from "Rust Out" by Dr. Royce Bailey, page 15

The Fix For Hypoglycemia

If you want a quick fix for flagging energy levels (low blood sugar), there’s no better snack than a banana. Bananas contain three natural sugars: sucrose, fructose and glucose. Combined with fiber, 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 large number of illnesses and conditions, making it a must to add to your daily diet.

High iron in the banana stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the bone marrow and so helps in cases of iron deficiency anemia.

This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium, yet low in salt, making it the perfect food for helping to normalize elevated blood pressure. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit’s ability to reduce the risk of high blood pressure and stroke.

200 students at a Twickenham (Middlesex) school were helped through their exams recently by eating, instead of junk food and colas, bananas at breakfast, at breaks and lunch in a bid to boost their brain power. Research has shown that the fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.

High fiber, including bananas in the diet, can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without resorting to laxatives.

According to a recent study undertaken by MIND, people suffering from mild depression, felt much better after eating a banana. This is because bananas contain tryptophan, an amino acid protein the body converts into serotonin and B vitamins. Serotonin is known to help you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier. The prescription drugs that can increase your serotonin levels include: Prozac, Paxil, Zolift, Celexa, Lexapro and a few others.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) can be helped by bananas too, due to its natural mood enhancer, tryptophan.

One of the quickest ways of curing early morning brain fog is to make a banana shake, sweetened with honey. The banana calms the stomach and with the help of the honey, builds up your depleted blood sugar levels, while the liquid rehydrates your system. Keep frozen bananas in the freezer for this purpose.

Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body so if you suffer from heart burn, try eating a banana for soothing relief.

Snacking on bananas between meals can be one more way to help to keep your blood sugar levels up and thus helps avoid morning sickness.

Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing the affected areas with the inside of a banana skin. Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation.

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, such as bananas and other satisfying fruits.

Forget the pills and eat a banana instead. The vitamin B6 in bananas regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood.

The banana is used as a 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 chronic ulcer cases. It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.

Many other cultures see bananas as a ‘cooling’ fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature.

Bananas can help people trying to give up smoking, because of the high levels of Vitamin C, A, B6 and B12. Also, they contain potassium and magnesium that help your recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.

Bananas may help you when you have a leg cramp. Cramps in your feet, ankles and calves of the legs can be instantly relieved by the potassium and magnesium in the banana.

Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps regulate the heartbeat, send oxygen to the brain and normalizes your body’s water balance. When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, there by reducing potassium levels. These can be re-balanced with the help of a high potassium banana snack.

According to research in the “New England Journal of Medicine,” eating bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the risk of death from strokes by as much as 40%.

So you see 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!”

If you are a diabetic, eat bananas with care. Avoid them, if you have a food allergy to bananas or are taking monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOI), such as Nardil or Parnate, for depression. Bananas contain tyramine, an amino acid that can interfere with MAOIs and cause serious side effects, like dangerously high blood pressure.