Whether it’s in smoothies, on top of a granola and yogurt parfait, in a fruit salad or eaten right out of the peel, bananas are a great addition to any healthy diet.
After a bit of research, it seems this bright and yummy fruit has even more benefits. Here are a few fun facts, benefits and uses for bananas that will make you want to buy even more of this sweet and versatile fruit.
5 Banana Fun Facts:
- 100 billion bananas are eaten annually, making them the 4th largest agricultural product in the world. Only wheat, rice and corn are higher.
- Bananas may have been the Earth’s first fruit – they are found drawn in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs.
- Scientific name is musa spientum, which means “Fruit of the wise men”
- Bananas float! So do apples and watermelons.
- The starch in bananas turn to natural sugar as they ripen. The riper the banana the sweeter they taste.
5 Health Benefits of Bananas:
- Bananas can improve your mood! They contain th amino acid tryptophan plus Vitamin B6 that when combined produce serotonin, which naturally relieves depression.
- Lower the risk of heart attack, stroke and decreases the chance of getting cancer.
- Contain almost no fat and are very low in calories.
- High in Vitamin B6, fiber, potassium.
- Replenish carbs, glycogen and body fluids the body burns during physical activity. Great post workout snack!
Who’d Have Thought?
Even the peel of a banana has many convenient uses, so don’t throw that banana peel out just yet! Use the inside of a banana peel to:
- Ease skin irritations such as bug bits, poison ivy, burn and scrapes - Rub on bite or irritation to relieve itching and prevent swelling and infection.
- Work splinters out of skin.
- Remove warts - Rub for a few seconds every night for 2 weeks or so.
- Whiten teeth - Rub peel on teeth for 2 minutes prior to brushing every night
- Polish silver & shine houseplant leaves.
- Cure a headache - Place peel on forehead.
- Rid your garden of pests - Cut up peels and bury an inch or two around plants infested with aphids.
- Help your garden grow – Great for composting and mulch too! Just dry peels and break up for mulch.
- Keep chicken moist when roasting - Place peel, inside down, on top of chicken breasts
We may have just discovered some of the reasons so many “Go bananas!” over the banana!
Be sure to share these facts with your picky eaters – you never know it just might make bananas cool in their eyes and get them eating more of them!
What other ways do you use bananas? Leave a comment below to let us know!