Health food tip of the day – BANANAS

Health Benefits of Bananas

The health benefits of banana include weight loss, obesity, weight gain, intestinal disorders, constipation, dysentery, anemia, tuberculosis, arthritis, gout, kidney disorders, urinary disorders, menstrual problems, and burns.

Banana fruit is eaten when ripe directly or as vegetables, fruit salad, juice, shakes, etc. Unripe bananas can cause severe indigestion and hence should be eaten only in cooked form.

The health benefits of banana include the following:

Weight loss and obesity: Banana is useful for weight loss as one banana having a weight of 100g contains roughly 90 calories. It contains lot of fiber and is easily digested. Further it does not contain any fats. So a overweight person does not eat too many calories if the diet contains some bananas. The roughage will also not make the person feel hungry.
Weight gain: At the same time, banana is useful for weight gain. Banana when consumed with milk helps in increasing the weight rapidly. Milk provides the necessary proteins and banana provides the sugars. Further, since banana is easily digested, a weak person can gulp 5-6 bananas in a day apart from the regular meals. This leads to an additional 500-600 calories which is quite necessary for weight gain. Since bananas have the ability to provide instant energy, sportsmen eat bananas during breaks of games.

Constipation: Banana contains dietary fiber and hence helps in smooth bowel movements. Bananas are said to push stools and relieve a person from constipation. They also help in treating other intestinal disorders.
Piles: Piles is characterized by difficulty in passing stools which may also lead to bleeding. It is believed that banana helps in treating piles. Some people also consider banana to cause negative effects on the bowels during piles as it adds a lot of bulk giving additional pressure on the bowels.
Anemia: Bananas contain high iron content and therefore aid in treating anemia.
Menstrual problems: Cooked banana flowers help in providing relief from painful and excessively bleeding menstrual cycles.