The banana tree is a herbaceous plant of the Musaceae family. It is grown in tropical regions for its yellow fruit: the banana. The banana is one of the favorite fruits of Europeans, its consumption is estimated at 12 kg per year per inhabitant. Its fame comes from its mild and sweet taste, combined with its soft texture. The banana has many nutritional benefits: it is rich in manganese, potassium, antioxidants and serotonin and dopamine are found in its flesh. Enough to give the Banana! Drying the banana concentrates its nutritional benefits. It therefore naturally contributes to muscle function and the restoration of blood pressure thanks to the potassium it contains. It regulates intestinal transit and reduces the absorption of cholesterol thanks to its fiber. Banana chips are convenient to transport and are rich in starch, which provides long-lasting energy: the ideal superfruit for athletes. Latin name: Latin name: Malus domestica Borkh. Botanical family: Musacceae. Part used: Fruit.
This article was updated on 26/06/2023Recommended consumption
Dried banana is a dried fruit. It therefore contains more sugar than a fresh banana, the daily consumption recommendations are defined. As a classic treatment or for pleasure, a portion of dried banana is estimated between 20 and 30 g per day, which represents 10 banana chips per day.
In what form ?
To make the most of their benefits, you can use them:
- Whole
- In pieces
At what time of the day ?
We advise you to use them during the following meal(s) to make the most of their benefits:
- Breakfast
- Lunch
- In case
- Dinner
What methods of use?
You can include them in the following preparations to make them easier to take:
- Dessert
- Yogurt, dairy
- Aperitif
- Alone
- Mixed with other dried fruits
- Muesli
Health nutrition benefits
Dried Bananas can complement your healthy and varied diet.
Metabolism
Thanks to fiber, dried bananas reduce the absorption of dietary cholesterol. This effect helps moderate cholesterol intake. As a result, dried banana helps prevent high cholesterol, to be included in a varied and balanced diet.
Digestive system
A diet that does not include enough fiber increases the risk of constipation (see our guide diet and constipation). Dried bananas are a good source of fiber, they regulate digestive transit.
Muscles and joints
Dried bananas are known for their richness in potassium. The latter is essential to the process of muscle contraction (see our guide muscle cramps and diet).
Cardiac system
Dried Bananas are naturally low in sodium and high in potassium. This mineral profile is ideal for regulating blood pressure.
Nutritional properties
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Antihypertensive (potassium): dried bananas provide little sodium and a lot of potassium. These two minerals form an essential tandem for the proper regulation of blood pressure: without excess sodium and with sufficient potassium, blood pressure tends to balance.
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Conditioner (starch): the energy of dried Bananas is carbohydrate. Carbohydrates provide energy to our body. The advantage with Bananas is that they are mainly composed of starch, a complex carbohydrate. Starch is absorbed more slowly, which provides long-term energy.
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Hypocholesterolemic (fiber): dried bananas help lower cholesterol levels. The fibers they contain reduce the absorption of cholesterol from food.
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Participating in muscular functioning (potassium): dried bananas contribute to muscle contraction.
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Regulator of intestinal transit (fiber): dried bananas contribute to the vacuity of digestive transit. They mainly contain soluble fiber. These form a gel on contact with water, which modulates the texture of the stools. In excess, fiber will make the stools heavier, which stimulates transit.
Nutritional values
| Nutritional elements | per 100g | for 25g | % of RDA* per 100 g | % of RDA* for 25 g |
| Energy (Kcal) | 561 | 140 | 28 | 7 |
| Energy (Kj) | 2337 | 584 | 28 | 7 |
| Lipids (g) | 33.6 | 8.4 | 48 | 12 |
| Saturated fatty acids (g) | 28.9 | 7.22 | 145 | 36 |
| Carbohydrates (g) | 58.4 | 14.6 | 22 | 6 |
| Including sugars (g) | 35.3 | 8.8 | 39 | 10 |
| Dietary fiber (g) | 7.7 | 1.92 | ||
| Protein (g) | 2.3 | 0.57 | 5 | 1 |
| Salt (g) | 0.01 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
*recommended daily allowance
Learn more about the plant: The Banana Tree
The banana tree is a herbaceous plant of the Musaceae family. You are not dreaming: a herbaceous plant! The banana tree is therefore not a tree: it does not have a trunk, but a stipe (a robust stem formed from several rolled leaves). This long grass is grown in tropical regions and can reach 10 m in height. Its record size allows it to take first place on the podium for “the largest grass in the world”.
The yellow flowers of the banana tree form inflorescences in clusters, which give way to the fruits: bananas. Banana trees are very productive, in 1 year and with adequate weather conditions, a banana tree can produce more than 300 Bananas. There are many varieties of banana trees divided into two large families based on the type of fruit they produce: sweet banana varieties and cooking banana varieties. Each family has its representative, which are respectively the Cavendish Banana and the Plantain Banana.
The future of the Cavendish Banana
The Cavendish Banana is today the subject of great concern about its future. This variety of Banana is the main variety of sweet Banana consumed in the world, if not the only one. Cavendish banana trees succumb one after the other due to two diseases caused by fungi: Mycosphaerella fijiensis and Fusarium Oxysporum. Moon (Fusarium Oxysprum) had already shown its power, by decimating a whole variety of Banana: Gros Michel, in just a few months.
Today, we are calling into question the monoculture of this variety and the overuse of pesticides, all leading to low genetic diversity. Therefore, Cavendish bananas have low resistance to environmental adaptations and disease outbreaks.
This impasse could, however, be circumvented by focusing on new varieties: polyculture. However, our society's need to obtain fruits of the same size, color, shape, etc. In short, uniform Bananas make the task more complicated than it seems. To be continued.
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Bibliography
Work : Auvinet, EA, Hirschauer, CH, & Meunier, ALM (nd). Food, nutrition and diets (French Edition). STUDYRAMA.
Website : From the field to the stall - Everything you need to know about the banana industry. (nd). The banana. https://labanane.info/la-banane/du-champ-a-letal/
Website : Banana: calories and nutritional composition. (nd). Aprifel. https://www.aprifel.com/fr/fiche-nutritionnelle/banana/