Banana, the fruit of the genus Musa, of the family Musaceae, is one of the most important fruit crops of the world. The banana is grown in the tropics, and, though it is most widely consumed in those regions, it is valued worldwide for its flavor, nutritional value, and availability throughout the year. Cavendish, or dessert, bananas are most commonly eaten fresh, though they may be fried or mashed and chilled in pies or puddings. They may also be used to flavor muffins, cakes, or bread. Cooking varieties, or plantains, are starchy rather than sweet and are grown extensively as a staple food source in tropical regions; they are cooked when ripe or immature. Ripe fruit contains as much as 22 percent of carbohydrate and is high in dietary fiber, potassium, manganese, and vitamins B6 and C.
Musa sapientum (M.sapientum) commonly known as ‘banana’ is widely used folk medicine for the treatment of various ailments including diarrhea, wounds, stomach ulcer, diabetes, heartburn, inflammation, and others. Banana is normally used for human consumption providing nutrients, but is there really a scientific basis for the many health benefits it brings?.
Scientific Name: Musa sapientum
Common Name; Saging, Kela, Platano, Cavendish, Fen ba jiao
Banana is one of the all-year-round fruits known for the firm, elongated but creamy white flesh enclosed in fibrous skin jacket. Banana comes in many varieties but ripe bananas are usually taken as dessert. Banana is likewise packed with vitamins and minerals that have many health benefits.
According to Wikipedia, a banana may have probably originated from the tropics of America especially southern Mexico where it was first cultivated and was later propagated in other tropical and sub-tropical countries in the continents of America, Australia, Africa, and Asia.
Banana Description
Bananas (Musa sapientum Linn) are native to tropical Southeast Asia but have long been cultivated in many countries from Asia to Europe for its fruit and to a lesser extent for their fiber.
Banana is commonly mistaken as a tree but it is actually a large perennial flowering herb with leaf sheaths that form trunk-like pseudostems that grow from a corm. Banana can grow up to 7 meters in height that have about 8 – 12 spirally arranged leaves that are up to 2.7 meters long and 0.6 meters wide.
The pseudostem produces a single inflorescence, the banana heart, containing many bracts between rows of flowers. The banana fruits develop from the heart, in a hanging cluster made up of tiers (hands), up to 20 fruit to a tier that ripens in 60 to 90 days after the first flower appeared.
The banana fruit is commonly elongated and curved in varying sizes depending on the variety but the best bananas are those that are long and firm, have sweet-tasting creamy flesh, undamaged and unblemished skin, evenness of ripening and color. Other varieties of banana fruit are starchy in taste firm and are usually eaten after cooking.
Nutrition Facts of Bananas
| Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) | |
|---|---|
| Energy | 371 kJ (89 kcal) |
|
Carbohydrates
|
22.84 g
|
| Sugars | 12.23 g |
| Dietary fiber | 2.6 g |
|
Fat
|
0.33 g
|
|
Protein
|
1.09 g
|
| Vitamins | Quantity
%DV†
|
| Thiamine (B1) |
3%
0.031 mg |
| Riboflavin (B2) |
6%
0.073 mg |
| Niacin (B3) |
4%
0.665 mg |
| Pantothenic acid (B5) |
7%
0.334 mg |
| Vitamin B6 |
31%
0.4 mg |
| Folate (B9) |
5%
20 μg |
| Choline |
2%
9.8 mg |
| Vitamin C |
10%
8.7 mg |
| Minerals | Quantity
%DV†
|
| Iron |
2%
0.26 mg |
| Magnesium |
8%
27 mg |
| Manganese |
13%
0.27 mg |
| Phosphorus |
3%
22 mg |
| Potassium |
8%
358 mg |
| Sodium |
0%
1 mg |
| Zinc |
2%
0.15 mg |
| Other constituents | Quantity |
| Water | 74.91 g |
|
Link to USDA Database entry values are for edible portion
|
|
|
|
| †Percentages are roughly approximated using US recommendations for adults. Source: USDA FoodData Central |
|
Banana Medicinal Uses
Banana in Traditional and Folkloric Medicine
The humble banana is one of the most nutritious fruits that provides valuable health benefits to the body. Comparatively speaking, bananas are more nutritious than apples. It is rich in potassium, has five times more vitamin A and iron, and has two times more carbohydrates and three times as much phosphorous.
Banana is a very versatile plant where all of its parts provide its respective health benefits as used in traditional herbal medicine.
Health Benefits from Banana fruit
- Banana is rich in fibers has long been used as demulcent and laxative to improve bowel movement.
- Banana is used to treat biliousness and heartburn
- Banana is used to promote lymphatic flow and to stimulate the detoxifying functions of the liver.
- Banana is used to prevent scurvy
- Banana is included in the diet to help restore health and strength.
- The flour made from green bananas is used for dyspepsia and flatulence.
- Ripe bananas combined with tamarind and salt are used to treat dysentery and diarrhea
Banana trunk and leaf juice health benefits
- The banana juice is used as an astringent
- The banana juice has used a styptic to control bleeding.
- Banana is used to treat fever
- Banana is used as emmenagogue to help menstrual flow.
- The mucilage of the trunk is used to promote hair growth.
- The juice of the trunk is also used for dysentery and diarrhea
Banana leaves and roots health benefits
- Banana young leaves are used as dressings for skin wounds to treat inflammation.
- Banana leaves are used as a cool application for headaches.
- The powdered roots of banana are used to treat anemia and cachexia
- Banana seeds are used to treat inflammation of the mucus membrane of the nose and throat
- The mucilage from tender roots is used to check hemorrhage in genitalia and air passages.
- The sap of the roots are used as an enema for diarrhea
Health Benefits from Banana Flower
- The cooked flowers are used to treat diabetes
- The cooked flowers are also used to treat heartburn
- Sap from the flowers are used to treat earaches
Science-Based Health Benefits from Banana
Banana Mechanism of action in disease prevention
Hypoglycemic Effect of methanolic extract of Musa paradisiaca (Musaceae) green fruits in diabetic mice.
A study was done in the Department of Pharmacology, University of Durban, South Africa, investigated the effects of methanolic extract of green banana fruits in streptozotocin-treated diabetic mice. The study showed that the methanolic extract of green bananas has the ability to reduce blood sugar concentrations in diabetic mice (P<0.01 – 0.001). This study suggests that methanolic extract of green banana possess hypoglycemic activity, and thus lends credence to the folkloric health benefits of banana as used in the management and control of adult-onset, type-2 diabetic Mellitus among the people in South Western Nigeria.
Gastroprotective Health Benefits of Bananas
The Department of Pharmacology, Khon Kaen University in Thailand conducted a study on the anti peptic ulcer effects of bananas in acetic acid-induced gastric lesions in rats. The study indicated that the different varieties of bananas have different anti-peptic ulcer benefits. The Palo variety of bananas has gastroprotective effects against peptic ulcers while the Horn variety has ulcer healing benefits. (Journal of Phytotherapy Research. August 2001).
Antioxidative Activity of Banana Flowers in Vitro.
The Department of Food and Nutrition of the University of Calcutta, India conducted an experiment on the antioxidant activity of different cultivars of banana flowers in vitro. In this experiment, the total polyphenol, flavonoid, and antioxidative properties of different banana flowers were compared with a standard. Results have shown that banana flowers are found to reduce the radical cation scavenging activity, inhibit lipid peroxidation, and have a protective effect against chemical-induced DNA damage in vitro. The study thus suggests that different varieties of banana flowers can be a potential source of natural antioxidants. (Journal of Food Science, Nov- Dec 2011)
Banana Preparations, Usage, and Side Effects
Banana Preparation, Availability, and Usage
Bananas are available in most grocery stores, supermarkets and fruit stores. In buying ripe ready-to-eat bananas, select those that are slightly soft, have no sunken dark spots, and have no cracks.
Bananas can also be bought unripe and can be ripened at home for later consumption. Unripe bananas are firmer and the skin has a green color. Unripe bananas can be stored in a basket or paper bag at room temperature. Do not refrigerate unripe bananas. As the banana ripens the skin color will turn yellowish and the texture softer.
It is best to store ripe bananas in a refrigerator and should be consumed within 2 days. Just like any other fruit, when a banana is sliced open and exposed to air, the banana flesh will soon oxidize.
Banana Warnings and Side Effects
- Generally safe. Consumption of bananas is generally safe if consumed in moderate amounts..
- Allergy. Banana may pose an allergic reaction for people that has a sensitivity to latex.
- Constipation. Unripe banana contains resistant starch that when consumed in large amounts can cause constipation.
- Hyperkalemia. Bananas contain a good amount of potassium. Where too much has been consumed, the potassium level in the blood may increase causing a condition called hyperkalemia which may affect the pulse rate, which can even lead to a heart attack.
11 Evidence-Based Health Benefits of Bananas
1. Bananas Contain Many Important Nutrients
Bananas are among the world’s most popular fruits. Native to Southeast Asia, they are now grown in many warm parts of the world. Bananas vary in color, size and shape. The most common type is the Cavendish, which is a type of dessert banana. Green when unripe, it yellows as it matures. Bananas contain a fair amount of fiber, as well as several antioxidants. One medium-sized banana (118 grams) also boasts (1, 2Trusted Source, 3Trusted Source):
- Potassium: 9% of the RDI
- Vitamin B6: 33% of the RDI
- Vitamin C: 11% of the RDI
- Magnesium: 8% of the RDI
- Copper: 10% of the RDI
- Manganese: 14% of the RDI
- Net carbs: 24 grams
- Fiber: 3.1 grams
- Protein: 1.3 grams
- Fat: 0.4 grams
Each banana has only about 105 calories and consists almost exclusively of water and carbs. Bananas hold very little protein and almost no fat.
The carbs in green, unripe bananas consist mostly of starch and resistant starch, but as the banana ripens, the starch turns into sugar (glucose, fructose and sucrose).
Bananas are rich in fiber, antioxidants and
several nutrients. A medium-sized banana has about 105 calories.
2. Bananas Contain Nutrients That Moderate Blood Sugar Levels
Bananas are rich in pectin, a type of fiber that gives the flesh its spongy structural form (4). Unripe bananas contain resistant starch, which acts like soluble fiber and escapes digestion. Both pectin and resistant starch may moderate blood sugar levels after meals and reduce appetite by slowing the emptying of your stomach (5Trusted Source, 6Trusted Source, 7Trusted Source). Furthermore, bananas also rank low to medium on the glycemic index (GI), which is a measure — from 0–100 — of how quickly foods increase blood sugar levels. The GI value of unripe bananas is about 30, while ripe bananas rank at about 60. The average value of all bananas is 51 (8, 9Trusted Source). This means that bananas should not cause major spikes in blood sugar levels in healthy individuals.
However, this may not apply to people with type 2 diabetes, who should probably avoid eating a lot of well-ripened bananas — and monitor their blood sugar carefully if they do.
Bananas can help moderate blood sugar levels
after meals and may reduce appetite by slowing stomach emptying.
3. Bananas May Improve Digestive Health
Dietary fiber has been linked to many health benefits, including improved digestion. A medium-sized banana has about 3 grams of fiber, making bananas a fairly good fiber source (10Trusted Source).
Bananas contain two main types of fiber:
- Pectin: Decreases as the banana ripens.
- Resistant starch: Found
in unripe bananas.
Resistant starch escapes digestion and ends up in your large intestine, where it becomes food for the beneficial bacteria in your gut (11Trusted Source, 12Trusted Source, 13).
Additionally, some test-tube studies propose that pectin may help protect against colon cancer (14Trusted Source, 15Trusted Source).
Bananas are fairly rich in fiber and
resistant starch, which may feed your friendly gut bacteria and safeguard
against colon cancer.
4. Bananas May Aid Weight Loss
No study has directly tested the effects of bananas on weight loss. However, bananas do have several attributes that should make them a weight-loss-friendly food.
For starters, bananas have relatively few calories. An average banana has just over 100 calories — yet it is also very nutritious and filling. Eating more fiber from vegetables and fruits like bananas has repeatedly been linked to lower body weight and weight loss (16Trusted Source, 17Trusted Source, 18Trusted Source).
Furthermore, unripe bananas are packed with resistant starch, so they tend to be very filling and may reduce your appetite (19Trusted Source, 20Trusted Source).
Bananas may aid weight loss because they’re
low in calories and high in nutrients and fiber.
5. Bananas May Support Heart Health
Potassium is a mineral that is essential for heart health — especially blood pressure control. Despite its importance, few people get enough potassium in their diet (21). Bananas are a great dietary source of potassium. One medium-sized banana (118 grams) contains 9% of the RDI.
A potassium-rich diet can help lower blood pressure, and people who eat plenty of potassium have up to a 27% lower risk of heart disease (22Trusted Source, 23Trusted Source, 24Trusted Source, 25Trusted Source).
Furthermore, bananas contain a decent amount of magnesium, which is also important for heart health (26Trusted Source, 27).
Bananas are a good dietary source of
potassium and magnesium — two nutrients that are essential for heart health.
6. Bananas Contain Powerful Antioxidants
Fruits and vegetables are excellent sources of dietary antioxidants, and bananas are no exception. They contain several types of potent antioxidants, including dopamine and catechins (1, 2Trusted Source). These antioxidants are linked to many health benefits, such as a reduced risk of heart disease and degenerative illnesses (28Trusted Source, 29Trusted Source). However, it is a common misunderstanding that the dopamine from bananas acts as a feel-good chemical in your brain.
In reality, dopamine from bananas does not cross the blood-brain barrier. It simply acts as a strong antioxidant instead of altering hormones or mood (2Trusted Source, 30Trusted Source).
Bananas are high in several antioxidants,
which may help reduce damage from free radicals and lower your risk of some
diseases.
7. Bananas May Help You Feel More Full
Resistant starch is a type of indigestible carb — found in unripe bananas and other foods — which functions like soluble fiber in your body. As a rule of thumb, you can estimate that the greener the banana, the higher its resistant starch content (31). On the other hand, yellow, ripe bananas contain lower amounts of resistant starch and total fiber — but proportionally higher amounts of soluble fiber.
Both pectin and resistant starch offer appetite-reducing effects and increase the feeling of fullness after meals (20Trusted Source, 32Trusted Source, 33Trusted Source, 34Trusted Source).
Depending on ripeness, bananas harbor high
amounts of resistant starch or pectin. Both may reduce appetite and help keep
you full.
8. Unripe Bananas May Improve Insulin Sensitivity
Insulin resistance is a major risk factor for many of the world’s most serious diseases, including type 2 diabetes.
Several studies reveal that 15–30 grams of resistant starch per day may improve insulin sensitivity by 33–50% in as few as four weeks (35Trusted Source, 36Trusted Source). Unripe bananas are a great source of resistant starch. Therefore, they may help improve insulin sensitivity. However, the reason for these effects is not well understood, and not all studies agree on the matter (35Trusted Source, 37Trusted Source).
More studies should be conducted on bananas and insulin sensitivity.
Unripe bananas are a good source of resistant
starch, which may improve insulin sensitivity. However, more research is
needed.
9. Bananas May Improve Kidney Health
Potassium is essential for blood pressure control and healthy kidney function. As a good dietary source of potassium, bananas may be especially beneficial for maintaining healthy kidneys. One 13-year study in women determined that those who ate bananas 2–3 times per week were 33% less likely to develop kidney disease (38Trusted Source).
Other studies note that those who eat bananas 4–6 times a week are almost 50% less likely to develop kidney disease than those who don’t eat this fruit (38Trusted Source, 39Trusted Source).
Eating a banana several times a week may
reduce your risk of kidney disease by up to 50%.
10. Bananas May Have Benefits for Exercise
Bananas are often referred to as the perfect food for athletes largely due to their mineral content and easily digested carbs. Eating bananas may help reduce exercise-related muscle cramps and soreness, which affect up to 95% of the general population (40Trusted Source). The reason for the cramps is largely unknown, but a popular theory blames a mixture of dehydration and electrolyte imbalance (41Trusted Source, 42Trusted Source, 43Trusted Source). However, research gives mixed findings about bananas and muscle cramps. While some studies find them helpful, others find no effects (44Trusted Source).
That said, bananas do provide excellent nutrition before, during and after endurance exercise (45Trusted Source).
Bananas may help relieve muscle cramps caused
by exercise. They also provide excellent fuel for endurance exercise.
11. Bananas Are Easy to Add to Your Diet
Not only are bananas incredibly healthy — they’re also one of the most convenient snack foods around. Bananas make a great addition to yogurt, cereal and smoothies. You can even use them instead of sugar in your baking and cooking. Furthermore, bananas rarely contain any pesticides or pollutants due to their thick protective peel.
Bananas are incredibly easy to eat and transport. They are usually well-tolerated and easily digested — they simply have to be peeled and eaten.
It doesn’t get much easier than that.
Bananas make an excellent snack food, dessert or breakfast. Their versatility makes them easy to add to your diet.
