Have you noticed that the taste of bananas change as they ripen? Did you know the nutritional properties of the bananas change as well?  Should we only consume bananas when green, mostly green, mostly yellow, or yellow with black spots? Interestingly enough, there is a “right” time to eat a banana. First, it is important to understand some of the health benefits bananas have to offer.

One medium banana is considered to be one serving. One serving of banana contains about 110 calories, 30 grams of carbohydrate and 1 gram of protein. Bananas are naturally free of fat, cholesterol and sodium and contain a variety of vitamins and minerals such as: Vitamin B6, Manganese, Vitamin C, Potassium, Dietary Fiber, Protein, Magnesium Folate, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin A, Iron.

The vitamins and minerals contained in bananas help benefit your body in several different ways. First, bananas help promote a health heart, regulate blood pressure, maintain proper cholesterol levels and regulate digestion through the production of a type of bacteria which clears the intestines, the fibers also play a vital role in bone strength by enabling the body to absorb calcium more efficiently. Finally, bananas include vitamin A, which helps protect the eye membrane thus enhancing sight. It is important however, to make sure you are eating bananas at the right time in order to benefit from all the above.

You may have noticed that the riper your banana is, the sweeter it tastes, this is due to the breaking down of enzyme tissue, into simple sugars, so after eating a ripen banana and as the it has already converted the starch to simple sugar, your body doesn’t need to preform the process and the sugar is quickly absorbed into your bloodstream.

UNRIPE – GREEN BANANAS

Benefits: One benefit of green bananas is the high resistant starch content, although they don’t contain the same sugar level as yellow bananas do which is beneficial for individuals living with Type 2 Diabetes. Unripe bananas also have pro-biotic bacteria, a friendly bacterium that is good for your colon. Finally, green bananas also help you absorb nutrients better, particularly calcium.

RIPE – YELLOW BANANAS

Benefits: Your body does not have to convert the starch into simple sugar, so it is easier to digest and research also shows that antioxidant and anti-cancer properties in banana increase as it ripens where fully ripened bananas, bananas with dark patches on yellow skin, produce TNF (Tumor Necrosis Factor), which has the ability to combat abnormal cells, the darker patches the banana has, the higher the immunity enhancement quality. Yellow skin bananas with dark spots are eight times more effective in enhancing the property of white blood cells than green skin version.

Healthy eating! 

By Marina Vjetrovic