"Going Bananas !! "

"Bananas are good for your health, eat one everyday....", coaxed my papa.
We grew some banana, papaya, chiku, jambu, guava and rambutan trees in the
huge, fertile compound of our kampong house in Penang. Ever so often, my
relatives from Taiping, Perak, would bring tons of bananas and other fruits
which we happily distributed to some of our neighbours. Ever so often, on
weekends, we would climb the hill to my uncle's fruit ochard, and happily had
a feast of durians, and all the other seasonal fruits.

Hence, it should not be surprising that when marketing, I am more inclined
to buy more fruits than meat!! I literally grew up on a fruit diet!!

My best friend, Choon, recently sent me an interesting email on bananas
which I would like to share with readers with the hope that ater reading,
my dear readers would be convinced to take more fruits. I bet, you will
NEVER look at a banana in the same way again.

Stay pretty, stay handsome and stay healthy!! :-)

FACTS ABOUT BANANAS

Bananas. Containing 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 condition! s,
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 haemoglobin 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 the 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
pressure and stroke.

Brain Power: 200 students at a Twickenham (Middlesex)
school 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 banana! s 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 of comfort
food like chocolate and
crisps. 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-chronicler
cases. 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.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): Bananas can help
SAD sufferers because
they contain the natural mood enhancer tryptophan.

>Smoking: Ba! nanas can also help people trying to give
up smoking. The B6, B12
they contain, as well as the potassium and magnesium
found in them, help
the body recover from the effects of nicotine
withdrawal.

Stress: Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps
normalize the heartbeat,
sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body's
water balance. When we
are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby
reducing our potassium
levels. These can be rebalanced with the help of a
high-potassium banana snack.

Strokes: According to research in "The New England
Journal of Medicine,
"eating bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the
risk of death by
strokes by as much as 40%!

Warts: Those keen on natural alternatives swear that
if you want to kill off
a wart, take a piece of banana skin and place it on
the wart, with the
yellow side out. Carefully hold the skin in place w!
ith a plaster or surgical tape!

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!"



PS Bananas must be the reason monkeys are so happy all
the time! Also probably, why I grew up a happy and contented
child!!