I eat a banana almost every morning, here are some benefits of bananas...

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"We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals." ~Immanual Kant~

Wow! I have been eating half a banana in my morning shake as a guilty pleasure based on my perception of it's fructose content.

Guilt no more.

I also eat half a banana in a shake every morning. It's the only way I really like to sweeten my shake naturally

Raw honey, ground cinnamon and fresh ginger root too. I have to admit I miss the taste of the slippery elm bark if I leave it out. Raw milk and whey.

That's my whole recipe.

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I'd rather meander for the prevention than race for the cure.

I had never thought of ginger being sweet.. To me it always has that bite to it. Although I do like ginger beer.

I also eat a banana every morning as they're cheap (about $0.10) and help to keep you "regular".

A lot better than Metamucil or whatever it is they are looking to push these days.

Go bananas! (and eat some too )

Im a postman (mailman lol) and I eat at least two bananas a day! my work is often strenous and if i dont have my bananas I really notice the change in mood!

I feel the potassiium is of the most importance to me for energy but as I have suffered from depression in the past I can testify to the benefits of this food on my mood also.

Nothing funny about being a mailman, I do all my business via the regular mail and appreciate prompt and efficient delivery. When I was working, I often had a banana for breakfast (on the run), and another for my break. I also thought it was good nutrition, and improving mood and relaxation is always a plus.

After reading this thread, I had to get another banana to eat for the day

I eat bananas once in a while, but now I think I'm gong to start eating them every morning.

Clearly, some of the commercial bananas may be bioengineered. see Dr Mercolas comments after this article.

and this article is of interest
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/10/01/Which-Organic-Label-Should-You-Trust.aspx

Bananas -- The first GM banana with extra genes that increase its levels of pro-vitamin A and iron is being unleashed in Australian field trials this year. At Cornell University, researchers are also working to develop a banana that carries the hepatitis B vaccine.

https://www.gmo-compass.org/eng/datab...20.banana.html

https://articles.latimes.com/2012/jul...etics-20120712

You can be sure that GMO information on bananas will not be made public anytime soon and certainly the banana you buy is not labled, unless it is certified organic... so watch out for this in the not too far future


Bananas are also one of the higest in fructose which is not such a great sugar to eat in any quantity and is more dangerous than glucose so you will want to becareful about that. Some people should not eat banana at all and I am sensitve to fructose and bananas are out for me even though I love to eat them. Mercola recommends not over 25 grams of fructose a day. A medium banan has 7.
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/ar...ess-sugar.aspx


the effects of fructose on the brain:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/ar...n-glucose.aspx

and bananas do have potassium but there are foods much better for you to get more potassium due to their other benefits that banana does not have.

Personally I only eat about 10 bananas a year, organic if I can find them because Dole and the likes have been killing their workers with pesticides for years and only recently have moved to try to rectify the situation. If I see organic bananas I will buy them to support that industy development... but I generally am not the one eating them.
The Best Food Sources of Potassium

Many people immediately think of bananas when it comes to potassium, but you don't need to eat bananas to make sure you're getting enough (and because bananas are so high in sugar, I recommend you do not eat many of them at all).
Bananas do contain potassium, but so does the vast majority of other fruits and veggies. Potassium is the predominant nutrient among most all fruits and vegetables, and there are some excellent, very healthful choices out there.
An avocado, for instance, has more than twice as much potassium as a banana and is rich in beneficial monounsaturated fat. The avocado was one of the five foods to make TIME's list above, and it, along with Swiss chard, are two great options.
However, I do NOT recommend eating dried apricots or baked potatoes for their potassium. Both of these foods are high in sugar (white potatoes are a vegetable, but they digest more like a grain) and will raise insulin levels beyond what is ideal for most people -- especially if you are struggling with high blood pressure.
Winter squash is a better choice, but still should be consumed only in moderation by some people due to its high carb content.



Ideally, you should find out your nutritional type and then choose a variety of potassium-rich vegetables to fill out your diet. However, generally speaking you can round out your potassium intake by eating a wide variety of veggies, including:

• Swiss chard (960 mg of potassium per 1 cup)
• Avocado (874 mg per cup)
• Spinach (838 mg per cup)
• Crimini mushrooms (635 mg in 5 ounces)
• Broccoli (505 mg per cup)
• Brussels sprouts (494 mg per cup)
• Celery (344 mg per cup)
• Romaine lettuce (324 mg per 2 cups)

All in all the banana industry has inpoverished peoples in the south. Although conditions have slighly improved over the past 6 years the key word is only slighly. Someday these nations will wake up and throw their repressors out (Dole, Del Monte, Chiquita) and nationalize the banana industry as they have done in some nations regarding crops and mineral and water issues that have repressed the people and taken profits out of their nation.
https://grist.org/article/food-2011-0...isis-and-gmos/

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Two excellent points;


Banana GI is 61, same as a slice of white bread. Wheat bread is 71, in case anyone was wondering.

MANY crops not grown in the US are still treated with DDT; Coffee and bananas come to mind for two reasons.

The roasting process (coffee) and the peel (banana) protect the end user from the DDT, however, the indigenous creatures get hammered.

How to identify a GMO, conventional or organic banana... its all in the code.

There’s a whole world of non-Cavendish bananas out there.


Some consumers may not be concerned with eating Frankenfood, but for those who are, here's how to determine if the fruits and vegetables you're buying are (GM) genetically modified.

Hat tip to Marion Owen for her valuable information. Here's how it works:

For conventionally grown fruit, (grown with chemicals inputs), the PLU codeon the sticker consists of four numbers. Organically grown fruit has a five-numeral PLU prefaced by the number 9.

Genetically engineered (GM) fruit has a five-numeral PLU prefaced by the number 8.
For example:
A conventionally grown banana would be: 4011
An organic banana would be: 94011
A genetically engineered (GE or GMO) banana would be: 84011
These tips are specially important now that over 80% of all processed foods in the US are genetically modified.
Many countries in the European Union have beenbanning GM products and produce (including Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary and Luxembourg).
We say "Eat healthy, buy or grow organic". source; https://truthisscary.com/?p=20396

So its simple, in the first numbers on the code ... 94 is good, 4 or 84 is bad...84 being the worst, a GMO product.

Many thanks for the info on this thread regarding bananas. I tip my hat toward Arrowind09 and K2c for all the wonderful and tireless work they both do here(and elsewhere).

When I occasionally watched tennis I always wondered why they would eat a fair few throughout the match - now I know!

Blessed are the organic banana growers

The native Hawaiians would laugh at us for eating unripe bananas. They would not eat them until they were black.

As children they would eat a lot of poi (from the taro root), pineapple, coconut, papaya, and banana. Even so, they would maintain beautiful healthy teeth and skin.

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- Jim

"Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving." - Albert Einstein

Bananas are said to be "The world's most perfect food." -- probably true. Bananas come in a nice, none-messy, natural sanitary, wrapping -- just peel and eat.

I don't know about all the other claims, but years ago I discovered that bananas make me sleep better -- some kind of soothing, calming affect.

I eat one or two bananas every night before bedtime. I place them in a bowl and slice them like slicing coins. Most of the time I add about a tablespoon of mayo and some peanuts.

They also contain about four grams of fiber according to a nutrition dietary fiber chart.

Sleep tight!