Nutrition Information Banana

Bananas are generally found in the tropics and can be taken in two different forms, if left to get ripe, they can be consumed as fruits, and however they could as well be cooked while still in their raw state which turns them into a source of carbohydrates. Bananas being a tropical fruit are found in plenty in most African countries around the tropics. These countries are mostly situated around east and central Africa and the western African parts of the continent. Some areas where bananas are also found are places like Brazil and the Caribbean islands among many other places.

Bananas as a fruit also come in several different shapes and sizes depending on the origin, some bananas are very sweet while others may be moderately sweet and the fruit also vary in size and color. The banana fruit is a great source of potassium and fiber. The nutritional composition of a banana fruit is largely dependent on its size and the brand of the particular banana in question. For the sake of accuracy, let's take an example of a banana that is about eight inches long, this should be a fairly big banana fruit and should weigh approximately 120 grams. Such a fruit will contain about 88.4 milliliters of water and 105 calories. The protein content in the banana is usually not very high and can reach up to 1.29 grams.

The highest nutritional content in the banana is carbohydrates which will constitute about 27 grams of the entire fruit. The other nutrient in large quantity is the sugars which will form about 14.43 grams. Some other nutrients found in the banana are the total fats and saturated fats which will constitute 0.39grams and 0.132 grams respectively. The monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats also come in smaller quantities at 0.038 and 0.086 grams respectively.

One great advantage for the banana is the fact that it has absolutely no cholesterol at all. The micronutrients found in the banana are calcium and iron which can be found in 6.0 milligrams and 0.31 milligrams respectively. Magnesium will be found in quantities of about 32 milligrams. Phosphorus, sodium and zinc also come in smaller quantities of 25mg, 1mg, and 18mg respectively. The highest micronutrient in the banana which is potassium is found in relatively higher quantities at 422 milligrams. The last nutrients in the banana list of nutrients are vitamin C, thiamin, the riboflavin and niacin. All this are available in smaller quantities in the following respective weights; 10.3mg, 0.037mg, 0.086mg and 0.785mg.

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