Making Merry with Banana at Christmas

Do you want to feel good and look young, energetic, lively, and healthy? Are you prone to depression and mood swings? Then forget about taking pills and go for bananas!

It is not folklore or myth that banana makes people feel good. In fact, eating two bananas provide enough energy for a five-kilometer walk. How does eating bananas make you happy? Banana contains two essential vitamins: a protein called tryptophan and Vitamin B6. When converted to serotonin, tryptophan makes you relax, improves your mood and makes you happier.

 African Traditional psychiatrists often prescribe lots of bananas to their patients. This has been confirmed to be medically sound. Banana is truly a wonder fruit and may be the answer to the menace of sickle cell anemia in Africa. Due to its high iron content, banana stimulates the production of hemoglobin and are often the number one prescription for the treatment of anemia. 

Banana contains high potassium content which helps normalize the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates the body’s water balance. In a hyperactive and tension-filled society like ours, a lot of us suffer potassium deficiency which leads to constant fatigue, stress, brain fag, high blood pressure and a host of other complications. Regular intake of banana can thus improve our general well-being.

In recognition of the effectiveness of banana as medicine, the American Food and Drugs Administration recently allowed the banana industry to make official claims that banana can reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke. Also, research done by the New England Journal of Medicine confirmed that regular intake of banana can cut the risk of death by strokes by as much as 40%.

Banana contains three natural sugars – Sucrose, fructose and glucose. Are you a student? Here are some good news for you: a regular intake of two bananas a day can increase your brain power and make you more alert to read and understand. No wonder monkeys love bananas. Bananas give them the energy and mental alertness they need to survive the hunter’s baits.

For the entire family, the high fiber content of the fruit helps in the treatment of constipation by restoring regular bowel action without resulting to a laxative. It is also a dietary food against intestinal disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness. It neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining in the stomach.

One large banana contains 602 milligrams of potassium and has only 140 calories, 2 gram of protein and 4 grams of fibre. Other vitamins and minerals in banana are a full range of B Vitamins: 0.7mg of thiamine, 15mg of riboflavin, 82mg of Niacin, 8mg of Vitamin B6, 29mg of folic acid and13.8mg of vitamin C. Banana also contains, magnesium, iron and zinc.

How many bananas do you need? If you are diabetic, ensure that you do not take more than two bananas a day or once in two days, depending on your healthcare provider’s advice. However, what I do recommend for diabetic patients is to boil the peels of the banana and drink. For this, it suffices to boil peels of 5 bananas in one liter of water. Please do not over-cook. Just heat up the water to 60 degrees centigrade (before the water gets to boiling point).

For those suffering from hypertension, it is recommended that they take two to three bananas daily. However, if you are obese or prone to being overweight, you might consider not taking more than three bananas a day, as the high potassium content of banana could lead to weight gain.

Mothers should train their children to love eating a banana as it is most suitable for young people, especially students. However, be careful where you buy your banana from. Since contamination has become the order of the day, your best protection is to know the source of any fruit you take. When bananas are harvested when they are still green and then manipulated artificially to delay the ripening process, the chemical compositions are also altered.

Nothing can replace banana that ripens naturally on the trunk. That is nature for you.

The peel of banana is traditionally used as an effective remedy for both external and internal ulcers. For internal ulcer, merely blend the skins of ripe banana in a blender and drink half a glass once daily for five days. This is a recipe that I have prescribed for many people over the past twenty years. One doesn’t buy experience in the market.  For external wounds, mash the peels into a paste and apply on the wound and expect to get a good result with 48 hours.

Banana peel can be used to whiten teeth. Use the inside of the skin to scrub your teeth daily for a few days, and you will be surprised to see that it works better than most of the expensive teeth-whitening powders out there. For sores and fresh wounds, use the fresh peels of ripe banana to cover the wound. This helps to heal the wound within a few days. 

Have a merry and healthy Christmas Celebrations!