By: Ayla Humair
Ever wondered what goodness is in a banana? Other than being rich in vitamin B6, bananas are a good source of vitamin C, dietary fibre and manganese. Here are 6 reasons why you should eat a banana today:
1.Bananas are good for your skin
One medium-sized banana provides approximately 13% of your daily manganese needs. Manganese helps your body make collagen and protects your skin and other cells against free radical damage.
2.Aid in digestive health
Banana has a sweet and sour taste. The sweet taste is said to bring about a sense of heaviness but the sour taste is known to stimulate agni (the digestive juices), thereby supporting digestion and helping in building up metabolism.
3.Bananas improve your mood
Bananas make you happy! It is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood, and generally make you feel happier.
4.Rich source of vitamin C
You may not associate bananas with vitamin C but a medium-sized banana will provide about 10% of your daily vitamin C needs. Vitamin C helps in protecting your body against cell and tissue damage, due to vitamin C, your body absorbs iron better, your body produce collagen – the protein which holds your skin, bones and body together, and support brain health by producing serotonin, a hormone that affects our sleep cycle, moods, and experiences of stress and pain.
5.Bananas give you energy
Bananas contain three natural sugars – sucrose, fructose and glucose – giving you a fat and cholesterol-free source of energy. As such, bananas are ideal, especially for children and athletes, for breakfast, as a midday snack or before and after sports.
6.Potassium in bananas is good for your heart health
A medium-sized banana will provide around 320-400 mg of potassium, which meets about 10% of your daily potassium needs. Potassium helps your body maintain a healthy heart and blood pressure. In addition, bananas are low in sodium. The low sodium and high potassium combination helps to control high blood pressure.
