Banana Peels: Recipes & Reasons

Image via Davie Bicker (BlueBudgie) of Pixabay

​Y’all know how I love researching and writing about natural medicines and the health benefits of organic foods. Having lived with sketchy health since childhood, the research became more important to me as I got older, and discovered that changes in diet were often helping me keep some health challenges to a minimum. Some even disappeared after treating them homeopathically.

Knowledge is power remains one of my favorite sayings and today’s edition provides one more opportunity to hammer it home.

Since different areas of the globe provide different types of food, I’ve learned there are often other ways of preparing or using foods that have become common to us, here in the USA, like bananas, that we aren’t familiar with. 

We’re familiar with a lot of the healthy aspects of consuming bananas, but recently I’ve been seeing one use of the banana that I wasn’t aware of. It impressed me enough to share it here with you.

​In wanting to keep this post as short as possible, so you can zoom through it, I’m gonna just bullet the highlights of why banana peels are good for much more than your compost bins!

​Externally, banana peels can help...

• ​Brighten skin: The nutrients within the inner layer of a banana peel can help nourish, hydrate and brighten your skin,
• Clear acne: Rub your face with the inside of a banana peel for a few minutes to heal up acne blemishes and stop new ones from developing
• Diminish dark circles: Adding a thin layer of aloe vera gel to the inside of a banana peel and laying it across your eye area can refresh the area’s skin and help to lighten dark circles.
• Diminish scars: Rubbing the inside of a banana peel on scars can help make them smaller, less noticeable and help generate healthy tissue in the area.
• Teeth whitening: This one I can attest to myself. After brushing, rubbing your teeth with the inside of a banana peel will whiten and brighten them within just a few applications! You can increase the whitening action by adding powdered turmeric to the inside of the peel. I’ve brushed with turmeric and it does indeed help whiten but even without it, the banana peel on its own can get you some awesome teeth-whitening results!

Now let’s move on to the newer stuff!

Per Google research (via Web MD) banana peels are packed with polyphenols, carotenoids, and other antioxidants that fight cancer-causing free radicals in your body. Eating more banana peels, especially green, unripe peels, can increase your antioxidant levels and help reduce your risk of cancer.

Eat green banana peels for the feel goods? Who knew??? 

When consumed, banana peels can help...

• Alleviate digestive issues (when green): The nutrient-rich fiber in banana peels can help regulate bowel activity and can especially be of help to folks challenged with Chron’s disease and IBS/GID (Irritable Bowel Disorder and Gastro-intestinal Disorder)
• Help your immune system fight off disease and recover from infections. This aspect of the banana peel benefits research has not been documented (yet) on humans but has been tested and proven effective with rats.
• Bananas (due to containing naturally occurring tryptophan and B6 have the potential to help with some mood disorders, including depression.
• The abundance of Vitamin A in both the fruit’s flesh and peels provides support in maintaining healthy eyesight.
• Nutrient-packed banana peels (especially the under-ripe ones) are an excellent source of polyphenols, carotenoids, and other antioxidants. These nutritional gems help eradicate cancer-causing free radicals, thereby potentially lowering your risk of cancer. The research for this aspect has been limited to test tubes and further research is needed to determine how effective it is for humans.

​Some tasty ways you can prep banana peels for consumption

• Blend them into smoothies
• Bake and sprinkle them with cinnamon and sugar
• Fry them until they caramelize and then use as a dessert topping or additive
• Boil them to your preferred consistency and then eat them
• Age them into vinegar and use them as a salad topping or beverage mix that includes flavored vinegar, like Pond Water Tea.
• Bake them until dry, then grind them into a powder to replace 1/3 of the regular flour ingredients in baked goods.

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A couple of deliciously-related posts you may find interesting!

• ​FarmaCOPEia: Pond Water Tea

• FarmaCOPEia: Some tasty twists on Pond Water Tea

Image via AS Phillips

​Thank you for visiting today and I hope you enjoyed the post! 

If you’re already familiar with some of the health benefits of banana peels, please consider sharing your information in the comments. Your interest and interaction are always appreciated!

‘Til next time,