Bananas are one of the world’s most abundant and highly cultivated fruit. It is a tropical fruit and has a huge variety, more than 1000 types of bananas are produced globally.

Bananas are rich in nutrition and have numerous benefits for human health. It ranks in the fifth position among the most important food crop and is very popular in terms of world trade.

Bananas are considered one of the most convenient food to be added to the diet and are easier to eat and transport. It is composed of many bioactive compounds which are potentially very important for human health and have many positive effects on well-being.

The biologically active compounds present in bananas are phenolics, biogenic amines, dopamine, carotenoids, norepinephrine, and ascorbic acid [1, 2].

Bananas are a rich source of vitamins and minerals

Bananas are known to be rich in several vitamins including Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, Vitamin C and Choline. The essential mineral content per 100 grams of banana is 358 mg of potassium, 27 mg of magnesium, 22 mg of phosphorus, 1 mg of sodium, and 0.15 mg of zinc.

Bananas are a good source of energy for the body and contain a fair amount of sugar, carbohydrates and dietary fiber. Bananas contain resistant starch too. The fats and protein content of bananas are very low. For all these reasons, the banana is one of the most popular and liked fruit worldwide [3].

Banana is a natural antioxidant

The bioactive compounds present in bananas exhibit antioxidant properties and are important for the well-being of human health. The antioxidant capacity of bananas is greater than many vegetables and other fruits and this property increases during the maturity of the fruit.

Ascorbic acid, phenolics, dopamine and carotenoids present in bananas possess high antioxidant capacities and it can protect the human body from many diseases caused by oxidative stress.

Studies have found that not only banana pulp but banana peel is also found to be containing antioxidants and many researchers are now focusing on utilizing the goodness of banana peel and extracting the beneficial ingredients out of it [4, 5].

 Bananas can influence your mood

It might sound unfamiliar but it’s true. Bananas can actually elevate someone’s mood and can produce a feeling of well-being.

The dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine present in bananas act as neurotransmitters in humans for hormonal regulation.

It is reported that a ripe banana contains 2.5 mg to 10 mg of dopamine in its pulp and 80 to 560 mg/100g in its peel. Studies have shown the positive effects of dopamine and serotonin on moods and emotional stability, thus helping in relaxing the body and preventing depression [6, 7].

Bananas are good for heart health

Minerals present in bananas are proved to be good for heart health. Banana contains a good amount of potassium and magnesium, both of which are considered as beneficial for the health of the human heart.

Several studies have demonstrated an inverse relationship between potassium intake and the risk of cardiovascular disease including stroke and coronary heart disease.

It has been reported that a diet rich in potassium significantly decreases the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Potassium controls blood pressure which in turn benefits heart health and lowers the risk of heart diseases [8, 9].

Anti-diarrheal properties

Diarrhea is the most common gastrointestinal disorder. Studies have shown the effectiveness of green bananas for the recovery and management of acute and prolonged diarrhea in children of age 6-36 months.

In research conducted on 73 children with an intestinal infection, cooked green bananas resulted in no mucous and fecal blood with 5 days consumption and also potentially decreased the number of stools per day [10, 11].

According to studies, the antidiarrheal activity of green bananas is exhibited by metabolites including flavonoids, tannins and saponins present in them [12].

Bananas are a good energy booster

Being rich in vitamins and nutrients, bananas have been used as a cost-effective energy source by everyone including athletes. A medium banana of approximately 118 grams consists of:

• 27 g of Carbohydrates
• 422 mg of Potassium
• 14.4 g of Sugar (mixture of glucose, fructose and sucrose)
• 3.1 g of Dietary fiber
• 0.43 mg of Vitamin B6
• 105 kilocalories of energy

With this unique mixture of nutrients, carbohydrates and antioxidants, one can get a good amount of energy and nutritional support for a longer period of time and athletes can get the most out of it during their intensive exercise periods [13].

 May help lose weight

Bananas are a good source of dietary fiber and many studies have reported that intake of fiber in the diet is associated with lower body weight.

Studies have also investigated the effect of native banana starch on human body weight and have found out that body weight was significantly decreased with the intake of 24 grams of native banana starch over the period of four weeks.

Moreover, it was also reported that an average intake of 14 g of fiber per day for a period of approximately 4 months could reduce 1.9 kg of weight. Furtherly, it was noticed that obese people lost more weight compared to lean individuals [14, 15].

May lower the risk of type 2 diabetes

Scientists have been in favor of fruit consumption to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Fruits contain a lot of vitamins and other nutrients which are essential for human health and banana is considered to be among the fruits rich in fiber, antioxidants and nutrients.

Researchers have been investigating the intake of fruits in diet and its effect on different chronic diseases including diabetes. Studies have concluded that fruits with moderate glycemic index were associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes.

Among different investigations performed by various researchers, greater consumption of bananas was found to be associated with a significant reduction in risk of type 2 diabetes.

In an investigation carried out on thirty hypercholesterolemic and fifteen types 2 diabetic subjects, it was found out that daily consumption of 250 g of banana significantly improved blood glucose levels and was harmless for both types of subjects [16, 17].

Anti-Inflammatory properties

Bananas contain resistant starch (RS) which is a natural source of fiber. It skips digestion in the small intestine and is fermented by the good bacteria in the large intestine.

Resistant starch present in bananas is considered to be a promising therapeutic agent for Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD).

In patients suffering from IBD, resistant starch is found to decrease diarrhea, constipation and instigate tissue repair. RS was also found to improve clinical remission in patients suffering from Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn’s disease [18, 19].

Good for Kidney health

Studies have found an inverse relationship between intake of bananas and the risk of renal cell carcinoma. In research conducted in the Swedish population, it was found out that eating bananas more than 4 times a week reduced the risk of renal cell carcinoma by 50%.

Bananas are a good source of potassium which is beneficial for kidney health. It has been reported that an adequate intake of potassium restrains the excretion of calcium in the urine which consequently reduces the risk of developing kidney stones [20, 21].

Conclusion:

Fruits are one of the most essential components of a healthy human diet. They contain a lot of vitamins, minerals and other bioactive compounds which are of extreme importance and can prevent the human body from many diseases.

According to World Health Organization (WHO), intake of at least 400 grams of fruits daily is essential to maintain a good health quality.

Bananas are one of the most popular and highly cultivated fruit globally and their health benefits are innumerable.

They are extremely rich in nutrients and antioxidants and are a good source of dietary fiber, carbohydrates and essential nutrients including potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, sodium, zinc and copper.

The dietary fiber and resistant starch present in bananas are of numerous health benefits and are good for the human body. They are considered to be energy boosters and can help athletes feel energetic for extended periods of exercise time.

They are good for mental health as it is a rich source of dopamine, which produces a feeling of well-being and emotional stability in the brain.

The natural bioactive compounds present in bananas protect the human body and are beneficial for digestive health too.

They are reported to exhibit antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and can prevent many chronic diseases including diabetes type 2, cardiovascular diseases and Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

They are well-tolerated and are easy to digest. Worldwide, bananas are ingested in many forms, raw, cooked and also as dried fruit in the form of banana chips.

Banana peel, which is usually wasted is also a good source of dietary fiber and other biologically active compounds including dopamine.

In fact, studies have reported that the peel contains more dietary fiber, digestible starch and dopamine compared to banana pulp and this has led scientists to investigate and focus on the composition of the peel and to utilize the natural antioxidants present in it for health benefits.