by Any Safarodiyah

Banana (Musa paradisiaca L.) came from Southeast Asia, India, and Brazil. The original habitat of this plant is in tropical forest, but it can grow well in lowlands or even in highlands. We can only harvest a banana plant once because it dies after cropping.

Banana which has a good taste and soft texture contains much energy and other useful nutritious matters like carbohydrates, protein, calcium, phosphorus, vitamin A, vitamin B, vitamin C, and fiber. It is an instant calorie source because it is more absorbable than rice or bread.

A ripe banana is signed by the color turn to yellow, sweet taste, and soft texture. We can directly eat it, but we can also process it to be various meal. We can fry it; we can also make juice, salad, ice cream, and cake from it.

Banana results in energy about 136 Cal per 100 grams fully from carbohydrate. Carbohydrate in banana is complex carbohydrate (about 88.6 %) so it can be an energy reserve which is absorbable in not too short or not too long term. The sweet taste comes from fructose, a fruit sugar with low glycemic index so it is safe for diabetic patient. You do not have to be afraid of obesity because of consuming this fruit because banana has low fat (about 0.8 %) and low protein (about 4.4 %).

Banana has higher vitamin B6 compares to other fruit. This vitamin has a function as a co-enzyme in protein metabolism, especially serotonin. Serotonin is a kind of neurotransmitter, a compound that works in our brain. It also has an antioxidant function, because it contains vitamin A and vitamin C.

Another advantage of this fruit is the fiber. Fiber contained in banana is about 3.7 %. It can give longer fullness feeling. It is good to consume during lowering bodyweight diet program. It can also prevent digestive tract cancer because it can absorb carcinogen in digestive tract, and remove it from our body.