– It does not make you fat
Good surprise: this exotic fruit is not more caloric than an apple. Once peeled, a banana rarely weighs more than 100 g or 95 kcal. While a nice apple, it is easily 200 g, that is 105 kcal! Namely: when dried, it brings exactly the same number of calories as a fresh fruit. Due to high Banana calories, there is no reason to deprive yourself of it … provided of course to eat only one.
– It boosts the energy of athletes
When it is ripe, bananas provide simple carbohydrates (sucrose, fructose and glucose) that are rapidly assimilated to recharge muscles during prolonged effort. It is also great for recovery, to be tasted within one hour of training to replenish the glycogen reserves (the sugar muscle) and compensate for the loss of potassium due to sweating.
– It is perfect in snacks
Easy to transport and eat outside, by car, in the office, at the hairdresser’s shop … It fills the small hollow of 11 am for those who struggle to breakfast well. It can also be used as a snack, combined with a dairy or a handful of almonds. To accompany it with a source of protein prolongs its satiating effect.
– It is a prebiotic food
It contains specific fibers that serve as a “fertilizer” for good microorganisms in the intestine, bifidus and Lactobacillus. By improving the balance of the precious intestinal flora, these prebiotics contribute to a regular transit and boost the immune defenses. They also reinforce the assimilation of certain minerals such as calcium.
– Plantain version, it provides slow sugars
Traditional fruit cousin, plantain is very close in terms of mineral and vitamin intakes. But the nature of its carbohydrates is different: it is starch, exactly as in the potato. It is therefore part of the family of starchy foods recommended at each meal. 100 g of plantain = 1/4 of baguette (60 g) = 2 medium potatoes (150 g).
– It is rich in manganese
A banana (100 g) provides 50% of the recommended daily intake of this trace element with antioxidant properties (anti-cellular aging). A tip to boost the effects: antioxidants acting synergistically, combine it in fruit salad or smoothie with fruits rich in vitamin C (orange, kiwi), beta-carotene (mango, papaya) or vitamin E (almond , Hazelnut). Do not forget to add cinnamon or ginger.
– It makes Zen
It combines good amounts of magnesium and vitamin B6 (33% of the recommended daily intake per 100 g), an anti-stress duo that contributes to the production of serotonin (neuromediator of well-being) in the brain. A test to dinner to sleep well: a banana with a few drops of orange blossom. For the younger: crushed banana with two small Swiss or a milkshake with milk plus a ball of ice.
– Even diabetics can be eaten
A banana provides 20 g of carbohydrates, the equivalent of a nice apple or 1/6 of baguette. Just eat it at the end of a balanced meal (meat or fish, green or raw vegetable, bread or starch, milk product) so that it does not cause the blood sugar level to flare. And it is useless to limit one to green bananas as was formerly advised: even if the ripe banana is sweeter to taste, the proportion of carbohydrates is identical whatever the stage of maturity.
