Going Bananas
The world’s most popular fruit – bananas – might seem like a common, everyday item you’ve eaten time and time again. However, the banana back-story is far from boring. This tropical treat is a big business with far-reaching political, economic and environmental implications, both past and present. So the next time you peel back a ripe, yellow banana, consider some of these fascinating facts.
An Important Staple
Bananas represent the fourth most important staple crop in the world, following rice, wheat, and corn – enough are grown each year that each banana could be placed end to end and circle the earth more than two thousand times. In many tropical countries, various types of bananas, including plantains, play an important role in the typical diet as well as the local economy, through exports. Over the years, this lucrative business has been responsible for political conflicts and military interventions, particularly in Central America.
What Happened to the Seeds?
While they are commonly called “banana trees”, bananas actually are not trees at all, but the largest flowering herb in the world. The plant’s large green leaves wrap around each other, forming what looks like a trunk, that supports a stem and the banana fruits, which appear to grow upside down in bunches.
Bananas are native to Southeast Asia, where they were likely one of the oldest cultivated plants. There, over hundreds (perhaps thousands) of years, inedible wild bananas were selectively bred and crossed with different species to produce the sweet fruit we know today. As you may have noticed, bananas are essentially seedless. Hard and dry wild bananas – also called monkey bananas – are full of large seeds which were removed as part of the domestication process. The sterile mutant bananas we now enjoy no longer need their seeds for reproduction as they are grown from clippings, meaning banana plants all over the world are nearly perfect genetic copies of each other.
The Disease Threat
Most of us are really only familiar with one type of banana - the Cavendish dessert banana, which accounts for 99% of bananas sold in the US and Europe. Unfortunately, since domesticated bananas are essentially clones, lacking genetic diversity, they are vulnerable to disease. It’s possible the Cavendish will need to be replaced with another type of banana in the coming years, just as the Gros Michel type was phased out in favor of the Cavendish in 1960, following an outbreak of Panama disease.
Since bananas are highly susceptible to disease, a large number of herbicides, pesticides, and other agrochemicals are used in conventional production. After cotton, bananas are the second-most sprayed crop in the world and many banana plantations are reported to spend more on chemicals than on labor. Luckily, the banana peel protects us from this chemical cocktail, though plantation workers and others living nearby are less lucky since many are sprayed aerially.
Despite all these slippery issues, the world’s most popular fruit remains a highly-nutritious food, delicious on its own as a quick snack, or dried, grilled, baked, frozen, and combined in countless different ways.
Your thoughts…
Are you bananas for bananas?
Calorie Count co-founder Erik Fantasia and his girlfriend, Heather Curtis, are currently traveling through Central America as part of a trip around the world. You can follow their adventures online with Facebook and their blog.
Comments
Huh, I didn't know they had seeds, or were herbs. Neat :D I'm eating one right now.
Ooh good to know. I usually eat at least one a day, I LOVE them! I actually hated bananas before I lost weight, but after my weight change I found my palate had changed completely because I associated a lot of food with the reasons for being overweight, which meant I had to try new foods in order to get my nutririon. Berries and bananas were my best finds!
I've loved bananas my whole life and love to just eat them as is but I also them in just about any cereal as well as oatmeal. When I was little, my mother would give me a bowl of just cut up bananas in bowl of milk for a snack. And banana sandwiches? Yummy! Only difference is now I don't slather on the mayo like I used to. I'm more health conscience but I don't have to completely cut out the mayo, just cut it back. Way back. I found that a tablespoon spread across two pieces of bread are just as flavorful as the slather I used to love so much. If you haven't tried a banana sandwich, try it. And I sure didn't know they were herbs either. Fascinating.
I love bananas, theyre my food of choice right after a workout. I also like to take a small whole wheat or multi-grain wrap, spreading a tbsp of natural peanut butter on it and then wrapping it all around a banana. My version of a peanut butter and banana sandwich. YUMMY!!!
I love bananas but they do something weird to my glycemic index I think they are too sweet or something
about an hour later I get real hungry and shakey
Bananas are a favorite. Not coming from a tree and being an herb, I had no idea. Very interesting. Thanks.
Just the place to explain how to chop a banana. Hold the unpeeled banana in one hand with the curved side down and the stem side to you(pointy side away). With a sharp knife, cut off the very pointy end.Then starting at the cut off end, halve the unpeeled banana lenghthwise though the skin and about 1/2 way through the banana. Open up the skin slightly if it doesnt't open by itself. Over a bowl, chop crosswise from pointy end, still holding the banana in one hand inside the peel. The pieces will fall into the bowl, but you'll notice that all the strings stay with the peel and you can easily cut brown spots out to have a perfect pile of peeled bananas. You can make a 2nd lenthwise cut before chopping to have even smaller pieces. I would suspect the first cut, all the way through would be the origin of "banana split" as it perfectly splits the banana.
You can make ICE CREAM with a frozen banana. Just let the banana get really ripe - peel it - and freeze it over night. The next day chop it up and put it in a food processor with 1.5 tbsp of cocoa powder and a splash of almond milk. Now blend it up! It's the most amazing softserve ice cream. I didn't believe it until I tried it.
I live in Thailand where there are many varieties of banana. The most delcious is grown in Kamphaeng Phet province where they grow egg bananas. Small - hence the name - and have an egg banana festival every year. If you ever have the opportunity to get some do it!
I love bananas! Every year on January 8th, in honor of Elvis Presley's birthday, and August 16, in honor of his death, i make his famous peanut butter and banana sandwich.
Here you go:
2 slices toasted white bread
One banana
Peanut butter (spread it to your liking)
Real butter
Elvis' cook, Mary Jenkins Langston, would melt an entire stick of margarine and fry the sandwich in the margarine. To keep from ingesting that much margarine, I adapted the recipe. After making the sandwich, I spread some real butter on one side of the sandwich in heat it in the microwave approximately 15 seconds, turn it over, and spread butter on the other side and microwave approximately 15 seconds. The sandwich is hot, has a nice hint of the butter, void of the hydrogenated margarine, and most importantly yummy!
I treat bananas as more of a dessert since they contain a lot of starch and plenty of sugar. There's a reason why they are called the Cavendish dessert banana! But, I have read a banana after a work out is great for restoring glycogen to the muscles so they can repair themselves. Also, I usually buy organic but I'm wondering if it doesn't matter since apparently the peel keeps out the chemicals?
Original Post by: ninavYou can make ICE CREAM with a frozen banana. Just let the banana get really ripe - peel it - and freeze it over night. The next day chop it up and put it in a food processor with 1.5 tbsp of cocoa powder and a splash of almond milk. Now blend it up! It's the most amazing softserve ice cream. I didn't believe it until I tried it.
I will try this! I like them frozen and have substituted them for ice cream without the coca powder and milk.
Original Post by: karibeth70I love bananas, theyre my food of choice right after a workout. I also like to take a small whole wheat or multi-grain wrap, spreading a tbsp of natural peanut butter on it and then wrapping it all around a banana. My version of a peanut butter and banana sandwich. YUMMY!!!
Peanut butter & banana wrap! One of may favorite treats....you just can't beat pb&b!
I love bananas but now I am very upset about the people living under the banana trees and getting sprayed with pesticides so we can enjoy our bananas! EGADS!
I love bananas too, but i my problem is i only like them when they are at a certain level of ripeness, as soon as they get to ripe i can no longer stand eating them and it puts me off.
Does anyone have any suggestions what i can make that is healthy with my ripened bananas so that i do not waste them?
Bananas are one of my favorite foods to eat. I'm still trying to get my wife to like them though (she won't kiss me for at least an hour after I've eaten one). They're great for energy, relaxation, and for upset stomachs. They're perfect in desserts too.
There's this old drive-in burger place down the street from our house that makes homemade all natural banana milkshakes. One of the tastiest things I've ever put in my mouth.
There's also this Thai restaurant that takes mashed bananas, brown sugar and cinnamon and fries it in phylo dough then tops it with peanut butter and honey. A total calorie bomb to be sure but a great treat after a long run.
Oh I love Bananas! If you love banana muffins, try making Banana Chipper muffins. Totally healthy & good food combining! I altered it a bit for muffins:
Ingredients:
3 large ripe bananas
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup safflower oil
3/4 cup almond or soy milk
1 cup FruitSource (date sugar)
2 Tbsp soy powder
1 1/2 cup oat flour
1/2 cup soy flour
1 cup oat bran
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1/8 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 carob chips (or chocolate chips!)
Directions:
1. Mash bananas with a potato masher until it's as liquid goo as possible, add the rest of the wet ingredients.
2. Combine dry ingredients except chips in a large bowl. Add liquid ingredients and stir in the chips.
3. Drop by large tablespoon heaps into each muffin mold. Bake for 35 min at 350 or until lightly browned
Original Post by: jez86ukI love bananas too, but i my problem is i only like them when they are at a certain level of ripeness, as soon as they get to ripe i can no longer stand eating them and it puts me off.
Does anyone have any suggestions what i can make that is healthy with my ripened bananas so that i do not waste them?
banana bread, bananam muffins, yogurt smoothie. When they are good and ripe like that no sweetner is needed for a yogurt fruit smoothie.
1 cup Yogurt, 1/2 cup frozen strawberries or any berries you have and 1/2 a bannana. I like to add a packet of emergen-C and a 1/2 cup of iced green tea. great healthy breakfast or snack!
I have a banana most days after a workout in a high quality whey/isolate protein shake after a workout. I realize it's excellent nutrient value, but they are very high in carbs. I work out regularly, but having trouble dropping pounds and believe this is a contributing factor. I wonder if I should avoid them until I can drop some weight so it makes it easier.
Does anyone else experience this?
I started eating bananas because I needed more potassium in my diet. I have high blood pressure and this fruit is becoming more important to me to control my electrolyte levels. They are also a good source of fiber.
Also, thanks for the political babble. I didn't know that George Soros and Michael Moore owned the caloriecount site.
Great job!
Being from the Bahamas, bananas are a part of our diet! I live in California right now and consume a banana every day in my Shakeology. Bananas are also great in smoothies if you slice them up and freeze hem beforehand.
I love banana, well, who doesn't! And because it's so sweet it can totally repalce that calorie packed dessert at the end of your meal. But hearing how much they spray pesticides on them really make me cringe...
i like bananas too. i use ripened bananas to make banana nut bread which my whole family loves. i also love to chop a banana into my cream of wheat for breakfast in the winter.
shariedd, it's still good to get organic becuase the chemicals get on the ground then into the ground when it rains or when they water the plants, then are soaked into the roots along with the water & are actually in the fruit. you can't "wash it off" like some people think & the peel certainly doesn't protect the fruit. the chemicals contaminate it inside & out. so yeah, stick with the organic if you can.
Great article on bananas that I had no clue about. However I must ask. I understand the skin protects the inside from absorbing all those pesticides but if the pesticides are sprayed from airplanes doesnt the stuff get on the ground where the roots absorb most of it? ick.
"Since bananas are highly susceptible to disease, a large number of herbicides, pesticides, and other agrochemicals are used in conventional production. After cotton, bananas are the second-most sprayed crop in the world and many banana plantations are reported to spend more on chemicals than on labor. Luckily, the banana peel protects us from this chemical cocktail, though plantation workers and others living nearby are less lucky since many are sprayed aerially."
I never knew this. It is a good reason to buy organically grown bananas. I was trying to save a few pennies by buying conventional (as they call them - which is a ridiculous label - why not just call them pesticide-laden) bananas since we don't eat the skin and it's so thick, but now I think I will pay the extra $$. Support the workers and discourage conventionally (pesticide-laden) grown produce.
The other thing is if you want to buy conventionally grown produce, even with bananas, you should wash then before you peel them to remove dirt, germs, pesticides that remain on the peel. Otherwise you handle the peel and then transfer that to the fruit you are eating.
My son and I both eat a banana every day as part of our breakfast. It's such a treat!
"Bananas are native to Southeast Asia, where they were likely one of the oldest cultivated plants. There, over hundreds (perhaps thousands) of years, inedible wild bananas were selectively bred and crossed with different species to produce the sweet fruit we know today. As you may have noticed, bananas are essentially seedless. Hard and dry wild bananas – also called monkey bananas – are full of large seeds which were removed as part of the domestication process. The sterile mutant bananas we now enjoy no longer need their seeds for reproduction as they are grown from clippings, meaning banana plants all over the world are nearly perfect genetic copies of each other."
This is interesting information. There was a forum question recently that raised the issue of lab engineered foods in the context of meat. There were several responses that discussed the positives and negatives of genetically engineered foods versus other methods of creating pest or disease resistant foods.
I had no idea that bananas as we know them today were altered in this way. Something I would like to learn more about!
I love bananas as well but when visiting Costa Rica, I learned that there is a serious side to the growing of bananas and the possible damage to other creatures depending on how the bananas are grown. They "bag" bananas with mesh (while still on the tree, if I understood correctly) that sometimes finds its way into the water and can be very deadly to creatures like sea turtles as they get caught in the mesh It is worth learning more in order to be a well informed consumer ...
Love me some bananas. In order to eat them regularly without gaining weight I usually buy the smallest sized bananas or cut it in half and use the rest later. This helps me regulate the intake better.
I remember a story my mom told me. When she was a little girl in the thirties on the Canadian prairies, an uncle brought her a banana, which was very exotic at that time. She tried it and tought it was the mushiest, most awful thing she'd ever eaten, but ate it anyway because it was such a rare thing.
Later in life as an adult, she ate a banana every day!
I love bananas. I noticed that for awhile after surgery i would be given potassium supplements then switched to bananas. When i get a potassium drop my legs and feet cramp easily so i know i need to eat more potassium and thats an easy fix with bananas.
I love BANANAS TOO!!!
Below are all the awesome reasons and benefits for eating bananas:
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.
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 (Middlesex) 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.
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-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 &Tobacco Use: Bananas 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 with 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!"
I just moved and arrived in Thailand today. My company that I'm working for provided a fruit basket...full of the BEST bananas I've ever had. Right after eating two, I sat down to enter my calories and saw this article :)
Original Post by: zzluckyladyBananas are a favorite. Not coming from a tree and being an herb, I had no idea. Very interesting. Thanks.
you should tell your doctor, bananas are loaded with potasium and may upset your system
I used to eat bananas all the time... Now I can't stand them. I can eat half of one before getting grossed out by the mushy texture. Same with yogurt and pudding.
I don't love bananas, but I will have one from time to time. And as a grocery store cashier I can almost say EVERYONE buys bananas. At the end of the night, the produce area has very little left.
LOVE Bananas!I had no idea bananas are essentially "clones." I also had no idea that our yummy bananas are "made" to be sweet, that makes me want to try the real thing. What a great article!
Thanks to edlipton for the soft serve treat recipe! Definitely going to try that.
Original Post by: ninavYou can make ICE CREAM with a frozen banana. Just let the banana get really ripe - peel it - and freeze it over night. The next day chop it up and put it in a food processor with 1.5 tbsp of cocoa powder and a splash of almond milk. Now blend it up! It's the most amazing softserve ice cream. I didn't believe it until I tried it.
can you use skim milk instead of almond milk?
I love bananas but not when they get too ripe. Everyone tells me NOT to put them in the refrigerator, but when I ask why no one knows! Can someone tell me why they are not supposed to be refrigerated (they keep much longer that way).
Original Post by: honeybee47Original Post by: ninavYou can make ICE CREAM with a frozen banana. Just let the banana get really ripe - peel it - and freeze it over night. The next day chop it up and put it in a food processor with 1.5 tbsp of cocoa powder and a splash of almond milk. Now blend it up! It's the most amazing softserve ice cream. I didn't believe it until I tried it.
can you use skim milk instead of almond milk?
You can use skim, almond milk is just for the vegan/raw version. Although, it is way more delicious than cow's milk.
Like everyone, I love bananas. They are the magic fruit that everyone always has in their kitchen.
Yet I don't eat bananas like putting it in cereal or smoothies.
I just go ahead & stick it through a wooden stick to put it in the freezer.
Gosh, I LOVE my frozen bananas soo much! I got my friends into frozen bananas because every time they come over there are always frozen bananas.
When it's breakfast I just eat the frozen banana as it is with a cup of hot chocolate but when I want it as dessert I pour some fat free reddi-whip in a bowl & dunk the banana in the whip cream.
It's heaven <3
I love bananas i have 9 plants in my back yeard the they are all growing the fruit now
I love bananas i have 9 plants in my back yard the they are all growing the fruit now
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I absolutely LOVE bananase! I have it every day for breakfast... I'd have one piece of weetbix, a 1/2 cup of multi-grain whole wheat cereal, 240mL of non-fat milk AND (my favourite bit) I cut up one banana into the bowl every morning. I used to eat my cereal with full cream milk AND loads of sugar... now bananas more than make up for the no sugar as it is sweet and I love the texture.
I have that with a mug of black, strong coffee (no sugar) and some water... Been having the same thing every morning for over a year now and you know what? I'm nowhere near getting tired of it! Perfect start to my day. :D Sometimes I smile just as I fall asleep thinking of breakfast lol I'm bananas aren't I? ;o)