. Is that b12 in bananas usable?

Re: "This still does not explain why vegan diet without supplement fail in the long run."

This is an assumption on your part, and a very limited perspective. I know a 30 year vegan who is having no problems whatsoever nutritionally.

Bryan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Re: "This still does not explain why vegan diet
> without supplement fail in the long run."
>
> This is an assumption on your part, and a very
> limited perspective. I know a 30 year vegan who is
> having no problems whatsoever nutritionally.

Would love to know more about that case, diet, life style, health status?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/11/2007 01:30AM by djatchi.

Diet is low fat cooked vegan. He's been vegan for 30 year, no supplements. Eats a fair amount of raw foods. Grow much of his own foods. Lifestyle is relaxed, a yoga teacher. Low stress. Does lots physical labor because he lives in the mountains way off the beaten path (chopping wood, hauling brush, etc). He is nearly 70, and is able to take showers outside during the cold northern california winters. Excellent (and improving because of more raw) health. Physically strong.

I know another man in his 70's. Been a raw vegan since his 50s, no supplements. Physically very strong. Can do 100s of pushups, swim miles in a pool. Very athletic. He is a president of a university, probably lives in the suburbs (not sure about this, he could be in the city). His life is a bit more stressed than most people who are in their 70s because of his position at the university, but excellent health.

I know another man who has been raw vegan for 28 years, no supplements. He grows his own foods, and lives in a more rural wooded area. He is still relatively young (late 40s versus 70s), as he started raw in his early 20s. Excellent health, spends a lot of time outdoors.

I met another man in San Francisco. In his 70s. A cooked vegan, no supplementation, very high raw. Been doing high raw vegan for over 20 years, no supplementation. Goes on long hikes with people in their 20/30s and keeps up, Has the energy of a 40 year old man. Probably has better health than most 40 year olds.

These are the kinds of people I run into a raw polucks and raw vegan events. Just ordinary people who decided to go vegan or raw vegan. Nothing special. Yet they have excellent heath, and they don't take supplements, and they are not worried about B-12. It only took me meeting one of them to see that B-12 wasn't an issue, but now I've met several.

Thanks for bringing these interesting cases to our attention.