10 Incredible Health Benefits of Eating Bananas
How Can Eating Bananas Benefit Your Health? If you go wild for bananas, then this post is for you! In my house, we simply can’t get enough of this fantastic fruit, especially my husband. This is his second favorite fruit, aside from blueberries! Here’s what you should know about eating bananas and how they benefit…
How Can Eating Bananas Benefit Your Health?
If you go wild for bananas, then this post is for you! In my house, we simply can’t get enough of this fantastic fruit, especially my husband. This is his second favorite fruit, aside from blueberries! Here’s what you should know about eating bananas and how they benefit your health! Amazingly there are several health benefits to eating bananas! Let’s chat about them, shall we?
What Are Bananas, and Where Did They Originate From?
Bananas are those elongated yellow fruits you can find just about anywhere. Did you know they are botanically classified as a berry? Yes, it’s true!
They originated in Southeast Asia, and in Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines, many wild varieties of this fruit still grow today. You can find bananas all over the globe, and they aren’t just delicious…they’re incredibly nutritious too.
Are Bananas the Same as Plantains?
While bananas and plantains look similar, they’re quite different. Plantains are eaten cooked though as they are much tougher and starchier. Meanwhile, you can happily eat bananas either raw or cooked.
10 Health Benefits of Eating Bananas
Since bananas are fruits, you’d be right to assume they’re good for you. But here’s more about the health benefits you get every time you eat a banana.
1. Regulates Blood Pressure
Bananas are well-known for having high potassium levels. This is great for your heart health and hence can be helpful in reducing your blood pressure.
2. Regulates Blood Sugar Too
Bananas may taste sweet, but they have a low glycemic index, which makes them ideal for regulating your blood sugar levels. It’s the perfect sweet treat you need when you have cravings without putting yourself in danger of type 2 diabetes.
3. Rich in Antioxidants
You’ll get plenty of antioxidants when you eat bananas too, which is a good thing to protect your body from free radical damage.
4. Healthy Benefits of Eating Bananas includes Healthier Bowels
With plenty of fiber, bananas are a great way to keep things moving along in your digestive system. Pectin is a type of fiber in both ripe and unripe bananas that is ideal for preventing constipation.
5. Eating Bananas Can Benefit Your Gut Health
You won’t just be helping move waste out of your body with bananas. You’ll also improve digestive health, and give your good gut bacteria prebiotic fiber to help them thrive.
6. Ideal Exercise Recovery
When focusing on your health and fitness, bananas can help you regain those electrolytes you lose from your workouts. This reduces muscle cramps after workouts, and it really tastes great too.
7. Health Benefits of Bananas Includes Weight Loss
It’s hard to lose weight, especially when cravings for sweet foods strike. But bananas taste so good and they fill you up which can really go a long way in helping you stick to those goals.
8. Bananas May Reduce Risk for Heart Disease
With all that potassium helping your heart out, you’ll be less likely to have heart disease when you eat bananas more often.
9. Eating Bananas to Improve Sleep and Mood
Tryptophan is an amino acid that bananas contain that improves your mood. They also have magnesium which can help you get that beautiful sleep every night.
10. Reduces Inflammation
Bananas also have plenty of anti-inflammatory compounds which will help you have a better chance of avoiding chronic diseases.
What is the Best Way to Open a Banana?
Why, yes! There IS a better way to open your bananas, if you turn them upside-down. You’ll want to use your thumb and forefinger to pinch the tip, creating an opening. Then you can peel back each section with much greater ease than struggling with it from the stem.
Healthy Banana Recipes to Try
- Banana Oat Granola Clusters
- Honey Whole Wheat Banana Bread
- Peanut Butter Banana Bars
- Banana Oat Waffles
Health Benefits of Eating Bananas FAQs
Bananas really are so good for you, as you can see from the health benefits I’ve listed above. They are also good for your taste buds too…yum!
Yes, eating a banana every day will give you great benefits and all the nutrients you need. However, as good as they taste, try not to overdo it. One or two bananas a day is moderate, but anything beyond that is excessive.
You’ll have a healthier heart, lower inflammation, better sleep, better outcomes with exercise and weight loss, and you’ll be getting so many nutrients that your body needs, all by peeling back that banana peel!
Bananas are best when eaten in the morning. Don’t eat them by themselves though. Make sure you have something else along with them.
Bananas at the start of your day help your digestion and gut health. You’ll be less likely to get backed up with constipation too.
Eating bananas for breakfast is great though they should be consumed with other items like oatmeal for example. This is due to the high amount of natural sugars they contain. On an empty stomach, this may cause you to crash and burn after a few hours. They’re also naturally acidic, so on an empty stomach, they may give you a bit of a stomach ache.
While they are better for you in the morning along with other foods, there is nothing wrong with eating a banana any time of day. Just make sure you’re not eating too many of them a day!
Yes! If you’re tired of mushing up your banana by opening it from the stem, start from the bottom instead and you’ll be amazed at how easy it is to open!
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THANKS FOR STOPPING BY! Stay well, safe and keep living your life to the fullest!
Love bananas and the blacker the skin the more I love!
Same! I love banana too! 🙂
Bananas are my favorite fruit, ever! Can’t get enough of them, from smoothies, to bread, to just eating them alone. <3 Love them.
Same, Ava! Bananas are amazing and versatile, yes, I agree!
I love bananas already, but reading this I love them even more!!
Yay!!! Glad, this resonates with you, Sophie. Thanks for reading.
Interesting article! I love bananas too and can really appreciate now how good they are!
Thanks for stopping by, Nathalie! Bananas are truly incredible!
Great article! I use bananas in everything I bake, but didn’t realize how good for you they actually were!
Thank you, Ali!!
Thanks for all of this great information! I eat a banana every single day so this is great to know how healthy this habit is for me!
Thanks for reading, Tracy!
Love this article! Bananas are one of my favorites! Thank you!
Thank you so much, Ned! Bananas are one of my favs too!
I love bananas. I haven’t made banana bread in years.
Thanks for reading, Avil! You haven’t made banana bread in years? I literally make them weekly. I have a whole wheat banana bread recipe you can try if you want. xx