Going Gaga Over Bananas

Bananas never featured much in my diet until recently. It must have been due to a confluence of factors such as the relative ease of peeling a banana over other fruits such as an orange or a papaya, the potential boost of energy from eating a banana (think of Michael Chang munching on bananas during breaks at the French Open) and the filling up of the stomach without having to resort to additional fattening carbohydrates.

Click here to read up on “25 Powerful Reasons to Eat Bananas”, some of which are highlighted below:

*High in potassium and low in salt, bananas are officially recognized by the FDA as being able to lower blood pressure and protect against heart attack and stroke.

*Eating bananas will help prevent kidney cancer, protects the eyes against macular degeneration and builds strong bones by increasing calcium absorption.

*Bananas make you smarter and help with learning by making you more alert. Eat a banana before an exam to benefit from the high levels of potassium.

*Bananas are high in antioxidants, providing protection from free radicals and chronic disease.

*Bananas are high in antioxidants, providing protection from free radicals and chronic disease.

However, as in all things, moderation is the key. Some studies show that eating bananas in excess may cause headaches due to the amino acids in them (more so in overripe bananas) that dilate blood vessels. Also, when bananas are taken in excess, the high tryptophan found in them can cause sleepiness. Moreover, bananas contain sugar which may cause tooth decay in the absence of proper oral hygiene.   

Just for fun, bananas do not grow on trees and the ‘trunk’ of a banana plant is a pseudo-stem. Truth be told, the banana plant is the largest herbaceous flowering plant and bananas are botanically a berry. By the way, the word “banana” comes from the Arab word “banan,” which means finger. No wonder, a bunch of bananas is correctly known as a hand!

Now, take a finger of banana and figure out the word by removing six letters from SBIAXNLEATNTAESRS. (Hint: We are still on the topic of bananas.)


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