10 Surprising Raw Banana Benefits You May Not Know

Green bananas might sound a little exotic, but they are just regular bananas with numerous health benefits. Many people only eat bananas after they are ripe and yellow, but unripe bananas can also be eaten. They make amazing dishes and are an interesting food item to experiment with inside your kitchen. Unlike ripe bananas, you can consume green bananas only after they are processed, either by frying, sautéing, or boiling. However, fried, raw bananas have excess calories as they are fried. So, consuming boiled or stir-fried raw bananas are better for your health. You could use them in curries or gravies.

Nutritional Value of Unripe Banana

Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana#Nutrition

10 Amazing Benefits of Green Bananas

Here are some amazing health benefits of raw bananas.

1. Improve Nutrient Absorption

When you include unripe bananas in your diet, there will be an improvement in the health of your colon because of the short-chain fatty acids present in these bananas. This type of fatty acid is known to improve the body’s ability to absorb nutrients, especially calcium.

2. Regulate Blood Pressure

Unripe bananas have a high content of potassium. Potassium is a very important mineral needed for better muscle movement, proper functioning of nerves, and purifying of blood by the kidneys. This mineral acts as a vasodilator, which means that this mineral can lower the strain or tension on the arteries and blood vessels. Green bananas help prevent conditions related to the heart like strokes and heart attacks.

3. Promote Development of Probiotic Bacteria

These bacteria are specifically good for your gut. Unripe bananas are one of the best foods for friendly and good bacteria. These bacteria live in the intestines, and when you consume green bananas, you will be able to achieve a healthier digestive tract and stomach.

4. Help Digestion

Green bananas contain high levels of resistant starch, and this makes them really good for the process of digestion. These bananas contain dietary fibre which helps prevent problems like constipation and bloating when you eat them in moderate levels. They also help to improve the functioning of bowel movements and the digestive tract.

5. Prevent and Treat Diarrhoea

Green bananas can prevent and treat diarrhoea. This problem is caused by a virus, bacteria, or parasitic infection and when green bananas are consumed, they help fight off the germs causing the infection. Unripe bananas can also help prevent the symptoms of diarrhoea which are nausea, headache, abdominal cramps, fatigue, etc. You should cook these bananas before consuming.

6. Improve Metabolism

Green bananas are rich in essential nutrients and minerals which optimise metabolism by giving the body a stable, and complex carbohydrate base. Unripe bananas can also help speed up the process of burning calories in the body which will boost your metabolism.

7. Weight Loss

When green bananas are added to the diet, they help lose excess fat present in the body. This is because the bananas contain resistant starch that keeps the stomach full. When the body has this type of resistant starch, it will block the excess carbohydrate consumption and thus promotes healthy loss of weight.

8. Important for Healthy Hair and Skin

Green bananas are rich in vitamins. Raw bananas are especially rich in Vitamin B6, and Vitamin C. Vitamin C is important for healthy hair and skin. It helps boost the immune system and protects your body from any damage caused by free radicals. Vitamin B6 is responsible for the conversion of food into useful energy. It is good for the health of your heart and helps improve the functions of the brain. Vitamin B6 is needed for the formation of haemoglobin and helps in blood sugar control.

9. Good for Diabetes

Raw bananas are great for diabetes because the sugar content in raw bananas is very low. It keeps the digestive system healthy since it has a glycaemic content that is less than 55. Foods that have less glycaemic content help by preventing the rapid spike of sugar levels.

10. Support Proper Kidney Functioning

Raw bananas help maintain the health of the kidneys. These bananas help in maintaining the electrolytic balance of the body and support the proper and healthy functioning of kidneys. Regular consumption of raw bananas will help prevent kidney problems and even kidney cancer.

FAQs

Here we answer a couple of questions about raw bananas:

1. Does Carbs Composition Change When Green Bananas Ripen?

Yes, the composition of carbs changes as the banana ripens.

2. Yellow Banana vs Green Banana – What’s the Difference?

Green bananas are usually harvested when they are still raw. Other than the difference in colour, they differ in:

• Texture: Yellow bananas are not firm when compared to green ones. Green bananas can sometimes be waxy.
• Taste: Green bananas are not sweet. They have a bitter taste.
• Composition: Higher starch content is present in green bananas. The starch transforms into sugar when the bananas turn ripe and yellow.

Green bananas also have a longer shelf life. Therefore, storing them without refrigeration is easy. You can get the ones that have green and fresh skin without any other discolouration, dark spots, or bruises. If you don’t want them to ripen very quickly, you can separate each banana, wrap the stems with aluminium foil, and keep them in an airtight container before refrigerating them.