Bananas and constipation, what is the relation between them?

Who doesn't like eating banana? Their sweet and tender taste are so irresistible. The yellow it gets the softer and more sweet it becomes.

They are many types of banana coming from various origin, mostly from tropical places and each one of them has its own distinct characteristics which make them so unique, and tasteful.

Bananas and constipation, are they good or bad?

One day I got a chance to talk with a friend of mine, we talked about food, fruits and vegetables in particular. She told me that she had this constipation problem, and to the bigger surprise was she admitted that the cause of her problem was because she had consumed bananas a couple of days before.

Now I got confused, I read some articles, and getting advise from my doctor long before, that eating banana should cure constipation, not the other way around.

My doctor said that if we eat banana at least one or two a day, it should helps you with your constipation problem, because of its natural mild laxative effect. I said to myself what in the world is happening? Which bananas and constipation facts are true?

I am so curious so that I called my doctor again, I have mentioned about my friend's bowel problem because of her eating banana. My doctor paused a moment and finally said that he had not got the chance to explain to me before that banana can both cure and cause the constipation. What? Yes both he said

Apparently, before you eat banana to cure your stool's issue, you need first to recognize what are the cause. The old wisdom of Asian medicine have divided constipation into two main categories.

1. Heat-constipation – which is when you feel heat piling up in your stomach, this is may be happening if you drink too much alcohol, spicy foods, or when you catch fever. 

2. Cold-constipation – which means you don't have enough heat or warm in your digestive system which is very much needed to easily digesting the food. This may happening, when you drink cold water, eating ice cream, and raw meals.

You need to eat banana when having heat type of constipation, because banana have this cold effect to counter act the heat generated inside your stomach. The idea is to keep it all in balance, so your digestive system will get back to its normal condition and to work the way it should be.

What happen if you eating banana when having cold type constipation? You may not get cured, on the other hand, you may get sick, because too much “cold” in your system will bring you nothing but diarrhea.

So the key principle here are just so simple, keep your body warm, if get too much heat try to cool it down, too cold don't eat banana, try something else, warm milk with ginger perhaps?

Other banana facts

Beside the constipation related issue, banana is good for us, eat them daily you will feel that your body more energize, because I fell the same way after eating a banana.

Some benefits of banana, not only tasty but they are also healthy for you

As said before, banana will provide you with more energy, that's why I like to have them in the morning. It has probably the better combination of dietary fiber, calorie, vitamins and minerals that are beneficial to your body.

They have quite amount of potassium, which is very important to maintain your blood pressure level and heart condition.

It also has a prebiotic property and will enhance the good bacteria in your colon which is help to produce enzymes and to absorbs nutrients better. Eating banana regularly also helps to maintain your kidney's condition and efficiency and again thanks to the rich potassium content that it has.

Banana calorie count

An average size banana may carry about 100 to 120 calories with them, which is quite high compared to other type of fruits. So it is perfect meal before going for exercise or hard work, because it will give you enough energy to perform at higher level.

Other nutrients in bananas

Beside potassium, you will find beta carotene, vitamin B6 and C, as well as calcium, isn't that wonderful? I like drinking banana smoothies and eat them raw. What about you? Above all, they are more goods in them rather than negative effects.