8 Powerful Reasons to Eat Two Bananas Daily for Better Health

We Bet You Didn’t Know These Banana Health Benefits

Everyone loves bananas. I eat at least 2 bananas daily for as long as I remember.

Just ask anyone, and they’ll surely include it in the list of their favorite fruits. It’s no wonder why – they’re delicious, nutritious, and easy to open and eat.

Bananas are full of essential vitamins and minerals. The long list includes potassium – which is great for your heart – calcium, manganese, fiber, protein, magnesium, folate, vitamin B6 and C, which are good for your brain and immune system, and lots of fiber – which helps with digestion.

Add to that the great taste and you’ve got yourself a winner. Bananas are probably the ideal breakfast fruit, although they are known to be high in calories, so go easy on them.

And, although you surely know a lot about bananas, we bet that you didn’t know the following facts about them. In this post, you’ll discover bananas nutritional profile and why eating two bananas a day can significantly improve your health.

Banana Nutritional Values

To start, here’s a table with the nutritional values of a banana (100 grams). [1]

Banana Health Benefits

1. Rich in Vitamins and Minerals

Bananas are like nature’s multivitamin, packed with all sorts of good stuff for your body. [1]

• Vitamin B6: When you eat two bananas daily, you’re giving yourself a nice boost of vitamin B6, which is like brain food, helping with development and keeping everything running smoothly. It’s also involved in making those little messengers in your brain that help keep your mood and sleep in check, so you’re not only sharp during the day but also getting a good night’s rest.
• Vitamin C: Now, while they’re not as potent as oranges, bananas still give you a little bump of vitamin C, standing guard over your immune system and keeping your skin looking good.
• Potassium: But that’s not all. Bananas are a great source of potassium, with a medium-sized one giving you around 320-450 mg. This is like a helping hand for your heart, making sure your blood pressure stays in the right place and reducing the risk of stroke.
• Magnesium: Plus, they come with about 8% of the magnesium you need every day, which is crucial for keeping your muscles, nerves, and blood pressure in good shape.
• Manganese: And let’s not forget about manganese. With about 13% of your daily needs in each banana, your skin and metabolism get a little love too.

2. Digestive Health

You already know that bananas are packed with nutrients, but let’s talk about how they can also do wonders for your digestion.

When you eat a medium-sized banana, you’re getting about 3 grams of dietary fiber. This fiber is great for keeping things moving smoothly in your digestive system and can help you avoid constipation by making sure you have regular bowel movements.

Plus, it helps keep your blood sugar levels in check, which is good news if you have diabetes. [2]

Now, if you bite into a banana before it’s fully ripe, you’re also getting something called resistant starch. This starch acts like a food source for the good bacteria in your gut, helping them thrive. [3]

Having a healthy balance of gut bacteria is super important because it affects so many aspects of your health, from your immune system to your mood.

And here’s another plus: bananas have a soothing effect on your stomach. They can help neutralize the acid in your stomach, which can be a big relief if you deal with heartburn or GERD.

3. Heart Health

You might be surprised to learn that bananas can be a big help when it comes to taking care of your heart. They’re not just a tasty snack; they’ve got some serious benefits for your cardiovascular health.

One of the best things about bananas is that they’ve a lot of potassium and not much sodium. This combination is great for keeping your blood pressure at a healthy level, which is really important for avoiding heart problems.

In fact, having a couple of bananas every day can make a big difference in managing your blood pressure.

On top of that, bananas contain something called sterols, which are natural substances that can help bring down your cholesterol. High cholesterol is a major issue when it comes to heart disease, so anything that helps lower it’s a big plus.

And let’s not forget about the antioxidants in bananas. They might help protect you against atherosclerosis, which is when your arteries get hardened. Keeping your arteries clear means better blood flow and a lower chance of running into heart trouble later on.

4. Weight Management

When you’re looking to manage your weight, bananas can be a real friend to you. They’ve a good amount of fiber, which helps you feel full for a longer time. This sense of fullness can really help in controlling your weight.

By including a couple of bananas in your diet, you’re likely to eat less throughout the day, which is crucial for keeping or shedding pounds.

Research suggests that resistant starch in bananas (yes, the one mentioned earlier), isn’t digested in the small intestine but ferments in the large intestine, which can help you feel full and eat less. [3]

Bananas are also a snack that doesn’t pack many calories, with about 112 calories in a medium-sized one. This makes them a great option for anyone trying to watch their weight without losing out on energy.

For example, replacing a meal with 2 bananas and some almonds you’ll consume just 250 calories (approximately), instead of 500 – 600 calories you get from most meals.

5. Mood Enhancement

So, you might be wondering how something as simple as a banana can boost your mood. Well, it turns out that bananas have this neat little amino acid called tryptophan.

Now, don’t let the fancy name throw you off. Your body takes this tryptophan and turns it into serotonin, which is like your brain’s happy chemical.

But wait, there’s more! Bananas are like nature’s little stress relievers. They’ve got these things called dopamine precursors, which can give you feelings of pleasure and reward.

A 2022 study published in Journal of Food and Nutrition Research, found out that eating bananas daily can help reduce stress. The study involved 20 healthy adults, some ate two bananas daily for two weeks, others didn’t. Results showed that about half of those who ate bananas had better gut health, felt calmer, and had improved mood. This suggests that regular banana consumption could potentially provide stress relief and mental stability for some people.

An older study, published in 2008 concluded that eating a single banana can help protect your heart. The study involved 20 healthy people who ate a banana. After eating, their blood tests showed less damage from harmful oxidation.

This means that eating bananas could potentially reduce the risk of heart disease by preventing damage to the “good” cholesterol in our bodies.

So, next time you’re feeling a bit stressed or overwhelmed, grabbing a banana could be your ticket to feeling more relaxed and at ease.

6. Exercise Recovery

Okay, let’s talk about how bananas can help you recover after exercising.

When you work out, you sweat and lose electrolytes, especially potassium. Bananas have a lot of potassium, which is really important for keeping your muscles and heart working right.

So, if you eat a banana after working out, you put back the potassium you lost. This helps stop muscle cramps and soreness.

Plus, bananas have carbohydrates that give your body energy after exercising. These carbs help your muscles get back to normal more quickly.

If you want to learn more about Electrolytes, check our article on What Are Electrolytes as well as our article on 6 easy methods to replace them. Plus, if you want a trusted electrolytes supplement brand I suggest checking Dr. Berg’s electrolytes.

7. Skin Health?

Bananas aren’t just good for your muscles; they’re also great for your skin. By eating two bananas daily, you’re giving your body antioxidants that fight off the bad stuff, like stress and damage from free radicals.

These free radicals can hurt your skin cells and make you look older faster than you’d like. But don’t worry, according to studies, the good stuff in bananas, like vitamins, phenolics, and carotenoids, can help keep your skin looking young and healthy.

Plus, bananas can even help your skin make more collagen, a protein that keeps your skin stretchy and less wrinkly. This patent claims that the cosmetic use of a banana extract can stimulate the production of type I collagen.

Eating bananas might also protect your skin from sun damage and help heal wounds faster.

Related: 8 Best Supplements for Skin Health

8. Energy Boost

You may not know this, but eating two bananas every day does more than just keep your hunger at bay. They give you a fast energy source that can help power your active lifestyle.

Bananas have natural sugars like sucrose, fructose, and glucose, which your body soaks up quickly for an immediate energy lift. That’s why they’re perfect for athletes and anyone with a busy life.

A 2017 study in the Open Sports Sciences Journal found that eating bananas daily can boost physical strength and health.

The study involved 30 healthy men who ate two ripe bananas every day for four weeks. After the study, they showed improved strength, better exercise performance, and higher levels of antioxidants in their blood.

They also had lower levels of bad fats and a decrease in a specific protein linked to inflammation.

But that’s not all. Bananas also have fiber, which helps keep your blood sugar levels steady. [2]

This stops those energy crashes that leave you feeling wiped out.

Who should avoid eating bananas and why?

Despite the many benefits of bananas, not everyone should include them in their daily diet.

• For example, if you have diabetes, you’ll want to be careful with bananas due to their sugar content. Eating too many could make managing your blood sugar levels more challenging (although, as mentioned before, there are studies that back the fact that consuming 1 – 2 bananas daily can help. [2] (One to two bananas on a daily basis are not much).
• For those with kidney issues, the high potassium content in bananas can pose a risk, potentially leading to heart problems if your body can’t effectively remove the excess potassium.
• Also, some people might be allergic to bananas. My wife’s husband recently discovered this. Banana’s were causing acne to his skin and he found only recently. If you’re allergic to bananas, it’s essential to avoid them to prevent negative reactions like itching, swelling, or breathing difficulties.
• Plus, if you’re taking certain medications, such as some blood pressure drugs, the potassium in bananas could cause levels to rise too high.

Banana Origin and History

Bananas were first domesticated by people in Southeast Asia and the South Pacific, specifically in the regions of Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and New Guinea around 8,000 to 5,000 BCE. However, the exact identity of the first person to discover bananas is unknown. [4]

Bananas are believed to have been cultivated for thousands of years, with some of the earliest references found in Buddhist texts from 600 BCE. From Southeast Asia, they spread to India, where Alexander the Great found them in 327 BCE and brought them to the Western world. [5]

According to Wikipedia, in the 15th and 16th centuries, Portuguese colonists began planting bananas in parts of Africa and the Atlantic Islands, eventually introducing them to the Americas. [6]

The majority of the bananas we consume today are of the Cavendish variety, which replaced the previously dominant Gros Michel banana in the 1950s due to its resistance to the fungal disease that devastated the Gros Michel plantations. [7]

Bananas come in many varieties, with estimates ranging from 300 to over 1,000 types worldwide. [7].

Other notable varieties include the:

• Red Banana, prized for its sweet flavor and vibrant color.
• Apple Banana, with its distinctive apple-like taste.
• Blue Java, known for its creamy texture and vanilla-like flavor, and the
• Señorita, a small, sweet banana native to the Philippines.

Bottom Line

Bananas are a nutritional powerhouse, providing essential vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Eating two bananas daily can support digestive health, heart function, weight management, and mood.

They also promote skin and eye health while boosting energy levels.

However, those with kidney problems or diabetes should consult their doctor before increasing banana consumption due to their potassium and sugar content.

Do you like eating bananas? If yes – good for you. If not, why? Let us know in the comments section below.

In the meantime, check these other health-boosting foods.

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