Muffins and Mozart

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• Heart Health…
• Bananas are very beneficial for the health of your heart because they contain potassium and magnesium—two nutrients that are impotant for the health of your heart.
• Potassium carries a small electrical charge that causes nerve cells to signals for the heart to beat regularly and muscles to contract…as well as maintain a healthy balance of water in cells…and offset the effects of excess dietary sodium.
• to beat regularly and muscles
• to contract. Potassium
• is also needed
• to maintain a healthy balance of water in cells, and
• offsets the effects of excess dietary sodium. An imbalance in the diet of too little potassium and too much sodium
• can lead to high blood pressure. Excessive sodium
• can lead to a buildup of fluid in the blood,
• placing pressure on the walls of blood vessels and eventually
• causing damage. Potassium
• helps the body
• to flush out extra sodium in the urine, and
• eases tension in blood vessel walls.
• Bananas, rich in potassium and fiber and low in sodium,
• are an important component of
• heart-healthy diets like DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) that
• aims for about 4,700 mg dietary potassium daily.
• bananas…Resistant starch
• escapes digestion and
• ends up in your large intestine, where it
• becomes food for the beneficial bacteria in your gut
• Heart health…
• Bananas
• contain fiber, potassium, folate, and antioxidants, such as vitamin C. All of these
• support
• heart health…A 2017 review 
• found that people who
• follow a high fiber diet
• have a lower risk of cardiovascular disease than those on a low fiber diet. Those who
• consumed more fiber also
• had lower levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or “bad” cholesterol.f cardiovascular benefit from
• bananas
• is related to their potassium content.
• Bananas
• are a good source of potassium, an essential mineral for
• maintaining normal blood pressure and
• heart function. Since one medium-sized
• banana
• contains a whopping 400-plus mg of potassium, the inclusion of
• bananas in your routine meal plan
• may help
• to prevent high blood pressure and
• protect against atherosclerosis…The effectiveness of potassium-rich foods such as
• bananas in
• lowering blood pressure
• has been demonstrated by a number of studies. For example, researchers
• tracked over 40,000 American male health professionals over four years
• to determine the effects of diet on blood pressure. Men who
• ate diets higher in potassium-rich foods, as well as foods high in magnesium and cereal fiber,
• had a substantially reduced risk of stroke.
• We’ve also seen numerous prospective clinical research trials
• showing substantial reductions of blood pressure in individuals
• eating the potassium-rich DASH Diet….A second type of cardiovascular benefit from
• bananas
• involves their sterol content. While
• bananas
• are a very low-fat food (less than 4% of their calories
• come from fat), one type of fat that they
• do contain in small amounts
• are sterols like sitosterol, campesterol, and stigmasterol. As these sterols
• look structurally similar to cholesterol, they
• can block the absorption of dietary cholesterol. By
• blocking absorption, they
• help us keep our blood cholesterol levels in check…A third type of cardiovascular benefit from
• bananas
• involves their fiber content. At about 3 grams per medium
• banana, we
• rank bananas as a good source of fiber. Approximately one-third of the fiber in
• bananas
• is water-soluble fiber. For one medium-sized
• banana, this amount
• translates into 1 gram of soluble fiber per
• banana. Soluble fiber in food
• is a type of fiber especially
• associated with decreased risk of
• heart disease,
• making regular intake of
• bananas a potentially helpful approach
• to lowering your
• heart disease risk.
• Heart health…
• Bananas
• are good for your
• heart. They
• are packed with potassium, a mineral electrolyte that
• keeps electricity
• flowing throughout your body, which
• is required
• to keep your
• heart
• beating.
• Bananas’ high potassium and low sodium content
• may also help protect your cardiovascular system against high blood pressure, according to the FDA…A 2017 animal study
• conducted by researchers at the University of Alabama 
• found that the potassium in
• bananas
• is also linked to arterial effectiveness; the more potassium you
• have, the less likely your arteries
• are
• to harden. In the study, mice with lower-potassium diet
• had harder arteries than mice
• consuming a normal amount of potassium. Arterial stiffness in humans
• is linked to
• heart disease. 
  • Insulin Sensitivity…Insulin resistance is a major risk factor for many of the world’s most serious diseases, including type 2 diabetes…Several studies reveal that 15–30 grams of resistant starch per day may improve insulin sensitivity by 33–50% in as few as four weeks…Unripe bananas are a great source of resistant starch. Therefore, they may help improve insulin sensitivity… However, the reason for these effects is not well understood, and not all studies agree on the matter…More studies should be conducted on bananas and insulin sensitivity…Unripe bananas are a good source of resistant starch, which may improve insulin sensitivity. However, more research is needed
  • Kidney Health…Potassium is essential for blood pressure control and healthy kidney function….As a good dietary source of potassium, bananas may be especially beneficial for maintaining healthy kidneys…One 13-year study in women determined that those who ate bananas 2–3 times per week were 33% less likely to develop kidney disease…Other studies note that those who eat bananas 4–6 times a week are almost 50% less likely to develop kidney disease than those who don’t eat this fruit…Eating a banana several times a week may reduce your risk of kidney disease by up to 50%.protecting your eyes, maintaining normal vision and improving vision at night, according to the National Institutes of Health. Vitamin A contains compounds that preserve the membranes around your eyes and are an element in the proteins that bring light to your corneas. Like other fruits, bananas can help prevent macular degeneration, an incurable condition, which blurs central vision
  • Weight Control…looked for associations between reported intakes of specific fruits and vegetables and weight changes in 133,468 U.S. men and women followed for up to 24 years. [3] The results were adjusted to account for other factors that can contribute to weight changes like smoking and physical activity. Though higher intakes of apples, pears, and berries tended to more strongly show a link to less weight gain over time, bananas were also There is no evidence that bananas contribute to weight gain, despite popular belief. In an analysis of three large prospective cohort studies, researchersBananas are a fascinating fruit in terms of their carbohydrate and sugar content. Even though bananas are a fruit that tastes quite sweet when ripe—containing 14-15 grams of total sugar—bananas receive a rating of low in their glycemic index (GI) value. GI measures the impact of a food on our blood sugar. This low GI value for bananas is most likely related to two of their carbohydrate-related qualities…First, as mentioned previously, a medium-size banana contains about 3 grams of total fiber. Fiber is a nutrient that helps regulate the speed of digestion, and by keeping digestion well-regulated, conversion of carbohydrates to simple sugars and release of simple sugars from digesting foods also stays well-regulated…Within their total fiber content, bananas also contain pectins. Pectins are unique and complicated types of fiber. Some of the components in pectins are water-soluble, and others are not. As bananas ripen, their water-soluble pectins increase, and this increase is one of the key reasons why bananas become softer in texture as they ripen. As their water-soluble pectins increase, so does their relative concentration of fructose in comparison to other sugars. This increase in water-soluble pectins and higher proportional fructose content helps normalize the rate of carbohydrate digestion and moderates the impact of banana consumption on our blood sugar. The bottom line here are some surprisingly digestion-friendly consequences for a fruit that might be casually dismissed as being too high in sugar to be digestion-friendly…Similar to the importance of their water-soluble pectins is the digestive importance of fructooligosaccharides (FOS) in bananas. FOS are unique fructose-containing carbohydrates that are typically not broken down by enzymes in our digestive tract. Instead, they move along through the digestive tract until they reach our lower intestine and get metabolized by bacteria. This process helps maintain the balance of “friendly” bacteria (for example, Bifidobacteria) in our lower intestine, and as a consequence, it also supports our overall digestive health…In one study involving female participants, eating two bananas each day for two months led to significant increases in Bifidobacteria. Along with these increased levels of Bifidobacteria, participants also experienced fewer gastrointestinal problems and more regular bowel function when compared to other women in the study who drank a banana-flavored beverage that did not contain any actual banana….Weight Loss…No study has directly tested the effects of bananas on weight loss. However, bananas do have several attributes that should make them a weight-loss-friendly-food…For starters, bananas have relatively few calories. An average banana has just over 100 calories — yet it is also very nutritious and filling…Eating more fiber from vegetables and fruits like bananas has repeatedly been linked to lower body weight and weight loss…Furthermore, unripe bananas are packed with resistant starch, so they tend to be very filling and may reduce your appetite…Bananas may aid weight loss because they’re low in calories and high in nutrients and fiber…Digestion and weight loss…Bananas are high in fiber, which can help keep you regular. One banana can provide nearly 10 percent of your daily fiber requirement. Vitamin B6 can also help protect against Type 2 diabetes and aid in weight loss, according to Flores. In general, bananas are a great weight loss food because they taste sweet and are filling, which helps curb cravings…Bananas are particularly high in resistant starch, a form of dietary fiber in which researchers have recently become interested. A 2017 review published in Nutrition Bulletin found that the resistant starch in bananas may support gut health and control blood sugar. Resistant starch increases the production of short chain fatty acids in the gut, which are necessary to gut health.Bananas May Help You Feel More Full…Resistant starch is a type of indigestible carb — found in unripe bananas and other foods — which functions like soluble fiber in your body…As a rule of thumb, you can estimate that the greener the banana, the higher its resistant starch content…On the other hand, yellow, ripe bananas contain lower amounts of resistant starch and total fiber — but proportionally higher amounts of soluble fiber…Both pectin and resistant starch offer appetite-reducing effects and increase the feeling of fullness after meals…Depending on ripeness, bananas harbor high amounts of resistant starch or pectin. Both may reduce appetite and help keep you full and is able to pass into thenage your weight better as you stay full for longer. That said, bananas can help you beat gastrointestinal issues such as constipation,stomach ulcers, and heartbur*******************************large intestine. Such bananas help you ma
    
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• re at room temperature away from direct sunlight.Do not refrigerate green bananas as this can disrupt normal ripening. To speed up ripening, store in a brown paper bag or place near ripe fruit, which emits ethylene gas that causes ripening. On the flipside, if you wish to slow ripening, store bananas away from other ripe bananas or fruits. Do not store in plastic bags as this traps excess moisture and may promote rotting.Fully ripe golden yellow bananas may be stored in the refrigerator in a sealed produce drawer. Refrigeration will preserve the flavor for another week, even if the peels continue to darken.If the banana peel has ripened to a mostly brown color, remove the peel and chop or mash the pulp to include in baked goods or freeze to be added into smoothies.Slice ripe banana into a fruit salad. Squeeze a bit of acid like apple cider vinegar, orange juice, lime, or lemon onto the bananas to prevent darkening too quickly.Substitute an equal amount of mashed banana for butter for dense baked goods like muffins, quick breads, and cookies. Using banana may cause the product to bake faster, so check for doneness several minutes earlier than usual or reduce the oven temperature by 25°F. The bananas will also add sweetness, so reduce the amount of added sugar in the recipe by one-quarter to one-half.For a frozen treat, slice a peeled ripe banana in half (in the middle) and insert a popsicle stick or skewer into the flat end. Dip banana into yogurt and coat evenly; sprinkle with nuts, chopped dried fruit, cinnamon, or other favorite toppings and freeze for several hours.For an easy dairy-free ice cream alternative, peel, chop, and freeze two medium bananas. Place into a blender or food processor and add a few tablespoons of liquid (water, dairy or plant milk, or coconut water). Blend until smooth. Add extra liquid if additional creaminess is desired. For a different flavor, add 1-2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder or nut/seed butter, a splash of vanilla extract and cinnamon, or ½ cup frozen berries.organically grown foods, and bananas is no exception. Repeated research studies on organic foods as a group show that your likelihood of exposure to contaminants such as pesticides and heavy metals can be greatly reduced through the purchased of certified organic foods, including bananas. If you are shopping in a large supermarket, your most reliable source of organically grown bananas is very likely to be bananas that display the USDA organic logo….While bananas look resilient, they’re actually very fragile and care should be taken in their storage. They should be left to ripen at room temperature and should not be subjected to overly hot or cold temperatures. Unripe bananas should not be placed in the refrigerator as this will interrupt the ripening process to such an extent that it will not be able to resume even if the bananas are returned to room temperature…If you need to hasten the ripening process, you can place bananas in a paper bag or wrap them in newspaper, adding an apple to accelerate the process. Ripe bananas that will not be consumed for a few days can be placed in the refrigerator. While their peel may darken, the flesh will not be affected. For maximum flavor when consuming refrigerated bananas, remove them from the refrigerator and allow them to come back to room temperature. For the most antioxidants, eat fully ripened fruit…Bananas can also be frozen and will keep for about 2 months. Either puree them before freezing or simply remove the peel and wrap the bananas in plastic wrap. To prevent discoloration, add some lemon juice before freezing.

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  salads

  baked goods

  peanut butter and banana sandwich drizzled with honey

  chopped bananas, walnuts and maple syrup to oatmeal or porridge.
• deep fried,
• baked in their skin in a split bamboo, or
• steamed in glutinous rice
• wrapped in a banana leaf.
• fruit preserves.
• Banana pancakes
• Banana chips 
• banana flour.
• Philippine cuisine—maruya, turón, and halo-halo or saba con yelo
• South-Indian state of Kerala—steamed (puzhungiyathu), made into curries,
• fried into chips, (upperi)fried in batter (pazhampori).^[117] Pisang goreng,
• bananas fried with batter similar to the Filipino maruya or Kerala pazhampori, is a popular dessert in Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia
• banana fritters
• Add a sliced banana to your morning cereal or oatmeal for a more nutritious breakfast.
• Mash ripe bananas and use to replace butter or oil in baked goods.
• Add mashed bananas to muffins, cookies, and cakes for a naturally sweet flavor.
• Add bananas to a smoothie.
• yogurt
• cereal and smoothies. You can even use them instead of sugar in your baking and cooking…Furthermore, bananas rarely contain any pesticides or pollutants due to their thick protective peel…Bananas are incredibly easy to eat and transport. They are usually well-tolerated and easily digested — they simply have to be peeled and eaten…It doesn’t get much easier than that…Bananas make an excellent snack food, dessert or breakfast. Their versatility makes them easy to add to your diet…Bananas are a popular fruit that happens to provide numerous health benefits…Among other things, they may boost digestive and heart health due to their fiber and antioxidant content…They may even aid weight loss, as they’re relatively low-calorie and nutrient-dense…Ripe bananas are a great way to satisfy your sweet tooth. What’s more, both yellow and green bananas can keep you healthy and feeling full…a bit of confusion surrounding bananas. Some people consider this iconic golden fruit a healthy choice while others avoid it, after seeing it on Internet lists of “5 Worst Foods.” Unfavorable claims suggest that bananas cause weight gain and constipation. An article from 1917 published in the Journal of the American Medical Association defended the nutritional value of bananas, citing rumored beliefs during that time: “The banana is a cause of indigestion and a treacherous dietary component…”The scientific name for banana is Musa, from the Musaceae family of flowering tropical plants, which distinctively showcases the banana fruit clustered at the top of the plant. The mild-tasting and disease-resistant Cavendish type is the main variety sold in the U.S. and Europe. Despite some negative attention, bananas are nutritious and may even carry the title of the first “superfood,” endorsed by the American Medical Association in the early 20th century as a health food for children and a treatment for celiac disease.
• Since bananas are picked off the tree while they’re still green, it’s not unusual to see them this color in the store. Base your choice of bananas depending upon when you want to consume them. Bananas with more green coloration will take longer to ripen than those more yellow in hue and/or with brown spots…Bananas should be firm, but not too hard, bright in appearance, and free from bruises or other injuries. Their stems and tips should be intact. The size of the banana does not affect its quality, so simply choose the size that best meets your needs….At WHFoods, we encourage the purchase of certified

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