Bananas contain nutrients that moderate the blood sugar level in the body. It is rich in fiber, called pectin, which gives the flesh its structural form.
While unripe bananas contain resistant starch, which acts like soluble fiber (soluble fiber attracts water and turns to gel during digestion. This slows digestion) and it escapes digestion.
Both pectin and resistant starch may moderate blood sugar levels after meals, and reduce appetite by slowing stomach emptying.
Bananas have the tendency of improving digestion. The fiber content in banana has been linked to improved digestion. The two major fiber in banana is pectin and resistance starch. The former decrease as the banana ripens while the latter, is found in unripe bananas.
When resistant starch escapes the digestion, it ends up in our large intestine, where it becomes food for the beneficial gut bacteria (bacteria that are beneficial to the body and enhance health).
Bananas are very rich in potassium; potassium is a mineral that is essential for the heart’s health, especially in blood pressure control.
Diets rich in potassium can help lower blood pressure and people who eat food that has plenty of potassium, up to about 27 percent, lower risk of heart disease.
Bananas also contains dopamine, which acts as strong antioxidant instead of altering hormones or mood.
The green banana is estimated to have higher amount of soluble fiber. On the other hand, the yellow banana contains a lower amount of resistant starch and total fiber, which proportionally contains a higher amount of soluble fiber.
Meanwhile, both pectin and resistance starch have been shown to have appetite reducing effects and increase the feeling of fullness after meals.
