Starting your day with a potassium-packed banana is a good habit to get into. Each banana is approximately 110 calories, so a banana is an excellent breakfast or snack for someone trying to watch their weight. Bananas are high in vitamin C, B6, manganese, and other nutrients your body needs. Bananas are also full of carbohydrates, which will give you the energy you need to start your day off right. You probably already know all of those basic facts about bananas—but read on to find out a few things you didn’t know going in.
Radiation
Because of the high levels of potassium in bananas, they are actually slightly radioactive. Don’t worry, you would have to eat about 10 million bananas at one time for them to cause radiation poisoning.
Genetic Clones
Every banana you have ever consumed is a genetic clone of another banana. Farmed bananas are genetically modified to remove the immense amount of seeds that occur naturally in wild bananas. If you saw a wild banana, you’d probably think it was inedible—that’s how many seeds they’re packed with.
Healing Peel
Banana peels contain a flavonoid called leucocyanidin, which can heal minor wounds and mosquito bites. Gently rubbing the banana peel on minor wounds, scrapes, burns, or bug bites reduces inflammation and swelling, relieves pain, and fights infection.
Appetite Suppressant
Smelling a banana actually tricks your stomach into thinking you’ve just eaten one of the tasty fruits, making you feel full without actually consuming anything. Next time you’re feeling hungry, try sniffing a banana. But if you’re still hungry, go ahead and eat one. At only 110 calories, there’s no need to feel guilty about this vitamin-packed snack.
Bang for Your Buck
While food prices —from produce to meat—have been on the rise, banana prices have steadily decreased since 1980. This price reduction is due to the ease of their production and distribution. Banana prices have dropped 37 percent in the past 30 years.
Shoe-Shining Power
Banana peels work as a natural shine enhancer and polisher for leather shoes. Careful not to leave any inner peel residue on your shoes, though, after polishing. Rotten banana peel particles don’t look or smell too good.
Varieties
There are over 1,000 different types of bananas in the world. Scientists have created a new type of banana, called the golden banana, which is rich in vitamin A, especially for children in Uganda. Many Ugandan children are deficient in vitamin A.
What’s not to like about bananas? This tasty tropical fruit gives you energy, is super cheap, nutritious, and mixes well with other fruits in smoothies. Bananas are a classic partner for peanut butter and honey, they make a great breakfast fruit, and best of all, they taste fantastic.
Bananas do have one major risk factor, though. The peels are naturally slippery and seem to attract disaster. Do your part to make the world a better place, and dispose of the treacherous peel in an appropriate receptacle. We all know what can happen when banana peels are left lying around.
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