Bananas are a good source of soluble fiber to help ensure your digestive health.
Bananas are nutritionally complex powerhouses that provide your body with many kinds of chemicals that are beneficial to your health. They provide a range of vitamins and minerals, including potassium, copper, iron and calcium. Bananas contain flavonoid antioxidants and vitamin C, both of which are ingredients that help protect your body from free radicals and cancer.
Potassium
Bananas contain a lot of potassium, with a medium-sized, 7- to 8-inch banana providing about 300 to 400 mg of potassium. The recommended daily allowance of potassium for an average adult is 4.7 g. Potassium works synergistically with sodium to maintain 's fluid levels. Low amounts of potassium in your diet may cause muscle cramps and contribute to high blood pressure and an irregular heartbeat. Increasing the amount of potassium in your diet will increase your kidneys' ability to get rid of excess amounts of sodium in your body. Thus, bananas can act as a natural diuretic.
Vitamins and Minerals
Other minerals are also found in bananas. This versatile fruit can provide calcium, magnesium and phosphorus, as well as trace amounts of iron, zinc, copper, manganese, selenium and fluoride. Bananas are a source of vitamin C, but they offer only about 10 mg per serving. Bananas contain small amounts of the B vitamins, including folate, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, and vitamins B6 and B12. They also contain vitamin A and retinol; alpha carotene; beta carotene; lutein and zeaxanthin; vitamin E; and trace amounts of vitamin K.
Starch and Sugars
Bananas are a good source of both complex and simple sugars, which provide your body with energy. One medium banana contains about 2.8 g of sucrose, 5.8 g of glucose and 5.7 g of fructose. Bananas also contain an appreciable amount of starch, nearly 6.4 g per medium-sized fruit. Starch is a complex carbohydrate that breaks down into simple sugars. Bananas also contain fructooligosaccharides (FOS), a food source for the gut-friendly bacteria that may help prevent colon cancer.
Fiber
An average banana has about 3 g or 16 percent of your recommended daily allowance of dietary fiber in the form of soluble fiber. According to the National Institutes of Health, soluble fiber is helpful in lowering blood sugar and cholesterol, which in turn may help to reduce your susceptibility to cardiovascular disease, diabetes and even cancer. Fiber helps your digestive system function more smoothly and reduces the likelihood of constipation and other bowel-related health problems. Additionally, eating foods high in fiber helps reduce your appetite and can help with weight loss.
Lectin
Researchers at the University of Michigan Medical School isolated a chemical in bananas that may inhibit the possibility of developing an HIV infection. This chemical, named BanLec, was found to be as effective as two commercially available anti-HIV drugs. BanLec is a type of lectin, which is a naturally occurring protein found in fruits that can bind to sugars. Lectins are able to function similar to an antibody; they can identify and attach themselves to pathogens, thus rendering them harmless. BanLec is able to bind to the HIV-1 virus's protein envelope and prevent it from entering the human body.
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