By Sina Anvari – Karenstan.net

Found at: http://www.undergroundhealth.com/after-reading-this-youll-never-look-at-a-banana-in-the-same-way-again/

This is interesting. After reading this, you’ll never look at a banana in the same way again.

Bananas contain three natural sugars – sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fiber. A banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy.

Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world’s leading athletes.

But energy isn’t the only way a banana can help us keep fit. It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet.

DEPRESSION:

According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a banana. This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.

PMS:

Forget the pills – eat a banana. The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood.

ANEMIA:

High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anemia.

BLOOD PRESSURE:

This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it perfect to beat blood pressure So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration has just allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit’s ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.

BRAIN POWER:

200 students at a Twickenham school ( England ) were helped through their exams this year by eating bananas at breakfast, break, and lunch in a bid to boost their brain power. Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.

CONSTIPATION:

High in fiber, including bananas in the diet can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without resorting to laxatives.

HANGOVERS:

One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to make a banana milkshake, sweetened with honey. The banana calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood sugar levels, while the milk soothes and re-hydrates your system.

HEARTBURN:

Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body, so if you suffer from heartburn, try eating a banana for soothing relief.

MORNING SICKNESS:

Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness.

MOSQUITO BITES:

Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing the affected area with the inside of a banana skin. Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation.

NERVES:

Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous system..

Overweight and at work? Studies at the Institute of Psychology in Austria found pressure at work leads to gorging on comfort food like chocolate and chips. Looking at 5,000 hospital patients, researchers found the most obese were more likely to be in high-pressure jobs. The report concluded that, to avoid panic-induced food cravings, we need to control our blood sugar levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foods every two hours to keep levels steady.

ULCERS:

The banana is used as the dietary food against intestinal disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chroniclercases. It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.

TEMPERATURE CONTROL:

Many other cultures see bananas as a ‘cooling’ fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature of expectant mothers. In Thailand , for example, pregnant women eat bananas to ensure their baby is born with a cool temperature.

So, a banana really is a natural remedy for many ills. When you compare it to an apple, it has FOUR TIMES the protein, TWICE the carbohydrate, THREE TIMES the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals.. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around So maybe its time to change that well-known phrase so that we say, ‘A BANANA a day keeps the doctor away!’

BUT NOW ...

The GMO SUPER BANANA!

by Elizabeth Seward

http://www.undergroundhealth.com/gmo-super-banana-tested-humans/

Vitamin A deficiency can be deadly and in many countries in the world, it most certainly is. The deficiency can also cause blindness early in life and it poses an elevated risk to pregnant women by raising the maternal mortality rate and causing general problems throughout the pregnancy and lactation periods. It can also cause problems with immunity, which is especially dangerous in developing countries where immunization levels are low and illnesses like measles and respiratory infections carry serious complications. Brain development, cancer, and birth defects have also been associated with vitamin A deficiency. It is estimated that 250,000 – 500,000 children go blind each year because of vitamin A deficiency and roughly 670,000 children under the age of five die each year because of the deficiency.

Vitamin A deficiency is most rampant in countries in Africa and Southeast Asia. Scientists have been working on a way to address this deficiency and they believe they have done it with the genetically modified “Super Banana.”

The Super Banana has been fortified with alpha and beta-carotene, both of which the body converts into vitamin A. These bananas, which researchers believe could help to solve the vitamin A deficiency crisis, will be tested on humans in the US before being grown in Uganda – a long-term goal that proponents of the banana hope to have in place by 2020.

Backed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, it’s easy to understand why this project seems like a progressive idea from the outside. But the bananas won’t be able to be grown in Uganda until or unless the country allows genetically modified crops, which it currently doesn’t. The project has potential, indeed, but what are some of the possible repercussions?

Gates’ support of and involvement with genetically modified organisms has been a subject of controversy recently. He has invested in Monsanto and publicly supported the development of GMOs under the contingency that they are proven as safe. The GMO territory is founded on murky science at this point, though. Many of the studies that show GMOs to be safe have been funded by companies that have a vested interest in positive results.

Nonetheless, this banana could save lives in places where achieving adequate vitamin A levels is difficult or even impossible. The potential ill-effects that could stem from the banana having been genetically engineered are yet to be seen. The proposed benefits of an intentional “super food” of this nature show potential, but the case of the Super Banana shines a brighter on light on the need for further testing of GMOs. If food can be genetically engineered to save lives, as is the intention of the Super Banana, then we should have the science available to back its safety. However, if GMOs found in engineered food like the Super Banana might cause more harm than good, we should be aware of that before widely dispersing a food product like this one.