Build Better Bones and Blood Pressure with Bananas
Bananas are smooth and sweet and can be eaten alone or added to many different dishes. Bananas actually belong to the orchid and lily family. This popular yellow fruit is known for being rich in potassium, but it also has plenty of vitamins C and B6, manganese and dietary fiber. Bananas will supply many vital nutrients to help you build better bones and healthy blood pressure.
Building Better Bones
Eating bananas regularly, via several mechanisms, improve how your body absorbs calcium. This in turn helps you build stronger bones. Bananas contain the prebiotic fructooligosaccharide. This nourishes the friendly bacteria that is found in your colon. These friendly bacteria produce different digestive enzymes and vitamins that improve how you absorb nutrients. They also produce certain compounds that protect you against microorganisms that are unfriendly. When you are properly absorbing nutrients, your bones, as well as the rest of your body, will greatly benefit.
In addition to this, potassium may help to counteract how much calcium is lost in the urine in the high-salt diets that are common in so many American diets today. When we retain more calcium, our bones will be stronger.
Cardiovascular Benefits
As you probably already know, bananas are a potassium powerhouse. What you may not know is that potassium plays a critical role in maintaining healthy heart function and normal blood pressure. A single normal-sized banana has just a single milligram of sodium and a major 467 milligrams of potassium. So, eating a banana a day may help you prevent atherosclerosis and high blood pressure. A number of studies have looked at how bananas work in lowering blood pressure. Men who consume diets with foods rich in potassium, cereal fiber and magnesium significantly reduced their risk of experiencing a stroke.
Other Health Benefits of Bananas
Yes, there is more. Bananas work to give you strong bones and better blood pressure, but they don't stop there. This power fruit may also protect against ulcer damage and stomach ulcers with its antacid effects. If you have problems with constipation, a banana may be just the remedy you need because they contain the soluble fiber known as pectin. If diarrhea is an issue, a banana can help to restore potassium balance after a bout of it.
Bananas are also purported to be important for your eyesight. Eating bananas regularly may also promote better kidney health. One of the reasons we face poor kidneys is high blood pressure and bananas can help us maintain healthy blood pressure. So, if eating bananas keeps our blood pressure in check, this will also benefit our kidneys.
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Published by R. Elizabeth C. Kitchen - Featured Contributor in Health & Wellness
Rose is a freelance medical writer with a background in health care. She has been a freelance medical writer for five years. Rose is also an editor and writes on a variety of other subjects, such as sports... View profile
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