Eat Shrink And Be Merry

I think it’s really silly when diet books tell people not to eat bananas. You know, we should shun them because they’re full of starch and sugar, which means they’re high on the glycemic index, which means they’ll send your blood sugar to Mars and back. And that means your insulin levels will basically…well…go bananas, causing hunger, overeating and dreaded fat storage. Yup, that’s what some of the experts say.

Well I say it’s all bunk. Honestly, have you ever in your entire life heard of anyone who’s totally porked out by eating bananas? Really. I think not!

“Oh…my…God!! Have you seen Marge lately? She’s a house! It’s gotta be all them Chiquitas she’s been hiding in her desk at work! She needs an intervention!”

Truth is, bananas are a treasure-trove of amazing health properties. In fact, scientists now think bananas might even help us lose weight! The kind of starch in bananas (especially those on the greenish-yellow side) is called “resistant” starch. It passes through your digestive tract largely undigested, and helps feed the “good” bacteria in your gut, promoting overall good health. The resistant starch actually improves your body’s ability to absorb nutrients, and that means you’ll be healthier in the long run. Resistant starch also helps to keep you feeling full longer, so you eat less. Bananas are also a good source of fibre, your best fat-loss buddy. Plus, they say a banana a day helps keep the heart sugeon away. The potassium in bananas is not only good for lowering blood pressure, but as an important electrolyte (way better than a sugary sport drink!), it prevents dehydration, and helps balance fluid levels in your cells. So eating bananas can help curb bloating and water retention. And we all know how that can add pounds to the scale–5 to 15 pounds of water bloat is quite common!

Having enough potassium is important to counter the high-salt diet that’s typical in North America. Too much salt means we excrete too much calcium, and adequate potassium prevents this from happening. So that protects your bones from thinning (among other important things that calcium does in your body). Heck, bananas even have a substance that helps protect your stomach lining from ulcers. No wonder bananas have apeel!

If you have a sweet tooth or are possessed by sugar cravings, it’s much better to satisfy those urges with something like a banana–naturally sweetened and pre-packaged by the world’s number one manufacturer: Mother Nature. It just doesn’t make sense to me to blacklist a natural, nutritient-loaded food like banana, yet endorse eating man-made, commercially processed, chemically-infused “diet foods.”

Incidentally, my best friend Leanne eats four bananas a day–sometimes five! Not only is she very thin and incredibly fit, but you should see her climb trees!