Friday, 25 April 2014
7 health benefit of eating plantain
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| PLANTAIN |
Plantains look like bananas, but they are actually vegetables and are almost always cooked before eating them. Raw plantains have a bitter taste, and cooking them brings out their flavor and makes them more appetizing. The banana-like fruits are rich in certain vitamins and minerals that contribute
to good health.
Plantain is quite different from banana, being taller and larger and more droughts tolerant. Raw green plantains are only eaten after cooking. Each fruit measures about 3 to 10 inches or more in length depending upon the cultivar type. They tend to have coarser external features with prominent edges and flat surfaces unlike smooth, round contours in dessert bananas . The flesh inside is starch rich with tiny edible black seeds concentrated at its core. Ripening process, however, enhances flavor and sweetness since the starch converts to sugar much similar to the case of fruit bananas but to a lesser extent. Its inflorescence and interior stem too are eaten in various kinds of recipes in South-Asian regions.
Health benefits of eating plantains:
1. Plantain is rich in carbohydrate: It has more calories weight for weight than in the fruit bananas. 100 g plantain consists of 122 calories, while dessert banana has 89 calories. Indeed, they are very reliable sources of starch and energy ensuring food security for millions of households worldwide.
2. Plantain contains fiber: It has about 2.3 g of dietary fiber per 100 g (6% of DRA per 100g). Adequate amount of Dietary-fiber in the food helps normal bowel movements, thereby reducing constipation problems.
3. Plantain have more vitamin C than bananas: Fresh plantain has 100 g provide 18.4 mg or 31% of daily required levels of this vitamin. Consumption of foods rich in vitamin-C helps the body develop resistance against infectious agents and scavenge harmful oxygen-free radicals.
4. Plantains have more vitamin A than bananas: 100g fresh ripe plantains contain 1127 IU or 37.5% of daily required levels of this vitamin. In addition to being a powerful antioxidant, vitamin A plays a vital role in the visual cycle, maintaining healthy mucus membranes, and enhancing skin complexion.
5. Plantain too as in bananas, are rich sources of B-complex vitamins, particularly high in vitamin-B6 (pyridoxine). Pyridoxine is an important B-complex vitamin that has a beneficial role in the treatment of neuritis, anemia, and to decrease homocystine (one of the causative factors for coronary artery disease (CHD) and stroke episodes) levels in the body. In addition, the fruit contains moderate levels of folates, niacin, riboflavin and thiamin.
6. Plantain provide adequate levels of minerals: such as iron, magnesium, and phosphorous. Magnesium is essential for bone strengthening and has a cardiac-protective role as well.
7. Fresh plantains have more potassium than bananas: 100g fruit provides 499 mg of potassium (358 mgnper 100 g for bananas ). Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that helps control heart rate and blood pressure, countering negative effects of sodium.
Now you know how much you can benefit from eating plantain. Eat right and stay healthy.
Reference:
www.nutrition-and-you.com
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