What are the surprising uses of banana peels?
Bananas are one of the best fruits for your health. They are loaded with vital minerals like potassium, manganese, magnesium, folate, riboflavin, niacin, and iron as well as protein, fiber, vitamins A, B6, and C. They make a tasty addition to cereals, fruit salads, and even ice cream in addition to being an easy grab-and-go snack.
But instead of discussing the banana fruit itself today, we’ll concentrate on its frequently discarded peel. Unexpectedly, banana peels can be eaten and provide a variety of additional health advantages. It’s true what you just read! Banana peels have been used to treat common skin issues as well as to improve digestion and lower cholesterol.
Banana peels can be used topically or consumed to get their health advantages. One use, in instance, has nothing at all to do with your body.
You’ll never throw away banana peels again after you learn all the amazing things they can do. Even just benefit #5 can significantly improve your life!
1. Alleviate itching
Starting with a topical advantage, banana peels are wonderful in easing the agonizing itching brought on by insect bites. Instant relief can be obtained by massaging the affected area with the inside of a banana peel. Poison ivy and poison oak rashes are believed to respond well to this treatment.
Although the science underlying its effectiveness is unclear, the outcomes speak for themselves. One application, according to those who have used it, can stop itching for the entire day.
2. Keep up the regularity
Even though we might not prefer to bring it up, having inconsistent bowel motions can be really uncomfortable. Making sure your diet has a proper amount of fiber is one of the greatest methods to maintain regularity. Bananas alone have a fair amount of fiber, but the peel is where it really shines.
Eating the peel with the fruit or blending it into a smoothie are simple ways to encourage regular bowel movements. You can scrape out the interior of the peel if you’re unsure about eating the whole thing.
3. Natural Teeth Whitener
The strong bleaching compounds used in many pricy teeth-whitening techniques can harm tooth enamel and cause sensitivity. But what’s this? Due to the potassium in banana peels, teeth can be whitened naturally and gently.
Simply press the inside of the peel on your teeth every day for about two weeks, as opposed to chewing it. Results ought to become apparent after a few treatments.
4. Improving Skin Quality
Antioxidants included in banana peels do wonders for your skin. Rub a banana peel over the creases and wrinkles you want to hide, and then leave the sticky residue on for around 30 minutes before washing your face.
Make a paste by crushing the peel and combining it with one egg yolk for all-over moisturizing. After evenly applying the mixture to your face and/or neck, let it sit for five minutes, then wash it off with water. Additionally helpful for pimples, eczema, and psoriasis, this treatment.
5. Get Better Rest
While serotonin is a feel-good hormone that promotes relaxation, tryptophan is a natural molecule that supports the quality of your sleep. Both are present in good quantities in banana peels. By consuming a banana peel before bed, you can greatly enhance your sleep and ensure that it is restful and productive. Banana peels’ serotonin content can also support a consistent mood throughout the day.
Of course, you can choose to scrape the inside or add it to a smoothie to make the peel more appetizing if the thought of eating the peel makes you uneasy.
6. Encouraging eye health
Banana peels contain a substance called lutein, which is particularly good for the eyes. This potent antioxidant can fight dangerous free radicals and shield the eyes from the sun’s harmful UV rays.
It has been demonstrated that regular dietary intake of lutein lowers the chance of acquiring cataracts or age-related macular degeneration.
7. Lower Levels of Cholesterol
Again, fiber content plays a key role in lowering cholesterol, which is essential for keeping a healthy heart. Throwing away the peel of a banana means losing a wonderful opportunity to improve your intake of soluble fiber because banana peels include more soluble fiber than the fruit itself.
By joining with cholesterol in the intestines, soluble fiber lowers the amount of cholesterol absorbed into the bloodstream. Because of this, cholesterol doesn’t stay in the body and block the arteries; instead, it is expelled through waste.
8. Get rid of warts
Warts can be uncomfortable as well as ugly. It can be rather uncomfortable to undergo freezing treatments at the doctor’s office and use acidic chemicals to remove warts the traditional way.
The wart can be treated more delicately by applying a piece of banana peel, sticky side down, and covering it with an adhesive bandage. Repeat the procedure every night until the wart comes off, then leave it overnight. Trim the wart’s dead outer layer each evening before putting on a fresh banana peel for quicker results.
9. Polish Your Important Items
Here’s an unexpected application for banana peels that doesn’t involve ingestion or external use. Banana peels can be used to polish and clean silverware, leather goods, and shoes.
The peels are useful for this since they contain potassium. To get a beautiful shine, simply rub the inside side of the peel over the area you want to polish.
Conclusion
After you’ve savored the fruit itself, using banana peels is definitely worthwhile. There are a few things to keep in mind, though. Although we don’t usually wash bananas before eating them, you should thoroughly clean the peel if you plan to eat it. Bananas are frequently sprayed with pesticides during their growth cycle, unless they are organic.
Banana peel can also be eaten in a variety of other ways besides raw (which is also OK). The peel can be juiced or used to a smoothie with other fruits. The texture of the peel can be enhanced by boiling it for approximately 10 minutes. As was previously noted, another way to take advantage of its advantages is by scraping out the peel’s interior flesh.
Keep in mind that after being peeled from the fruit, banana peels lose their freshness quickly. It’s preferable to cook and eat them right away because they have a tendency to darken quickly. What will you do with the banana peels you have?