The flesh of banana is rich in many nutrients and carbohydrates. It is high in vitamins B6, B12, magnesium and potassium. The sugar content is the highest when the banana peel turns black. Bananas are naturally sweet and can help give you a little boost of energy. They’re also rich in fiber and can help you feel full without consuming many calories.
But did you know that you could virtually triple your health benefits simply by eating bananas peel too?. Banana peel nutrients can help stave off more than eight major health complications. Banana peels can be eaten raw or cooked as many cultures around the world cook them to make them more palatable. Lets check out their health benefits when consumed or used externally.
Benefits/ Uses
1. Sparkling Teeth
This is a cheap, healthy and accessible way of whitening your teeth. Teeth whitening is achieved by rubbing the banana peel every day for a week on your teeth. After you eat one, simply get the inner portion of the peel and rub it back and forth on your frontal teeth with your index finger. Most of the inner portion will have transferred onto your teeth. Keep it on for least five minutes and then rinse off with water. This actually results in teeth whitening, which can cost a lot of money otherwise.
You may notice your teeth looking instantly brighter, but the results will be even more drastic with a couple more tries. Of course, it helps to wean off soft drinks and coffee, too.
2. Eyesight Protection
An antioxidant found in banana peel is called lutein. Lutein is known to reduce oxidative stress and neutralize free radical damage in various organs, including the skin. Lutein is also known to provide nutritional sustenance to the eyes by not only reducing the risks of macular degeneration and cataracts, but also by filtering out harmful UV rays and protecting cells from free radical damage. Make sure you leave the peel under the sun before rubbing the banana peel on your eyes.Researchers suggest a minimum of 6mg – 10mg daily to derive the benefits of lutein. So as you increase your daily lutein intake with dark green leafy vegetables, spinach, and fruit, why not also throw in some banana peel to hit the mark?
3. Rich Source of Soluble and Insoluble Fiber
Fiber is best known for promoting healthy bowel movements and relieving constipation. Banana peels are rich in soluble fiber (just like apple peels), which can help you maintain a healthy weight by making you feel full. Studies have also shown soluble fiber to reduce the risk of heart attacks and avert early onset of diabetes.
4. Fights Cholesterol
5. Heals Bites By Bugs
Bananas contain compounds called anti-histamines, which provide relief from severe itching, and also help tone down inflammation. Anti-histamines work by subduing and blocking histamines (chemical compounds released in the body cells which cause allergic reactions, e.g. due to bug bites) such that the effect of the histamine is undone.
When applied to bug bites, the anti-histamines in the banana peel sink into the skin and prevent further swelling and quell itching. Rubbing banana peel onto mosquito bites and general bug bites instantly reliefs the itching and inflammation. In fact, most itchiness can get some form of relief with banana peels, including itchiness caused by poison ivy.
6. Removes Warts
7. Cures Pimples
Just massage banana peels on your face and body for 5 minutes every day to cure pimples. The results should be visible within a week. Keep applying the peels till the acne disappears.
8. Reduces Wrinkles
The banana peel helps to keep your skin hydrated. Add an egg yolk to a mashed banana peel. Apply this mixture on your face and leave it for 5 minutes. Wash off after 5minutes.
9. Pain Reliever
Apply the banana peel directly on the painful area. Leave it for 30 minutes till the pain is gone. A mixture of vegetable oil and banana peel also helps in pain relief.
10. Heals Psoriasis
Apply the peel on the psoriasis affected area. The banana peel has moisturizing properties and also reduces itchiness. It will quickly heal psoriasis and you can see noticeable results within no time.
11. Boost Your Mood
Depression affects everyone. It can come and go throughout the course of your lifetime. Sometimes depression is a little more serious and sometimes it’s just a feeling that shows up for an hour or two and then goes away. These minor dips in mood are common and are often the result of inadequate nutrients. When you’re feeling a little down, why not try eating banana peels?
Banana peels are high in mood-boosting serotonin—a neurotransmitter derived from tryptophan. Banana peels are a feel-good food, so eating banana peels is not so bad after all.
12. Get a Good Night’s Sleep
Speaking of tryptophan, banana peels are high in this compound too. Tryptophan is an essential amino acid that’s often prescribed in supplement form to treat sleep problems. Eating banana peels could help you get a good night’s sleep.
13. Keep Slim
Banana peels are full of fiber and nutrients and not much else. They aren’t high in calories and can be an important food in helping to keep extra pounds from gathering at your waistline while still allowing you to reap banana peel nutrients.
14. Boost Your Potassium Levels
Another one of the many banana peel nutrients is potassium. Potassium is needed to build muscle, break down carbohydrates, control the electrical activity of your heart, and to regulate the acid-base balance in your body.
15. Stave Off Cancer
Banana peels are exceptionally high in antioxidants. They also contain compounds that protect cells from the sort of mutations that lead to cancerous tumors—talk about a great reason to start eating banana peels.
16. Protect Your Red Blood Cells
Red blood cells deliver oxygen to your body tissues all day and all night. Banana peel nutrients include those that can help prevent your red blood cells from breaking down
17. Contains Antioxidants
Antioxidants are the much-pursued miracle substances which offer sublime anti-aging benefits. Banana peels have been found to be rich in polyphenols and carotenoids, which are phytochemicals with antioxidant properties. Studies have found that unripe banana peels contains more of these antioxidants than ripe ones. No wonder Asian recipes fry unripe banana peels as a crispy and antioxidant rich salted snack.
18. Polishing Agent
Polish your leather furniture and silver items with banana peel for a natural alternative to chemical polishing liquids. To clean leather furniture, simply rub the inside of a ripe banana directly onto the leather. Then clean up any ropey stuff and buff off with a cotton cloth.
For silverware and other silver items, blend banana peel with a little warm water. Rub this paste onto the items and wipe down with a cotton cloth. Dry items thoroughly with tissues and behold your new shiny silver.
19. Skin Beauty
Once you know something is rich in various nutrients and antioxidants, you can guess just how helpful it will be for your skin! Applying the inner portion of banana peels to your face alone can help you brighten and tone your skin.
Got dry skin? The vitamins and minerals in it can help you get rid of dry and dull skin by locking in moisture.
Got acne? The enzymes in banana peel can help get rid of not only acne, but dark blemishes as well.
Got wrinkles? No problem! The antioxidants in banana peel will help hydrate and promote supple youthful skin.
CONCLUSION
If eating banana peels is a good thing, how do you do it? Raw, if you can, although many find them a little stringy and not nearly as tasty as the fleshy banana part. You can also boil banana peels to soften them first. In Asia, chefs cook banana peels and fruits together and serve them as a dessert. You can also add banana peels to the blender when making a smoothie or a juice.
One thing to remember: buy organic. Banana peels are directly exposed to pesticides when trees are sprayed. To avoid ingesting harmful toxins, get banana peels grown without the use of pesticides and insecticides.
While you may not love the taste of eating banana peels, you can find ways to incorpate the peel into your meals, to avoid the bitter taste. Some people steam banana peel and make it into a tea as well, to reap banana peel nutrients. It looks like this is definitely one healthy food to add to your diet.
Provide a blast of antioxidants: “Antioxidant” is quite the health buzzword. They credited with everything from preventing cell damage to reversing aging to causing unicorns and stardust to secret from your pores. In reality, an “antioxidant” is not a substance; it’s a behavior. Any compound that can donate electrons and counteract free radicals has antioxidant properties. And they are a good thing and they do prevent cell damage. Banana peels are rich in polyphenols and carotenoids, which are phytochemicals with antioxidant properties.
Save your eyeballs: Banana peels contain lutein, another carotenoid with antiocidant properties. It’s known to reduce oxidative stress and neutralize free radical to various organs, including your skin, but also provides nutritional sustenance to your eyes. Lutein reduces the risk of macular degeneration and cataracts, filters out harmful UV rays, and protects your eyes from free radical damage.
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