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Cavendish - The most common type of banana accounts for around 85% of total bananas sold in Australia. Generally large in size though smaller varieties also available. Its a dessert banana, so it's ready to eat when bright yellow (that's when its starch has been converted to sugar and it tastes sweet). It can be eaten fresh, cooked or dried and is therefore one of the most versatile of all fruit.
Lady Finger - smaller and sweet tasting. Ideal for salads as it doesn't brown when cut. Needs to be eaten fully ripe, i.e. when yellow with black flecks. [Brochure] [Recipe]
Plantain - Plantain - Large cooking banana, green thick skin, starchy flesh. Used by some Asian/African/Pacific cultures as a starch replacement instead of potatoes and rice. Growing in popularity in Australia owing to our increasingly diverse cultural mix.
Red Dacca - Large cooking banana, purple-red coloured thick skin, starchy flesh.
Gold Finger - New banana variety now grown in Northern NSW and Southeast Queensland. Looks like a Cavendish, tastes like a Lady Finger. Won't brown when cut. [Brochure] [Recipe]
Australia's Number One selling fruit, grown in the tropics and sub-tropics of Queensland and Northern NSW. One of the most versatile of all fruit; can be cooked, dried, blended or eaten raw. Often the first solid food given to infants. Easily digested and very nutritious. Today a staple part of our diet.
Dubbed "Nature's Wonder Fruit", bananas are the only fruit to contain all the major vitamins: A, B1, B2, B6, and C. They are also high in dietary fibre, potassium and magnesium. With on average 2-3 times the level of carbohydrates of other fruit but no fat, bananas are a complete meal in themselves and the ideal high energy snack.
Per 140g (weight of average Cavendish) Carbohydrates (g) 27.8 Dietary fibre (g) 3.1 Retinol equiv. (ug) 18.0 B-car equiv.(ug) 110.0 Vitamin B1 (thiamin) (ug) 70.0 Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) (ug) 149.0 Vitamin B3 (Niacin) (mg) 1.2 Vitamin B6 (mg) 0.7 Vitamin C (mg) 16.0 Folate (ug) 20.0 Protein (g) 2.2 Potassium (mg) 476.0 Magnesium (mg) 47.6 Phosphorous (mg) 39.2 Fat (natural oils) (g) NIL
A banana is one of the few fruits that also contains the complex carbohydrates found in grains, cereals and vegetables, which is why it's such a good source of energy.
Despite its creamy texture a banana contains no fat. Infact an average banana contains only 501kj or 120 calories, (weight for weight about the same as cottage cheese.) And because it's so filling, is ideal for that mid-afternoon energy-boost.
Vitamin B6 is involved in the transmission of impulses in nerves and muscles and is important in making red blood cells. It is also needed for the conversion of tryptophan to niacin. Tryptophan produces serotonin which has a calming effect on the body (this is why B6 is sometimes referred to as the anti-stress, good mood vitamin.)
Serotonin functions as a neuro-transmitter and carries messages to the nerve and brain cells. Some drugs used in treating depression cause serotonin to be released from storage sites at nerve endings.
B6 is sometimes used in hormonal disturbances in women, and is often prescribed for those women experiencing morning sickness, taking oral contraceptives or suffering from PMT.
A lack of B6 leads to many problems. The skin, nerves, muscles and brain are affected. Mental depression, convulsion, skin rashes, irritability, weakness and anaemia occur.
Caffeine and alcohol will deplete the body of Vitamin B6.
Bananas have more Vitamin B6 than any other fresh fruit and are regarded as an excellent source of this vitamin. (Other major food sources include fish, lentils, beans, pork, poultry, meat and nuts.) However, as cooking partially destroys B6, it is best obtained from a fresh food source such as bananas.
1.5 bananas a day will provide the daily allowance of Vitamin B6 for women aged between 19-54.
There is an increasing body of evidence that what we eat may alter the levels of chemical substances in the brain which affect our moods.
Besides vitamins, we need amino acids, "the building blocks of protein" , in our diet.
Some amino acids the body can manufacture, others are "essential" , that is, we need to eat foods that already contain them.
Researchers have now found links between certain amino acids in the blood and reactions which affect mood. Some amino acids can be carried into the brain, where they stimulate the production of chemical messenger substances called neurotransmitters. Tryptophan is one such amino acid. It stimulates the production of serotonin, a neurotransmitter which has a calming effect on the body.
Where people have little or no tryptophan in their system, they may become tired or irritable or blue.
About 45% of people suffering from depression are found to have a low level of serotonin in the brain. Anti-depressants, such as Prozac, work by regulating the body's serotonin levels.
Peter D. Kramer, author of "Listening to Prozac" , writes: "Serotonin is known to affect sleep, appetite and the like, but most dramatically, raising the level of serotonin seems to enhance security, courage, assertiveness, self-worth, calm, flexibility, resilience. It makes people feel safe."
A natural alternative to consuming manufactured drugs is to simply eat more of the foods that stimulate the production of serotonin, such as bananas.
Potassium is essential to mental function, brain power and nerve impulses. Infact, according to certain biochemists, no new brain cells can be made without potassium.
Bananas, one of natures richest sources of potassium, are also one of the easiest ways to give your body this important mineral.
Potassium plays a crucial role in fluid balance, the mechanism by which cells are nourished and cleansed. Potassium (K+) is the principle positively charged element in fluids inside the body cells, while sodium (Na+) is the main positive element contained outside the cells. Maintaining the right balance between these mineral salts is critical for the body to remove toxic wastes, maintain correct blood pressure and remove fluid retention.
Stress, overprocessed foods, diarrhoea can all cause potassium deficiency. Eating foods high in salt will lead to an imbalance between sodium and potassium in the body and some scientists believe this disturbance in the body's chemistry is the starting point for all illness, cancer included.
Cooking leeches out most of the potassium in foods, which is why it is best obtained from raw foods such as bananas.
Sources: "Complete Book of Food and Nutrition" by Rosemary Stanton. "Food for Health, A Guide to Good Nutrition" , published by the National Food Authority.
