BACK AGAIN! 150 healthiest foods on earth #30

00Angela00

By popular demand we're back again with 150 of the healthiest foods on earth. For those who are new I have attached at the bottom all previous posts. I will be posting a new food every day as time allows. All information is from the book by jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S. "The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth".

Day #30: Bananas

Intro: Bananas are definately a healthy food, thought they're not quite the nutritional heavyweight some people think they are. Their main claim to fame is potassium and fiber. Don't get me wrong--those are good things to have. Bananas provide a nice 3 to 4g of fiber per banana, and while they are probably the first food that comes to mind when you think of potassium, calorie for calorie, foods like spinach and broccoli beat the pants off them. So does a cup of baked beans, navy beans, tomato juice, cantaloupe, or two medium kiwifruits.

*Banana's have 422mg of potassium per medium banana which helps maintain cell integrity, fluid and electrolyte balance, and, most important, a steady heartbeat!

* A drop in potassium levels can make you weak and tired, and low potassium is often connected to muscle cramps.

* many health professionals believe that potassium might both prevent and correct hypertension

* An interesting Swedish study on the risk of developing kidney cancer found that regular consumption of specific foods--bananas, root vegetables like carrots and beets, salad greens, and cabbage--was linked to a 50 to 65 percent decrease in risk for kidney cancer. This study was published in the International Journal of Cancer
-Women in the study who ate bananas four to six times a week had about half the risk of kidney cancer as those who didn't eat them.

* one little-known benefit of bananas that's worth talking about is the fact that they contain fructoogliosaccharides. What are these? Well, they're basically food for the good bacteria in your gut. You've probably heard of probiotics like lactobacillus--well, those are the "good bacteria" in the digestive system, and for optimal health, they need to be kept alive and flourishing.

* Banana's are a great source of fructoogliosaccharides. In one study published int he Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry, bananas were hands down the most potent fruit source of these valuable compounds.

*Among advocates of controlled carb eating bananas got a bad rep as being a high-sugar food. That's partly true, but not as bad as people thinkg. The glycemic load of the average banana is 12. Glycemic load--the only measure that really counts when it comes to evaluating a food's effect on blood sugar--is considered low if it's under 10, medium if it's 10 to 20, and high if it's over 20. The banana's rating of 12 puts it right in the low part of the "medium" category.

* I think part of the problem with bananas was that they suffered from guilt by association with the typical 1980's "low-fat" breakfast of crummy processed commercial cereal, skim milk, orange juice, and toast, a nightmare from a blood sugar point of view. The occassional banana, particularly one that's not overripe, is really not a problem for most people.

* In yoga nutritional therapy, bananas are considered a cleansing and rejuvenating food.

WORTH KNOWING:

The inner peel is rich in nutrients--either eat it directly, or scrape it and put it in your smoothie.

For previous posts:
Vegetables:
ARTICHOKES: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/57017--1-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
ARUGULA: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/58426--14-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
ASPARAGUS: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/60854--27-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth

Grains:
OATMEAL: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/57180--2-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
QUINOA: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/58555--15-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth

Beans and Legumes:
BEANS: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/57278--3-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
GARBANZO BEANS: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/58671--16-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
GREEN PEAS: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61075--28-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth

Fruits:
APPLES: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/57482--4-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
APRICOTS: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/58800--17-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
AVACADOS: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61180--29-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth

Nuts, Seeds, and Nut butters
ALMONDS: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/57516--5-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
BRAZIL NUTS: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/58921--18-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth

Soy Foods:
EDAMAME: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/57602--6-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
FERMENTED SOY: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/59006--19-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth

Dairy:
BUTTER/GHEE http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/57689--7-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
CHEESE: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/59395--20-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth

Meat, Poultry, and Eggs
EGGS: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/57791--8-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
POULTRY: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/59548--21-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth

Fish and Seafood
CRUSTACEA: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/57940--9-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
MACKEREL: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/60071--22-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth?page=1#posts-719366

Specialty Foods
BEE POLLEN: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/58069--10-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
CHOCOLATE: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/60143--23-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth

Beverages:
ACAI JUICE: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/58196--11-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
COFFEE: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/60823--26-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
CRANBERRY JUICE: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/60470--24-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth

Herbs, Spices, and Condiments
CARDAMOM: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/58290--12-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
CINNAMON: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/60564--25-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth

Oils
ALMOND OIL: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/58381--13-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth

PureAndHealthy

Glad you're back with this! Love reading them!

courtney_love2001

Yay I'm glad these are back! Thanks for doing it!

LJCannon

Thanks for posting this. I will be taking some time to read as many of the posts as I can. Many of the foods that I see listed are ones that I enjoy already. The others are ones that I will try to teach myself to like. So far I have learned to like Blueberrys and Yogurt.:happy:

00Angela00

Glad they are being enjoyed! Jeannie, I know what you mean about learning to enjoy some foods ...

Mamakatspokane

:happy: