Banana - Health benefits, Nutrition facts, application, side effects and many more

 

                              Banana

Banana is an edible fruit and is herbaceous  flowering  plant belonging to the genus Musa and the family Musaceae. Banana is also  eaten as cooked vegetable (and is then called  plantains). It is grown worldwide and constitutes the fifth most important agricultural food crop in terms of world trade.

Fruits are essential components of a healthy diet due to their content of vitamins and minerals, fiber, and beneficial non-nutrient substances as bioactive compounds. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommend ingestion of at least 400 g (about five portions) of fruits and vegetables per day. Low fruit consumption is one of the main risk factors for increased mortality also increases the risk of chronic diseases and poor health quality. Therefore, the regular consumption of fruits can reduce the incidence of some diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular and gastrointestinal diseases, and some types of cancer.

                -  To  promote  healthy  eating  lifestyle,  the  USDA  recom-mends  filling  up  half  or 40%  the  plate  with  fruits  and  vegetables.

It has different names in different languages such as Hindi name(Kela, amrit, kachkula, kela, maozkula),  Marathi name(Kela, kel),  Engl............................read more

Vitamin and mineral content

Vitamins : C, E, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B9, Choline

Minerals : Iron, Magnesium, Manganese, Phosphorus, Potassium, Sodium, Zinc

Polyphenols : CATECHIN, EPICATECHIN, EPIGALLOCATECHIN, GALLIC ACID, PRODELPHINIDIN DIMER, QUERCETIN, NARINGENIN, CHOLOROGENIC ACID

• Banana contains several bioactive compounds, such as phenolics, carotenoids, biogenic amines and phytosterols, which are highly desirable in the diet as they exert many positive effects on human health and well-being.

• Banana is starchy fruit that contains rpidly digestible starch. Rapidly digestible starch is digested and broken down to glucose within 20 minutes. Thus, it provides quick energy to the body. This makes banana an amazingly instant energy providing fruit.

• As the fruit matures or ripens, the carbohydrate content increases. Furthermore, on ripening the starch content decreases and the amount of soluble sugar increases, that is, starch gets converted to soluble sugars such as glucose, fructose and sucrose. Other sugars such as maltose and rhamnose are also present in very small quantities.

• Among the carotenoids present in banana fruit, α-carotene, β-carotene, and β-cryptoxanthin have provitamin A activity, but others like lycopene and lutein have a strong antioxidant capacity.

• They identified various anthocyanins such as cyanidin-3-rutinoside (main one as 80 per cent of total pigments, being 32.3 mg/100 g) and 3-rutinoside derivatives of delphinidin, pelargonidin, peonidin, and malvidin. 

• Ripening induces the production of ethylene gas which is a plant hormone that ind............................read more

Properties and benefits

> For whole plant

• Taste – Madhura (Sweet), Kashaya (Astringent)

• Qualities – Guru (Heavy for digestion), Snigdha (Slimy in nature)

• Taste conversation after digestion – Madhura

• Veerya (Potency) – Sheeta (Cold)

• Effects on Tridosha – Reduces vitiated vata and pitta dosha but Increases kapha

             

> Banana stem :

• Guru – heavy to digest,  • Sheeta – coolant,  • Rooksha- Dry,  • Grahi- hardens the stools,  •Balances Kapha Pitta Dosha

Indicated in –

• Yonidosha – gynecological disorders,   • Keshya – Improves hair strength, promotes hair growth

• Asra – blood disorders such as abscess, skin disorders, bleeding disorders such as menorrhagia, nasal bleeding etc.

• Karnashoola – Earache,   • Rajodosha – gynecological disorders

• Amlapitta – acidity, gastritis, acid peptic disorder, Prameha

> Banana inflorescence / Banana flower benefits:

• Tikta – bitter

• kashaya – astringent

• Grahi – absorbent, useful in diarrhea, IBS

• Deepana – improves dige............................read more

Application, uses and benefits

1) Do not have heavy food when having bloating. Fiber rich fruits like Banana helps in such conditions.

2) Banana flower is very helpful in reducing kapha dosha and it's releated disorders, because of its aphrodisiac property.

3) Banana leaves juice : 20-30 ml is mixed with a pinch of each of ginger, black pepper and rock salt. Mixed well. Jaggery is according to need. This is for the treatment of cold, cough, asthma, weak digestion and vomiting sensation.

       Click here to explore more about Ginger

       Click here to explore more about Rock Salt

4) Banana leaf is traditionally used as plate for having food. It has calming effect and aides in digestion.

5) The rhizome (root part) : 100 grams is cooked well by adding 50 grams of jaggery. Then it is made into fine paste. To this paste, a teaspoon of ghee is added and constantly stirred in mild intensity of heat till we get semisolid consistency (paste). Later it is taken out of the fire and on self cooling little honey is added and mixed thoroughly. This can be kept for 2-3 months. 5-10 gram of this linctus is taken along with food daily (similar to a fruit jam). This is a very good nutritive and rejuvenator and anti ageing. This is effective in non specific leucorrhoea cases.

         Click here to explore more about Jaggery. 

         Click here to explore more about Honey

6) Peel of unripe banana is burnt and The black colored burned substance obtained is mixed with turmeric paste and applied over the lesions of chicken pox. This helps to reduce the scars and discoloration.

          Explore more about Turmeric

7) The fruit is peeled and inner pulp is taken. This is incised and in the incised area 2-3 long pepper fruits or 10-12 pepper seeds are placed and wrapped. This is kept in a tray and exposed to the moon light by keeping it over the terrace during night (especially on full moon day). Next day morning, it is consumed on empty stomach. Procedure is repeated daily for 10-12 days. This helps to reduce the incidences of seasonal cold, rhinitis, cough etc. In few tropical eosinophilia cases also its good effect is experienced by me. In Maharashtra this kind of practice is found.

             Click here to explore more about Black Pepper

8) For dry skin and wrinkles : Nourish skin with a mashed banana face pack mixed with a little milk.

          Click here to explore more about Milk

9) Banana leaf juice is applied externally to treat dandruff and dermatitis.

10) Fresh flower of banana, unripened banana fruit – Rich in astringent principles, acts as natural styptic and avoids diarrhoea and bleeding per rectum.

11) The pulp of the fruit and flowers of banana is applied over burnt injuries as part of treatment.

7) Cardiovascular health : Bananas are an excellent source of potassium, a vital mineral and electrolyte in the body that carries a small electrical charge. These charges cause nerve cells to send out signals for the heart to beat regularly and muscles to cont............................read more

Storage :

> For ripened or unripened bananas - Store at room temperature away from direct sunlight.

> To speed up ripening, store in a brown paper bag   OR  place near ripe fruit(like Oranges), which emits ethy............................read more

Note : 

• Do not take banana along with buttermilk.
• pe fruit takes long time to digest and can increase Kapha. Hence, it is not ideal during low digestion strength, during cold, cough and asthma.
• Do not drink water immediately after eating banana because it causes indigestion or slows down the digestion. Drink water 10-15 minute later.
• Do not combine banana and yoghurt
• Antifungal properties of banana pulp and peel have been successfully used to treat tomato fungus in an agricultural setting. In their home countries, locals us............................read more

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Refrence : 

1. Charak samhita
2. Ashtanga Hrudayam 
3. https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/food-features/bananas/
4. Bhavaprakasha Nighantu
5. Dhanvantari Nighantu
6. Bhojana Kutuhalam
7. Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry; ISSN 2278- 4136 ;  ZDB-Number: 2668735-5 ;  IC Journal No: 8192   ;  Volume 1 Issue 3
8. Local tradition and knowledge
9. Wikipedia
10. book : Biotechnology in Agriculture and Forestry - Transgenic Crops VPublisher: SpringerEditors: E. C. Pua and M. R. Davey ; 2007
11. Proc. IIIrd IS on Human Health Effects of Fruits and Vegetables Eds.: B. Patil et al. Acta Hort. 1040, ISHS 2014
12. (25) (PDF) Banana Medicinal Uses. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/280084961_Banana_Medicinal_Uses [accessed Nov 19 2020].N
13. NCBI
14. PUBMED
15. Indian Journal of Natural Sciences   ; ©IJONS  Vol.7 / Issue 42 / June 2017  ;      ISSN: 0976 – 0997 
16. Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry. Volume 1 Issue 3