Hmmmm! Why You Should Eat Bananas.

     If you think bananas are just for monkeys, think again.

         Banana

A banana is an edible fruit, botanically a berry, produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus Musa. 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.

Nutrition Facts
Bananas
Amount Per 100 grams

Calories 89
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0.3 g 0%
Saturated fat 0.1 g 0%
Polyunsaturated fat 0.1 g
Monounsaturated fat 0 g
Cholesterol 0 mg 0%
Sodium 1 mg 0%
Potassium 358 mg 10%
Total Carbohydrate 23 g 7%
Dietary fiber 2.6 g 10%
Sugar 12 g
Protein 1.1 g 2%
Vitamin A 1% Vitamin C 14%
Calcium 0% Iron 1%
Vitamin D 0% Vitamin B-6 20%
Vitamin B-12 0% Magnesium 6%

*Per cent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Wonderfully sweet with firm and creamy flesh, bananas come prepackaged in their own yellow jackets and are available for harvest throughout the year.

The banana plant grows 10 to 26 feet and belongs to the Musaceae family of plants along with plantains.
You'll never look at a banana the same way again after discovering the many health benefits and reasons to add them to your diet. Bananas combat depression, make you smarter, cure hangovers, relieve morning sickness, protect against kidney cancer, diabetes, osteoporosis and blindness. They can cure the itch of a mosquito bite and put a great shine on your shoes. 

Here are some working wonders of this passionate fruit  

1. Bananas help overcome depression due to high levels of tryptophan, which is converted into serotonin -- the happy-mood brain neurotransmitter.

2. Eat two bananas before a strenuous workout to pack an energy punch and sustain your blood sugar.
3. Protect against muscle cramps during workouts and nighttime leg cramps by eating a banana.
4. Counteract calcium loss during urination and build strong bones by supplementing with a banana.
5. Improve your mood and reduce PMS symptoms by eating a banana, which regulates blood sugar and produces stress-relieving relaxation.
6. Bananas reduce swelling, protect against type II diabetes, aid weight loss, strengthen the nervous system, and help with the production of white blood cells, all due to high levels of vitamin B-6.
7. Strengthen your blood and relieve anemia with the added iron from bananas.
8. High in potassium and low in salt, bananas are officially recognized by the FDA as being able to lower blood pressure and protect against heart attack and stroke. 

9.  Eating Bananas Aids Digestion
10. Rich in pectin, bananas aid digestion and gently chelate toxins and heavy metals from the body.
11. Bananas act as a prebiotic, stimulating the growth of friendly bacteria in the bowel. They also produce digestive enzymes to assist in absorbing nutrients.
12. Constipated? High fiber in bananas can help normalize bowel motility.
13. Got the runs? Bananas are soothing to the digestive tract and help restore lost electrolytes after diarrhoea.
14. Bananas are a natural antacid, providing relief from acid reflux, heartburn and GERD.
15. Bananas are the only raw fruit that can be consumed without distress to relieve stomach ulcers by coating the lining of the stomach against corrosive acids. 

Natural Cures From A Simple Banana

1. Eating bananas will help prevent kidney cancer, protects the eyes against macular degeneration and builds strong bones by increasing calcium absorption.
2. Bananas make you smarter and help with learning by making you more alert. Eat a banana before an exam to benefit from the high levels of potassium.
3. Bananas are high in antioxidants, providing protection from free radicals and chronic disease.
4. Eating a banana between meals helps stabilize blood sugar and reduce nausea from morning sickness.
5. Rub a bug bite or hives with the inside of the banana peel to relieve itching and irritation.
6. Control blood sugar and avoid binging between meals by eating a banana.
7. Eating a banana can lower the body temperature and cool you during a fever or on a hot day.
8. The natural mood-enhancer tryptophan, helps to relieve Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).
9. Quitting smoking? Bananas contain high levels of B-vitamins as well as potassium and magnesium to speed recovery from the effects of withdrawal.
10. Remove a wart by placing the inside of a piece of banana peel against the wart and taping it in place.
11. Rub the inside of a banana peel on your leather shoes or handbag and polish with a dry cloth for a quick shine.

Oh, and remember -- bananas make great snacks and delicious smoothies. 

Serves 1 Ingredients   ( use organic ingredients where possible)

1 banana (fresh or frozen)

1 tablespoon honey, or sugar

1 cup milk

Ice (optional)

Method

Place all ingredients in a blender. Blend on high speed for half a minute until you reach a smooth consistency. Enjoy! 
  
 I LOVE BANANA!

EATING RIGHT

EATING  RIGHT

BORING!! HEEHEE!!

This is a topic many people will not want to hear especially the young adults, as it was supposedly meant for aged and overweight people. This approach is wrong as healthy living concerns us all. This is a call for concern to everybody, as we often use this adage “a stitch in time saves nine”.

The earlier we begin to handle these issues, the less we deal this so many illnesses like diabetes, heart disease etc that is so common in our society as its also affects young adults.

Three of the four leading causes of death across the world today are related to diet. Two-thirds of adults all over the world are overweight or obese,including children, we clearly need help in understanding what it takes to lead healthier lives. But instead of depriving ourselves, we should aim for variety and balance in our diet. This is hardly new,but its worth restarting.

Eating right does not have to be boring, its all about eating the right food at the right time in other to maintain a great weight, increase metabolism and overall happiness.Eating right is important to staying at a healthy weight and keeping an energy balance—the balance between the calories in what you eat and drink, and calories you burn when moving.

The same amount of ENERGY IN (calories consumed) and ENERGY OUT 

(calories burned) over time = weight stays the same

More IN than OUT over time = weight gain

More OUT than IN over time = weight loss.

Numerous foods can affect the way we function throughout the day--mentally and physically. In fact, what we eat drives our daily performance, social interactions, and emotional well-being.

A good breakfast can improve your brain power and keep you motivated. A nice well prepared lunch and super dinner made with plenty fruits and vegetables can keep you well assured,drinking 3 to 4 liters of water per day keeps your body energized.

    Eating right and being physically active, are activities within your control.

Healthy choices begins with you, but they also may be influenced by your environment—where you live, your family's traditions and habits.

To lose weight, it's important to make lifestyle changes with a focus on reducing calories from food and beverages, a healthy eating plan, and portion control.Over time, these changes will become part of your everyday routine.

 Healthy eating is not about strict dietary limitations, staying unrealistically thin, or depriving yourself of the foods you love. Rather, it’s about feeling great, having more energy, improving your outlook, and stabilizing your mood.

Eating more fruits and vegetables, cooking meals at home, and reducing your fat and sugar intake, on the other hand, may help to improve mood and lower your risk for mental health problems

You have to make your new way of eating part of your life." "It can't be a 'diet' or you'll go off it." "The reason people regain weight is that they go back to their old way of eating."

How can you transition from a "diet" to a "way of eating?" Here are some tips to help you on this path.

1) Find the Right Amount of Carbohydrate for You

The idea of carb reduction is that eventually you will figure what carb level keeps you at your best - high energy, low hunger, lowest sustainable weight , stable blood glucose. Ideally, the amount of carbohydrate you eat will be low enough not to be flirting with the side effects of high-carb eating too often, but this is different for every person. 

Once you find your carb level and experience how good you feel when eating the correct amount of carbohydrate for your body (and how you don't feel so good when you are eating too much carbohydrate) you will be on the path to seeing low carb eating as "the way you eat" rather than "a diet.

2) Learn Simple Cooking Techniques

If your idea of cooking is "slaving in front of a stove", let's change that right now. So many delicious, healthy meals can be made in minutes if you have a few easy-to-learn cooking skills. Any chef will tell you that simple is often best. Learn how to make one food you really like, and get good at it - then add another, and another. Amaze your friends! Cooking can actually be a relaxing, creative activity if you get into the mood.

2) Make it About Health.

Health is more important than anything and has to be taken serious at all times.If you were allergic to wheat, you would learn to get along without it. In restaurants, you would get used to ignoring the bread basket, asking for no croutons, not ordering pasta, etc. Sure it would be hard - at first. But eventually, it would just be "the way you eat." You would know that this is just the way your body is. There are many medical conditions which force people to adjust their way of eating - permanently.

Embrace it and make a great turn round about your health and you will experience this great joy within.

3)Eat fruits and vegetables

Eating more fruit and veg is essential both for good health and to help us lose weight. Most fruits and vegetables are low in calories and fat, and high in fibre – three essential ingredients for successful weight loss. Most also contain plenty of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, all of which are important for helping us to look and feel our best and to protect us from disease.

4)Eat plenty of fiber

We often hear that we should get plenty of fiber to help with digestion, but fiber provides many other benefits as well.

Fiber helps to reduce the risk of heart disease by helping to lower cholesterol, lowering high blood pressure and preventing obesity. Soluble fiber, like that found in beans, barley and oats, helps to lower cholesterol by soaking up cholesterol-rich bile acids in the intestinal tract so they can be excreted.

5)Limit refined carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are necessary for your health, but not all carbs are equal. Healthy carbohydrate sources include whole grains, vegetables and fruits. You'll typically find unhealthy carbohydrates -- often called refined, bad, empty or simple carbs -- in pre-packaged meals and fast foods. The ingredients in these foods undergo heavy processing, which diminishes their health benefits.

6)Choose lean proteins.

Fortunately, not all animal foods that are high in protein are also high in saturated fats. "Keep your protein intake up and your saturated fat intake down by choosing lean protein sources like skinless white poultry, egg whites, fish, and low-fat dairy products

7)Choose fats wisely

Diabetes increases your chances of having a heart

attack or a stroke. But you can protect your

heart and blood vessels by choosing fats wisely.

Some kinds of fat, such as butter and shortening,

can increase your cholesterol and your chances

of heart disease. Other kinds, such as olive oil

and canola oil, protect your heart by lowering

your cholesterol levels.

Here i will draw the cotton. 

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First time blogging !!!......LOL