For years and years I’ve finally found out I am eating bananas the wrong way. I don’t consider myself a wasteful person and during food prep and snacking I peel my veggies and fruit like most people. This isn’t necessarily wrong, because the taste of peels are often bitter. That being said, you shouldn’t do something out without knowing what you are wasting.
This includes those string-like things that are attached to the banana as you unpeel it. To be honest, I usually flick them onto the peel and then throw them away. Instead of tossing them, you should actually be eating them.
Although they seem like useless and the bitter part of the banana, they may actually have the best health benefits for you.
These weird strings are actually called phloem bundles. Not only is the name fun to say but they are full of potassium, fiber, vitamin A, and vitamin B6. Phloem is a tissue found in all plants, which is responsible for the transport of nutrients to the fruit to help them grow properly (veins).
The phloem bundles can even determine when the fruit is ripe and best to eat. If you open a banana and the phloem bundles stay tight to the banana it is under ripe and most of the nutrients havne’t been distributed through the fruit yet.
Phloem bundles aren’t the only part of a banana you should be eating, oh yeah, you should eat the peel too. They are not only edible, they are healthy also.
“Just one banana peel contains high amounts of vitamin B6 and B12, as well as magnesium and potassium. It also contains some fiber and protein.”
I’m sure you haven’t tried a banana peel lately, it’s actually the way many people in other countries eat bananas. In India for example, they have been taking advantage of the banana peel’s health benefits for decades.
Ewe, I don’t blame you one bit, I am not eager to bite into a banana, peel and all either!
So, next time you toss those banana strings, keep in mind how many vitamins you are wasting.