BA BA BA BA BANANA

Banana is one of the most common fruit here on earth. It’s also one of the most delicious.

Facts about banana.

1.     Banana is actually not a tree. It’s the world’s largest herb.

2.     Brazil is the leading banana grower in South America—about 3 million tons per year, mostly locally consumed, while Colombia and Ecuador are the leading exporters. Venezuela's crop in 1980 reached 983,000 tons. Large scale commercial production for export to North America is concentrated in Honduras (where banana fields may cover 60 sq mi) and Panama, and, to a lesser extent, Costa Rica. In the West Indies, the Windward Islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe are the main growers and for many years have regularly exported to Europe. Green bananas are the basic food of the people of Western Samoa and large quantities are exported.

3.     Banana plants produce only one leaf per month in winter, 4 per month in summer. If low temperatures occur just at flowering time, the bud may not be able to emerge from the stem. If fruits have already formed, maturity may be delayed several months or completely suspended. If only the leaves are destroyed, the fruits will be exposed to sunburn. Smudging, by burning dry trash covered with green clippings to create smoke, can raise the temperature 2 to 4 degrees.

4.     The original banana is not edible and has seed. The yellow sweet banana that we eat today is a mutant strain of the green and red cooking bananas, discovered in 1836 by Jamaican Jean Francois Poujot. He found that in his plantations, one plant was bearing yellow fruits rather than red or green. Upon tasting the new discovery, he found it to be sweet in its raw state, without the need for cooking. He quickly began cultivating this sweet variety.

5.     Bananas contain tryptophan, an amino acid that can be converted to serotonin, leading to improved mood.

6.     Bananas are an exceptionally rich source of fructooligosaccharide, a compound
that nourishes probiotic (friendly) bacteria in the colon. These beneficial bacteria
produce enzymes that increase our digestive ability and protect us from unhealthy bacteria infections. Thanks to fructooligosaccharides, probiotic bacteria can increase both in number and functionality, increasing our body’s ability to absorb calcium. In addition, green bananas contain indigestible short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) that are very nutrient to the cells that make up the mucosa of the stomach. These cells, when healthy, absorb calcium much more efficiently.

7.     Bananas can also help people trying to give up smoking. They contain vitamins B6 and B12 they contain, as well as potassium and magnesium: these substances help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.

8.     Bananas are high in potassium, which helps normalize the hearthbeat and regulate the body’s water balance. During periods of high stress, our body’s potassium levels tend to be rapidly depleted: eating bananas is a healthy way to rebalance them without using drugs.

9.     A medium sized banana contains more than 450 mg of potassium. Also, bananas are a great source of magnesium which will relax the blood vessels and can relieve you from a thumping headache. Eating a banana will help you feel more at ease while letting the blood flow naturally. Bananas also contain B6 vitamins that further reduce hangover symptoms. Adding up, bananas are naturally filled with organic antacids that can cure heartburn. Your stomach might have a hard time digesting the alcohol you consumed. It could be churning out more and more stomach acid to digest the amounts of alcohol in your system. But with the help of the organic antacids in bananas, the acid in your stomach is neutralized, which consequently cures stomach problems such as acid reflux and nausea. The natural fruit sugars in bananas also help correct metabolism.

10. You could eat a couple of bananas along with a glass of water to alleviate hangover. But if you want the quickest approach to cure your hangover, you can make a banana milkshake with added honey. The milk rehydrates your body as well as treats your overly acidic stomach, while the honey builds up depleted levels of sugar in your body. If necessary, refrain from running off to do errands while you are still on the process of recovering from a hangover.