Going Bananas

Got this in my inbox yesterday:

Health benefits of eating bananas: 

• 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 every two hours to keep levels steady.
• Ulcers: The banana is used as the 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 over-chronicler cases. It also neutralizes ove! r-acidit y and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.
• Temperature control: Many o the r cultures see bananas as a "cooling" fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature of expectant mo the rs. In Thailand , for example, pregnant women eat bananas to ensure the ir baby is born with a cool temperature.
• Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): Bananas can help SAD sufferers because the y contain the natural mood enhancer tryptophan.
• Smoking &Tobacco Use: Bananas can also help people trying to give up smoking. The B6, B12 the y contain, as well as the potassium and magnesium found in the m, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.
• Stress: Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body's water balance. When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, the reby reducing our potassium levels.. These can be rebalanced with the help of a high-potassium banana snack.
• Strokes: According to research in The New England Journal of Medicine, eating bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the risk of death by strokes by as much as 40%!
• Warts: Those keen on natural alternatives swear that if you want to kill off a wart, take a piece of banana skin and place it on the wart, with the yellow side out. Carefully hold the skin in place with a plaster or surgical tape!

So, 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 o the r 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!"

PS: Bananas must be the reason monkeys are so happy all the time!