If you’re on the lookout for a healthy, nutrient-dense snack or breakfast food, few things come close to the benefits of the banana. They’re inexpensive, tasty, convenient, and most importantly, healthy. Not only are they a great choice to satisfy hunger, but bananas come packed with specific vitamins, minerals, and benefits that can contribute to your health in ways other foods can’t. So how do bananas do it?
Supporting Bowel Movements
Pectin, a fiber found in bananas, is great for promoting bowel health and movements. If you just can’t seem to “go,” the fiber in bananas can be a big help according to most health professionals.
Gut Health and Digestion
Next to helping you when you have bowel issues, a good amount of fiber supports digestion health as well. By eating bananas regularly, you can increase your gut health.
Aid in Muscle Recovery After Exercise
Bananas can replace the electrolytes you lose after an intense training session. This aids in the recovery process, minimizes muscle cramps, and aids in protein synthesis.
Regulate Blood Pressure
Research indicates that bananas are a wise choice to help regulate problems with blood pressure.
Keeps Blood Sugar in Check
Bananas help regulate blood sugar levels because of their low glycemic index, according to research.
Inflammation Reduction
Bananas also help reduce inflammation because they contain the compounds dopamine and catechin, researchers have found.
Increased Energy
As it turns out, bananas have all the natural sugars your body needs to give it a quick but healthy spike of energy. These sugars include glucose, sucrose, and fructose.
Mood and Sleep Booster
Bananas help increase your mood and give you better sleep quality thanks to magnesium and tryptophan.
May Help Kidney Function
Next to blood regulation, research also suggests that potassium is very helpful in maintaining healthy kidney function.
May Help Free Radical Reduction
Bananas can help fight against free radicals over time because of their antioxidant content.
May Decrease the Risk of Heart Disease
Additional research suggests that eating bananas can help decrease the risk of heart disease because of their high potassium content.
