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This sweet wonderful fruit is one of the first solid foods that babies enjoy. They contain three natural sugars - sucrose, fructose and glucose. Is it any wonder very few infants are allergic to bananas? |
Bananas are the most popular fruit sold in the United States. They
are available in supermarkets throughout the year. Bananas grow
upside down in clusters. They are really herbs and do not grow on
trees. Bananas are close relatives of the orchid and lily family.
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Bananas make a perfect baby food because they are very easily digested. Bananas remain a perennial favorite among children because of their great taste. Besides that bananas keep their high-energy bodies at peak performance. Children don't grow out of their liking for bananas. Grownups continue to love bananas right on into their retirement years. The versatile banana can be eaten just by shucking the peel, but be careful where you throw the peel away. Kids love to cut bananas up over their cereal. Is there a bakery anywhere that doesn't offer banana cream pie? Banana Nut Bread is a favorite everywhere because it is so easy to make. Bananas can also be used to make cookies, sundaes, shakes and candy. Have you ever enjoyed a flaming Bananas Foster? If you can't cook your way out of a paper bag you can just make a half-dozen tasty, frozen chocolate covered yummy delights. Since they do not contain any cholesterol, fat, or sodium… bananas are an excellent choice for eating healthy and are a great source for an instant energy boost. They are loaded with Vitamin B6, rich in Folate (folic acid), jam-packed with potassium and have a delicious trace of other highly nutritious minerals and vitamins.
Because they are high in potassium and low in salt bananas help reduce the risk of high blood pressure. They also contain a protein called tryptophan that our bodies convert to serotonin. Serotonin appears to relieve the symptoms of depression by making people feel more relaxed, producing a marked improvement in mood. The potassium, magnesium, A1, B6, B12, and vitamin C levels in bananas help smokers quit smoking by decreasing the withdrawal effects of nicotine abstinence. |
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Here are some of the lesser known uses of bananas: · A high dietary intake of vitamin B6 over time seems to decrease the risk of colorectal cancer in women. · Morning sickness can usually be avoided by snacking on bananas between meals, which helps to keep the blood sugar levels up. · Iron deficiencies in women can cause weakness and sluggishness. Adding iron rich bananas to the diet can combat those deficiencies. · PMS symptoms usually include mood swings caused by irregular blood glucose levels. Eating a banana will help regulate those levels. · Equal parts of warm olive oil and mashed bananas make an excellent moisturizing facemask for dry weathered skin. Apply the mixture to a clean face and wash off after fifteen minutes. · Use a little bit of heated honey with a mashed banana for moisturizing all skin types. Apply mixture to a clean face and wash off after fifteen minutes. · For firming your facial and neck muscles, try this recipe: 2-tbsp mashed banana, 2-tbsp egg white, 1-tsp honey, 1-tsp plain yogurt, 1/2-tsp jojoba oil, 2-tsp Fuller’s Earth. Mash together and apply mixture to a clean face right before bathing. Wash off when you’re finished bathing. · Equal parts of mashed banana and egg yolk with 2-tbsp of curd, and 2-tsp each of lemon juice and honey make an excellent hair conditioner. For shiny, lustrous hair apply this mixture to your hair about 30-minutes before shampooing. · Leg and toe cramps are believed to sometimes be caused by a potassium deficiency. Adding potassium rich bananas to the diet seems to quell the cramps. · Use a mashed banana paste for burns and wounds to encourage healing with minimal scarring. · It is believed by the inebriate that drinking a cold banana milkshake sweetened with honey can usually cure a hangover. · Bananas are high in fiber and they are natural laxatives. Use the under ripe bananas to help relieve constipation. On the other hand, you can use ripe bananas for relief in diarrhea and dysentery. · Cut a piece of banana skin and place the inside part over a wart. Use a band aid to hold it in place and repeat everyday for about three weeks or until the wart is gone. · Try rubbing the inside of a banana peel over a mosquito bite to relieve itching and swelling. · Bananas offer natural antacid relief from heartburn. Besides being great food, banana fiber is used to make bank notes, tea bags, rope, thread and string. |
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At first ripe bananas could only be shipped short distances by tramp steamers known as “Banana Boats” and had to be consumed immediately upon arrival. With better harvesting techniques and strategic shipping the banana can now be enjoyed anywhere in the world. The first edible bananas we know of can be traced back to the Indo-Malaysian region. The first time they were introduced in Europe was probably in the 10th Century A.D. By the 16th Century the ever-roaming Portuguese mariners had transported the plant from the West African coast to South America. Bananas and plantains are found today growing in virtually every humid tropical region on earth. It is estimated that every year twenty eight million tons are now consumed by everyone from babies to nursing home residents. |