Bananas I feel are the perfect snack. They are compact, fit in your purse or bag, great for smoothies, and the perfect sized snack. I eat so many bananas my husband is always having to stock up on them. I even save brown bananas to use later in smoothies or for cooking by peeling them and putting them in freezer bags. Lets take a look at this convenient fruit to see if it is truly a good snack.
Basic food profile: full of potassium, vitamin C, B6, folate, magnesium, iron, and copper. A medium-sized banana (7-8inch) has 105 calories, 3 grams of fiber, and 27 grams of carbohydrates.
Potassium:
When I think banana I think potassium. Indeed a banana contains about 450mg, or 20% of your daily potassium needs. Potassium is a key electrolyte that helps keep a balance of your acid and water levels in your body. Potassium also helps build muscles, keeps signals firing between your nerves and cells, and helps with muscle contraction. So it’s a very important little nutrient.
Too much potassium leads to an imbalance in your body and you may experience leg cramps, or weakness. So don’t go eating a lot of bananas to try to cure muscle cramps. You may be worsening the problem. (prob why I woke up with a foot cramp, maybe I should slow down on my banana intake.)
Constipation and Diarrhea:
Bananas are a recommended fruit for people with constipation or diarrhea. Because they contain a lot of fiber (about 3G of fiber per naner) they can help restore your normal bowel function. (Questions about what is normal poop? See blog post “Everybody Poops”) When you have diarrhea you lose a lot of your bodies potassium causing you to potentially become potassium imbalanced. Eating bananas will help restore that lost potassium balancing your levels again.
Blood Pressure:
Bananas are low in sodium and high in potassium. This makes them the perfect snack to help lower higher blood pressures.
Mood:
Tryptophan (like in Turkey) is found in bananas. This amino acid helps improve moods and raise serotonin levels (the happy chemicals in your brain). The natural sugars found in bananas also give you prolonged energy during the day and actually balance blood sugar levels.
Banana are a GREAT SNACK! In honor of my banana obsession, I would like to leave you with my recipe for my favorite…
Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie
- 1 banana
- 4-5 pieces of ice
- about 1 cup almond milk (add more if to thick)
- Adams peanut butter about 2 tsp (depending on how nutty you like)
Blend and find your perfect combination of flavors. Let me know what you think. I love reading comments on my posts.
In health,
Tara Arnold, RN
Heart For Health 
Yum! That smoothie idea sounds delicious! Is it true also that since they have a higher carb content and that they’re high in sugar (yes I know natural sugar) that you should only have them in the first half of the day?
I eat them any time of the day. Fruits and veggies are natural foods/snacks that should be encouraged. Choose these over breads or other sweet snacks for better health. I worry more about increasing my daily intake of fruits and veggies than time of day I eat them. That is just me though:)