Bananas

1. One banana has 16% of the fibre, 15% of the vitamin C, and 11% of the potassium we need every day.



2. They are 75% water.



3. Many cultures see bananas as a “cooling” fruit. In Thailand, pregnant women eat bananas to ensure their baby is born with a cool temperature.



4. Bananas are harvested every day of the year.



5. While opinion varies as to the optimum amount to eat per day, at least one is recommended as they contain all the 8 amino-acids our body cannot produce itself.



6. The banana plant is not a tree, but a giant plant of the same family as lilies, orchids and palms.



7. They are the world’s most exported food – around 48,000 of them can be stuffed into each shipping container, bound for vessels that can typically transport 8,000 containers at a time.



8. 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%.



9. Banana milkshake, sweetened with honey, is one of the quickest ways to cure a hangover.



10. There are about 400 varieties.