By Dr. med. Claudia Schmiemann
There are several types of bananas differing in color, size, starch content and firmness. They all are deriving from the “musa” family. Most common are desert bananas (musa accuminata or balbisiana) as well as cooking bananas, sometimes called “plantain”.
Bananas are grown in 135 countries of the world. The main production comes from India and China (38% of the world production in 2017). Botanically a banana is a berry.
Bananas were supposedly first cultivated in Papua New Guinea. They are harvested unripe and transported cooled as fast as possible to their destinations (sometimes 3-4 weeks). In general there are maturing houses at ports in which bananas are stored in ethylene filled gas chambers to ripe to perfection.
So what´s about nutritious facts? They are high in potassium, magnesium, Vit B6, Vit C and fiber. Of course they also contain antioxidants like dopamine and catechin. Resistant starch (the greener the more of it) and pectins promote colon health. The amount of tryptophan, an amino acid, supports brain health, stabilizes mood and healthy sleep.
The banana is the most popular fruit on the globe. It is versatile, easy to transport to schools, work, sport, used as a naturally packed snack or in sweet or/and savory dishes in the kitchen. It is great in smoothies f.e. to cover the taste of chlorophyll. I also love bananas in bread recipes as they keep the bread juicy and fresh.
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