Here’s Why You Need to Eat a Green Banana a Day

This article is shared with permission from our friends at positivemed.com.

Bananas are a healthy choice of fruit. They help lower blood pressure, promote heart health and have been found to be effective in treating diarrhea, among other things. However, green bananas have even more health benefits.

The Health Benefits of Green Bananas

Green bananas are starchier than ripe ones, but the starch that they contain is resistant starch. Resistant starch is digested in a different way than ordinary starch. Instead of being broken down in the intestines, it remains intact. This means that it is a type of insoluble fiber.

Resistant starch has some health benefits. It may even help with losing weight. Foods that contain resistant starch are like high-fiber foods in that they increase satiety. This leads to less calorie consumption overall.

According to one study, the resistant starch in unripe bananas increases the rate of fat burning by preventing the body from using carbohydrates as fuel. When the body isn’t able to burn carbohydrate, then it uses fat stores instead. For, resistant starch helps lower insulin resistance. Insulin resistance prevents glucose from entering the body’s cells. Therefore, if this resistance is reduced, the level of blood sugar in the bloodstream will be reduced.

Resistant starch in green bananas also helps keep the digestive tract healthy by acting as fuel for probiotic bacteria. This bacteria fights bad bacteria that can lead to diarrhea and chronic colon problems. When resistant starch is fermented, it creates short-chain fatty acids that help to keep the colon healthy. This may possibly reduce the risk of colon cancer as well. Also, the short-chain fatty acids raise the ability of the body to absorb nutrients, particularly calcium.

Green bananas are also a good source of certain nutrients. These include vitamin B6, vitamin C, and potassium.

Bananas for Diabetics

While it is usually recommended that diabetics avoid carbohydrates, this refers to carbohydrates that are digested quickly. Foods are classified according to their glycemic index. The glycemic index of a food measures how fast that food will be processed by the body and enter the bloodstream. Foods that have a high glycemic index must be avoided because they cause spikes in your blood sugar level. Bananas of all types have a low glycemic index of 55. However, unripe bananas have an even lower glycemic index than ripe bananas.

The October 1992 issue of Medicine had an article about a study that concerned bananas and. Researchers found that people in the study who consumed overripe bananas were found to have significant elevations of blood sugar. The subjects who consumed slightly unripe ones did not have any significant elevations in blood sugar.

It is important to note that you should not eat bananas together with something that is sweet if you are diabetic. However, you can eat the bananas prepared in any way that you like. You can freeze them or cook them if you like.

Diabetics should work bananas into their meal plans because they contain a lot of potassium. Potassium is necessary for smooth muscle contraction and the proper functioning of all of the cells in the body. Potassium can also reduce the risk of a heart attack, stroke, and high blood pressure. Bananas contain an amino acid called tryptophan which aids in the production of serotonin. They, therefore, help calm an anxious mood.

Bananas are rich in a fiber called pectin. This fiber gives the flesh its structural form. Both pectin and the resistant starch that we mentioned before may moderate blood sugar levels after meals and reduce appetite by slowing stomach emptying…click here to continue reading.