Weird Fruits: Red Bananas

Food 3 Minutes

I came across this article on healthline.com on red bananas—their benefits, similarities and differences from yellow bananas.

From healthline.com:

Red bananas are rich in antioxidants, vitamin C, and vitamin B6. They offer a low-calorie but high-fiber addition to meals, snacks, and desserts. Nutrients in red bananas may contribute to improved heart and digestive health when eaten as part of an overall healthy diet.

There are over 1,000 different varieties of bananas around the world. Red bananas are a subgroup of bananas from Southeast Asia with red skin. They’re soft and have a sweet flavor when ripe. Some people say they taste like a regular banana — but with a hint of raspberry sweetness. They’re often used in desserts but pair well with savory dishes, too. Red bananas provide many essential nutrients and may benefit your immune system, heart health, and digestion.

Here are 7 benefits of red bananas — and how they differ from yellow ones.

Contain Many Important Nutrients

Like yellow bananas, red bananas provide essential nutrients. They’re particularly rich in potassium, vitamin C, and vitamin B6 and contain a fair amount of fiber.  A small red banana only has about 90 calories and consists mostly of water and carbs. The high amounts of vitamin B6, magnesium, and vitamin C make this banana variety particularly nutrient dense.

May Lower Blood Pressure

Potassium is a mineral essential for heart health due to its role in regulating blood pressure.  Red bananas are rich in potassium — with one small fruit providing 9% of the RDI. Research shows that eating more potassium-rich foods may help reduce blood pressure.

Support Eye Health

Red bananas contain carotenoids — pigments that give the fruits their reddish peel.  Lutein and beta carotene are two carotenoids in red bananas that support eye health.

Rich in Antioxidants

Like most other fruits and vegetables, red bananas contain powerful antioxidants. In fact, they provide higher amounts of some antioxidants than yellow bananas. Antioxidants are compounds that prevent cellular damage caused by molecules called free radicals. Excessive free radicals in your body may lead to an imbalance known as oxidative stress, which is linked to conditions like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.

 May Support Your Immune System

Red bananas are rich in vitamins C and B6. These nutrients are essential for a healthy immune system. One small red banana provides 9% and 28% of the RDIs for vitamins C and B6, respectively. Vitamin C boosts immunity by strengthening the cells of your immune system.

May Improve Digestive Health

Red bananas support your digestive system in many ways.

Contain Prebiotics

Prebiotics are a type of fiber that feeds your beneficial gut bacteria. Like yellow bananas, red bananas are a great source of prebiotic fiber.

Good Source of Fiber

One small red banana provides 3 grams of fiber — about 10% of the RDI for this nutrient.

Delicious and Easy to Add to Your Diet

In addition to their health benefits, red bananas are delicious and easy to eat. They’re an extremely convenient and portable snack. Due to their sweet taste, red bananas also offer a healthy way to naturally sweeten a recipe. Red bananas are also a great addition to recipes for muffins, pancakes, and homemade bread.

Red vs. Yellow Bananas

Red bananas are fairly similar to their yellow counterparts. They’re both good sources of dietary fiber and provide similarly high in calories and carbs. Though red bananas are sweeter, they have a lower GI score than yellow bananas. The GI is a scale from 0 to 100 which measures how quickly foods increase blood sugar levels. Lower GI scores indicate a slower absorption into the blood. Yellow bananas have an average GI score of 51, while red bananas score lower on the scale at roughly 45.

The Bottom Line

Red bananas are a unique fruit that provides many health benefits. They’re rich in antioxidants, vitamin C, and vitamin B6. They offer a low-calorie but high-fiber addition to meals, snacks, and nourishing desserts. Among other things, the nutrients in red bananas may contribute to improved heart and digestive health when eaten as part of an overall healthy diet.

SOURCE: HEALTHLINE.COM

Unknown's avatar

Published by pat frederick

Published

147 thoughts on “Weird Fruits: Red Bananas”

  1. BREAKING: “Albany police officials declined to notify the public last month about abductions and rǎpe of a 15-year-old girl by a Turkish illegal alien.

    Sakir Akkan, a 21 year-old Turkish migrant who was arrested seven months ago by U.S. Border Patrol agents in San Diego after he crossed the southern border illegally into the United States but was released after.

    The 15 year-old victim told police that she left a residential group home without authorization and while walking Akkan, whom she was later able to identify from a photo lineup, drove up to her in a car, got out and threatened to hit her with the metal pipe if she didn’t follow his orders to get in the back seat. Then, Akkan drove her to secluded area where he râpe her.

    The suspect was taken into custody on June 18 and charged with first-degree rapè.”

    Like

        1. Some of them were from X – maybe it was those that won’t show? Sometimes WP won’t take them at all but I persevere and usually get it to post.

          Liked by 1 person

        1. I’m happy – I just had a late cajun lunch – Red/Black beans with peppers and onions, Okra and Tomatoes with peppers and onions, Brown rice and Smoked sausage from my home town.
          I’ll have Sally Q duty this weekend and all next week until Monday, July 8! It’s her aide’s annual vacation!
          I’ll take the leftovers to eat this weekend and next week.
          Sally’s doing well. I read some articles about her behavior being caused by degeneration of the cerebellum – which is what causes ataxia: imbalance and loss of control. This disease is a multi-prong devil – diabetes, heart disease, hearing and vision problems, and more.

          Liked by 2 people

  9. Jason/wife were here – mowed and did the weed eating. I asked her to be sure and do around the cantaloupe bed and when I checked it, I was thrilled! One of my plants has a flower blooming on it, with a bud next to it for a second bloom already!!! They are all doing really well! Up to 91 now – jelly feeder finally needed a refill so they’re back at it. There’s a nice breeze but it’s too warm not to run the a/c. Supposed to cool down but we’ll see. I have to adjust the predictions because they always get it wrong as far as the high temp – they’re showing a high of 81 today! LOL

    Liked by 2 people

  10. we are getting the start of severe thunderstorms. sky is black and thunder is increasing. may lose internet again.

    we just drove into town to call animal control (about an hour and a half away) to see if they can fix what we’re sure is a bat situation. shudder. we’ve always had some bat poop on the front deck where the cathedral windows are–we figured the bats were getting any mosquitos. BUT in the last 2 days I found a few little droppings INSIDE the door. at first i thought i might have brought it inside on my shoes when i went out to hang the feeders. but i just found some this afternoon. hubby suspects they are on the ridge vent in the ceiling (no attic on the front half of the house and the back half where our bedroom is, there’s no attic either we walled that up when we built it.)

    the place we called is licensed by PA Game Commission and he would try to remove them without harming them–fair enough just get them out of my house! here’s the kicker–the guy hates metal roofs and suggested we’re gonna need to get a roofer in here to remove the ridge vent while he’s here. sounds really expensive but we gotta do it AND probably rent a bucket truck type lift to get him up tp the roof vent. sigh… wooded life

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Oh, yeah – bats need to be eliminated, no doubt about that! We had one once in a brick TH we rented when HB’s Dad and I first got married. It had come from the attic and we only saw it once in the year we lived there.

      Hang onto your hats! Don’t get blown away!!!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. they are supposed to be protected here so they will definitely not try to kill them. which is okay. we have a bat house–bought especially for them. hung it up for a year–never had a bat in it. when we took it down it was pristine.

        Liked by 1 person

        1. ROFL – typical!!! I have an old wooden bat house that was my Mom’s – it is attached to the cottonwood tree – and I’ve also never seen a bat in or near it!!!

          Liked by 1 person

  12. Patience

    Patience

    June 26, 2024 4:26 pm

    ScottPresler

    @ScottPresler
    5h
    ·
    ·
    President Trump, this is very important for the debate on Thursday night:

    Any time Joe Biden tries to talk about women, mention names of American daughters that were murdered by illegal aliens under his watch.

    Joe Biden doesn’t care about women or he would secure the border.

    Liked by 1 person

  18. Yeah, yeah, yeah….same old/same old!!! Let’s see it actually pass!!

    Just The News: “The House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to block Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’s salary, as part of a larger appropriations bill for the Department of Homeland Security.

    The amendment to withhold the salary was introduced by Rep. Andy Biggs from Arizona, and passed in a 193 to 173 vote, per Fox News. Only one Republican voted against the amendment. 

    “Taxpayers should not be paying an unelected bureaucrat who was impeached by the House. That’s why I sponsored an amendment to this year’s Homeland Security Appropriations Act to prohibit funding to be used for the salary of DHS Secretary Mayorkas,” Biggs wrote on X before the vote.”

    Like

Comments are closed.