A banana a day could help anxiety and depression

My friend sent me this so I thought I'd share:

A professor at CCNY for a physiological psych class told his class about bananas. He said the expression "going bananas" is from the effects of bananas on the brain. Read on:

Never, put your banana in the refrigerator!!!
This is interesting.
After reading this, you'll never look at a banana in the same way again...

Bananas contain three natural sugars - sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fibre. 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 conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet...
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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 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.
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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 fibre, including bananas 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 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!"

Just off to shop to stock up did not know about the heartburn cure will try that Thanks

i have eaten 1 a day for 2 years

Bananas can have many benefits for the physical wellbeing in more ways than one for both sexes! Not sayng anything more except I just love "eating" them!:winks:

blinkin eck, I can eat 3 a day on a really healthy day, its not given me any happy hormones!

Ive heard about this and love bananas but the enzyme in them gives me belly ache unfortunately (only happened after swopping dairy for soya products bizarrely) so had to give them up and now take Vitamin B as a pill instead...shame.

GH xx

I quit smoking in November last year. Bananas helped me go through the nicotine withdrawal. Whenever I feel the urge to smoke I just pull a banana from a bunch and eat it. I always bring a bunch in my office. Finishing a whole bunch really does makes me happier. I didn't know why then, but I understand why now.

That is fantastic ..according to your information ,I should be the healthiest and happiest person on the face of the planet..I have eaten at least one banana a day for over 40 years and sometimes as many as four and five. I love banana pudding.I eat banana creme pies ,banana nut bread and also banana cookies . I used to drink banana shakes when some places like Mcdonalds and Wendys and Sonic had them but they don't anymore.. I love to eat ice cream with banana slices..So according to you .. I should be 100 percent A OK.. My cousin eats six a day and my 84 year old father in law would eat as many as he can get mostly a dozen or so everyday .. he lives in the Philippines.. This is marvelous, Ill have to put this in my information collection.. This study must have just came out because there has been a run on bananas here lately.. Anyway a big THANK YOU ..for this.. Michael

wow great info, thanks. only problem i have not eaten a banana for 9 years since i was pregnant with my first daughter and the thought of eating one makes me want to heave lol.

also i went for a food allergy test few months ago which picked up i should not eat bananas so feel like im in a catch 22 situation now, so any advice?

Bananas contain 0.01grams of tryptophan per 100g's, Egg's contain 10x more.

The tryptophan content in bananas is insignificant.

Only egg white dried though

I highly recommend bananas.

Didn't know about the mental health benefit, but they were brill when I had gastritis and an ulcer. one of the few things I could tolerate. Also help my IBS a lot.:)

I have frozen banana with carob,nice on a hot day:D

Could I have a link to where you got this information from, please?

I just googled "foods high in tryptophan"

I meant a link from the original post. I tried googling a few things and came across a '30 Banana a Day' diet plan, which made interesting (and amusing) reading.

But searching 'Trytophan' gives a lot of promising evidence that it could be act as an AD alone. As I'm not a fan of bananas I'll start eating more chocolate and cod :D

Bananas are so yummy.
I eat at least one a day. Most days two.

The original post was done back in 2010

Ah, I didn't see that! Well spotted.

Yes, bananas is really good for you. I take it almost everyday....you should try it too.:D