So many people spend so much money on the latest superfood when one of the best ones is cheap, available all year round and quite delicious! The humble banana can definitely compete with many others out there in terms of bringing benefits to your health. More than the nutritious benefits it brings, you can easily eat it by itself or add it to a fruit salad or in a milkshake.
This everyday fruit is rich in carbohydrates, vitamins B6, fiber, and other minerals like manganese and potassium, which is why it can give you these incredible health benefits:
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Optimal Performance for Athletes
Why drink a processed sports beverage when you can also get the same amount of energy as eating half a banana? In fact, you do not need to pack anything else for your workout because it will replenish glucose in your blood after a workout. More than that, the potassium and magnesium in bananas help reduce muscle cramps. They are instead relaxed and you will avoid getting leg cramps in the future. The same magnesium will also contribute to lean muscle build-up. This is why athletes who are searching for the perfect snack after workout should just pick up a banana.
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Protection against Chronic Diseases
Bananas are chock-full of beta-carotene and alpha-carotene, two pro-vitamin A carotenoids that help those with vitamin A deficiency. Research has recently pointed to these types of food as offering protection against some cancers like kidney cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.
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Benefits the Circulatory System
Because it contains lots of potassium and almost no sodium, bananas help you manage your blood pressure even better. Moreover, the iron will prevent you from suffering from anemia. At the same time, bananas will keep your body’s water balance and detoxify it so that you will not be susceptible to heart attack and stroke.
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Speeds Up Metabolism
Iron levels of banana contribute to your weight loss success because when you have low levels of iron your body will attempt to save energy by slowing down metabolism. Therefore, your extra fat never gets burned.
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Boosts Digestion
Bananas make your stomach very happy in various ways. First, it has pectin, useful for eliminating those toxins from your body. The pectin and fiber found in bananas will also stop constipation by assisting bowel motility.
Second, fructooligosaccharides (FOS) in bananas have a probiotic effect, stimulating the growth of friendly bacteria in the intestines and the bowels. Indirectly, the fermentation of FOS improves the absorption of calcium and therefore helps improve bone health
Lastly, it can also work as an antacid, coating the inner lining of your stomach and preventing secretion of acid. In turn, you are less likely to develop stomach ulcer and suffer from acidity.
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Improves Sleep Quality
When you include a banana in your nighttime ritual, you will benefit from the high levels of tryptophan. They become converted to serotonin in your brain, improving your mood and making your feel much more relaxed.
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Makes Your Skin Glow
With your good night’s sleep you can already see an improvement in your skin, but doing a banana mask will also help you achieve smooth, glowing, and supple skin. It also can address dry skin because of its moisturizing property.
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Improve Your Sex Life
A banana’s phallic shape does not just send suggestive signals, actually eating it will also get you in the mood. This is because it has an aphrodisiac effect and its nutrients contribute to the production of sexual hormones and enhancement of the male libido. Moreover, bananas help regulate serotonin secretions, which gives you that euphoria you feel after having sex.
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Helps with Your Depression
Again, the serotonin levels, converted by the brain from vitamin B9 (or folate) and the high levels of tryptophan, can contribute to happier mood.
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Help with Your Weight Loss
One piece of banana already has 12 mg of choline, a B vitamin that is vital in burning fat. It will also interfere with the genes that trigger your abdomen to store extra fat. In fact, this is the reason why alcohol drinkers develop their beer bellies, because liquor will deplete the body’s choline levels, leading to that extra later of fat in the midsection. But continuous eating of bananas can reverse this trend, even reducing belly fat by as much as 50% after 2 months of consuming 2 bananas a day. It can be because of the proliferation of the good gut bacteria, but also because of the potassium levels moderating retention of fluids in the body.
In fact, there are so many vitamins and minerals found in bananas that the positive effects are numerous. Unfortunately, many tend to dismiss this humble fruit, losing out on these benefits to the human body. So if you are looking for super vegetables and fruits to add to your diet, you do not need to look for something exotic; your low-key banana is already more than enough!
