When to avoid bananas? Expert advice on peel colour and health
30 April 2024 11:19
Bananas are a delicious and nutrient-packed snack. Yet, not everyone knows that there are times when it's best to avoid this fruit, depending on the colour of its peel.
Bananas are a rich source of potassium, an element crucial for our diet. It aids in properly functioning the nervous system and helps maintain the body’s acid-base balance. However, a nutrition expert advises inspecting the fruit's peel before eating it.
If the banana peel is like this, avoid it at all costs
The peel of a banana provides insight into whether the fruit is ripe. A few brown spots indicate its ripeness, and bananas can be eaten without worry. Fruits in which the fermentation process has just started still contain many vitamins and minerals. Yet, the more ripe the fruit, the less fibre it has. The situation differs for unripe products.
As Prof. Sven-David Mueller, a nutrition expert, highlighted in FITBOOK magazine, consuming bananas with green peels might trigger digestive issues. Unripe bananas can contain toxic substances that are only neutralised when the fruit ripens.
The expert also advises against eating bananas that are brown inside, indicating that fermentation processes have commenced in the fruit.
Why should we eat bananas?
As mentioned, bananas are abundant in potassium. But that's not their only benefit. Bananas also contain minerals such as magnesium, phosphorus, calcium, and zinc, which support healthy skin, hair, and nails. Furthermore, they contain vitamins A, E, C, B6, and K.
