Benefits
Bananas are rich in potassium, which helps the body control heart rate and blood pressure.
Bananas are well known for their high potassium content. A medium banana contains 422 mg of the adequate adult intake of 4,500 mg of potassium. Potassium helps the body control heart rate and blood pressure.
A medium banana also contains the following nutrients: 105 calories
422 mg potassium
1.29 g protein
6 mg calcium
32 mg magnesium
10.3 mg vitamin C
26.95 g carbohydrate
Symbolism
The Book of Genesis contains perhaps the most iconic image in the Bible: Adam and Eve tasting the forbidden fruit and covering shame with leaves. Although the actual type of fruit from this tree is never mentioned in any canonical scripture, that hasn’t kept a wealth of scholars and commentators from speculation. In Christianity, the “culprit” is usually portrayed as an apple, but Islam offers an interesting alternative, that the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was actually a banana tree.
In Tamil Nadu, a state in India’s southeast corner, the banana is one of the Mukkani, meaning one of those three royal fruits, along with the mango and the jackfruit. Throughout Thailand, there are many stories about good spirits inhabiting banana trees.
Banana is a fruit of energy. It is also a symbol of money and signifies your savings. Yellow and ripe bananas indicate good health, happiness and good times. On the other hand, green bananas indicate new hopes and new opportunities in life.
Bananas are tasty fruits, thus, these relate the good and essential things in life, such as: relations, love, apparels and many more.
A Bit of History
The earliest prior evidence indicates that cultivation dates to no earlier than late 6th century CE. It is likely, however, that bananas were brought at least to Madagascar if not to the East African coast during the phase of Malagasy colonization of the island from South East Asia c. 400 CE.
There are numerous references to it in Islamic texts (such as poems and hadiths) beginning in the 9th century. By the 10th century the banana appeared in texts from Palestine and Egypt. From there it diffused into North Africa and Muslim Iberia. During the medieval ages, bananas from Granada were considered among the best in the Arab world. In 650, Islamic conquerors brought the banana to Palestine.
First cultivated in Southeast Asia and New Guinea, the banana is now an important crop in many parts of the world.