If you’re looking for a healthy snack, you can’t go wrong with bananas. Unlike processed sweet treats, a banana's naturally occurring sugars are accompanied by many vitamins and minerals, as previously mentioned. Here Zoey Sky, Food.news, reflects on incorporating bananas into a balanced diet, to enjoy the many essential health benefits:

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“Bananas are delicious fruits that offer many benefits. These nutritious fruits contain essential nutrients that boost digestion and heart health.

The nutrient profile of bananas

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Bananas are one of the world’s most popular fruits. It is full of fiber and antioxidants.

A medium-sized banana (118 grams) has 24 grams of carbs, 3.1 grams of fiber, 1.3 grams of protein, and only 0.4 grams of fat.

Bananas also contain the following vitamins and minerals:

• Vitamin B6 (33 percent of the Recommended Daily Intake [RDI])
• Manganese (14 percent of the RDI)
• Vitamin C (11 percent of the RDI)
• Copper (10 percent of the RDI)
• Potassium (9 percent of the RDI)
• Magnesium (8 percent of the RDI)

Eating a banana gives you only 105 calories. The fruit is mostly made of water and carbs. It also contains very little protein and almost no fat.

(1) Bananas can boost digestive health.

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Studies suggest that dietary fiber offers many health benefits, such as improved digestion.

Bananas contain two main types of dietary fiber: pectin, which decreases in quantity as a banana ripens, and resistant starch, which is found in unripe bananas. Resistant starch isn’t digested in the gut; instead, it ends up in the large intestine where it turns into food for the “good” bacteria in the gut.

Data from a test-tube study published in Anticancer Research reveal that pectin can help fight colon cancer. In the study, researchers tested the effects of pectin on human colon cancer cells and found that pectin inhibits tumor growth. The researchers also noted that pectin, together with substances produced from its breakdown, has anti-cancer properties.

(2) Bananas can promote weight loss.

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While researchers haven’t tested their effects on weight, bananas are believed to have properties that make them a weight-loss-friendly fruit.

Bananas are delicious, nutritious, and filling. Consumption of fiber-rich fruits and vegetables is associated with lower body weight and weight loss.

(3) Bananas can make you feel more full.

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Resistant starch is a type of indigestible carbohydrate that functions like soluble fiber in the body.

In general, the greener a banana is, the higher its resistant starch content. Meanwhile, yellow, ripe bananas contain lower amounts of resistant starch and total fiber but proportionally higher amounts of soluble fiber.

Both pectin and resistant starch have appetite-reducing effects. The fibers also increase the feeling of fullness after meals.

(4)Unripe bananas can improve insulin sensitivity.

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Insulin resistance is a major risk factor for several health conditions, including Type 2 diabetes. On the other hand, studies suggest that consuming at least 15 to 30 grams of resistant starch daily helps improve insulin sensitivity by about 33 to 50 percent within four weeks.

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Read More … Article Source: https://www.food.news/2019-07-07-nine-health-benefits-of-bananas.html

 

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