Published on: 11/10/2015IST
20 Reasons To Eat 3 Bananas Per Day – And No They Won’t Make You Fat
From preventing cardiovascular events to regulating PMS, bone mass, constipation, heartburn, and more than a dozen other ailments, bananas pack enough of a nutritional punch to make most medications look like candy. Bananas also give an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy. They are the number one fruit for the world’s leading athletes for a reason.
Research has proven that three small bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. But energy isn’t the only way a banana can help us keep fit and healthy. It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions, making it a necessary staple in our daily diets.
The magic number which appears to be assist in the following conditions is 1500mg of potassium which is three bananas per day.
1. Prevents Cardiovascular Events: British and Italian researchers have found that having one banana for breakfast, one for lunch and one in the evening would provide enough potassium to reduce the chances of suffering a blood clot on the brain by around 21 per cent. The study has been published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Scientists analysed data from eleven different studies – dating back to the mid-Sixties – and pooled the results to get an overall outcome. They found a daily potassium intake of around 1,600 mg were enough to lower stroke risk by more than a fifth.
The average banana contains around 500 milligrams of potassium, which helps to lower blood pressure and controls the balance of fluids in the body.
Pervious research in “The New England Journal of Medicine,” found that eating bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the risk of death by strokes by as much as 40%!
2. Bananas Help Boost Bone Mass: The potassium in bananas appears to counteract the bad effects of high-salt diets by preventing bones from decaying at a fast rate, says study author Dr. Deborah Sellmeyer, an assistant adjunct professor of endocrinology and metabolism at the University of California at San Francisco.
The potassium appeared to protect the bones of the women who took it, Sellmeyer says. They lost less calcium than they did on the low-salt diets, and the amount of lost protein was only slightly higher.
3. Depression: According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a banana. This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.
4. PMS: Forget the pills – eat a banana. The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood.
5. Anemia: High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anemia.
6. Blood Pressure: This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it the perfect to beat blood pressure. So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration has just allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit’s ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke
7. Brain Power: 200 students at a Twickenham (Middlesex) school were helped through their exams this year by eating bananas at breakfast, break, and lunch in a bid to boost their brain power. Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.
8. Constipation: High in fiber, including bananas in the diet can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without resorting to laxatives.
9. Hangovers: One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to make a banana smoothie, sweetened with honey. The banana calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood sugar levels.
11/11/2015 | | Permalink