Health Benefits of Bananas

Vitamin C

As with many fruits, bananas contain a good amount of vitamin C. One banana provides about 10 mg of vitamin C, or about 15 percent of your daily recommended amount. Vitamin C boosts your immune system and cell health and improves the absorption of other nutrients such as iron.

Vitamin B-6

Since B vitamins are more commonly found in animal products, it may come as a surprise that bananas are an excellent source of vitamin B-6, also called pyridoxine. One banana supplies 35 percent of your daily B-6 requirement. Your body uses vitamin B-6 to grow new cells.

Manganese

Bananas are a good source of manganese, with one medium banana providing about .3 mg. Adults need between 1.8 and 2.3 mg of manganese daily. Manganese is necessary for bone health and metabolism.

Fiber

According to the USDA, one banana has about 3 g of fiber. Dietary fiber can help you feel fuller longer and also keep your digestive processes running smoothly.

Other Nutrients

Bananas also deliver small amounts of other vitamins and minerals. A banana provides some iron, magnesium, calcium and phosphorus as well as vitamins A and E, folate, carotene and choline. Bananas also contain trace amounts of many amino acids.

Carbohydrates

Your body uses carbohydrates as a primary source of energy. Eat a banana after a workout to refuel. A banana with breakfast will start your day off right and will give you the energy to make it through to lunch without snacking.

Digestibility

Bananas are easy to digest. When you're sick with a virus or indigestion, bananas can be an appealing way to get some important nutrients into your system without upsetting your stomach. Mashed bananas are also often used as an introduction to solid foods for babies.

 More Energy

Even with the proliferation of brightly colored ‘sports’ drinks, ‘energy’ bars and ‘electrolyte’ gels (these are loaded with unhealthy chemicals and coloring by the way) you often see athletes eating bananas just before and even during sports.

Watching tennis for instance, it’s not uncommon to see the players snacking on a bit of banana in between games. If a banana can keep a professional tennis player going, it’s got to rank pretty well in the high-quality energy source stakes.

Personally, I find the combination of natural sugars, balanced with the soluble fiber and potassium, to provide a good stable energy when eaten half an hour before gym or a run.
I’ve experimented with this – running or weights with, or without a banana – and seem to consistently do better when I have one before training.

Some people are worried about bananas spiking blood sugar, but tests show they actually have a glycemic index of around 52, with 24 g of available carbs (lower the less ripe they are).

That’s a glycemic load in the vicinity of 12 which isn’t considered that high. These figures will obviously vary depending on variety and ripeness.

Bananas make a great snack at work when your energy is lagging and while they might not be the most obvious weight loss food, they are only about 100 calories and can satisfy those sweet cravings.

So if you can replace candy bars and other junk foods with bananas, you might just have a really important step towards losing weight. As an added bonus your energy will be much more steady and consistent.

High in Vitamin B6

Bananas are particularly high in vitamin B6. This vitamin is important for creating hemoglobin for healthy blood.

B6 is also involved in maintaining proper blood sugar levels, synthesizing and breaking down amino acids and producing antibodies for a stronger immune response in your body.

Just one banana has a full fifth of your recommended daily intake of vitamin B6. And they taste much better than vitamin pills too!

Improving your Mood and Reducing Stress

Bananas are a good source of the amino acid tryptophan which your body converts to serotonin.

Amongst many other things, proper serotonin levels help improve your mood, reduce stress and enhance your general outlook and happiness levels. It also helps regulate good sleep patterns.

Tryptophan is considered an essential amino acid because the only way your body gets it is through your diet. Bananas, while certainly not the highest source out there, are one of the easiest ways to get a little more tryptophan. Another reason why bananas make such a great snack for those stressed out at work.

Medical sources:

http://www.healthambition.com/
Livestrong