Bananas: Our SUPERFOOD Ingredients

Bananas are so accessible and so commonly eaten throughout the world that one might forget that they are a superfood. After all, superfoods have to be unusual and expensive, right? At The B.O.S.S. Food Company®, we champion a variety of superfoods, some of which are actually quite common and accessible. Bananas can be found in our MOVE™, THINK™ and SMILE® bars. Let’s learn a bit more about this yummy superfruit.

Body Benefits of Bananas

First of all, a banana is a berry. And while they appear to grow on trees, these plants are actually herbaceous, and are the largest herbaceous flowering plant in the world. They have been cultivated for at least 7,000 years. Over 100 billion are consumed each year worldwide and Americans eat more bananas than any other fruit. They are free of sodium, cholesterol and fat.

Their most abundant and well-known nutrient is potassium, which is a mineral that most people don’t get enough of. Potassium is critical for both bone and cardiovascular health. Another important nutrient found in this fruit is vitamin B6, which helps with digestion, sleep and mood. B6 is also an excellent vitamin for improving cognitive performance.

Bananas contain fructooligosaccharide (FOS), a prebiotic. These are short and medium chain sugar molecules that move through the digestive system undigested. Here they become food for probiotics (good bacteria) and yeast. This is beneficial to maintaining a healthy gut flora, which is important for overall health.

Some additional nutrients found include:

• Fiber (pectin)
• Manganese
• Vitamin C
• Copper
• Biotin
• Magnesium
• Tryptophan (an important amino acid that converts to serotonin in the body, which in turn helps improve mood and sleep) and tyrosine
• The catecholamines dopamine and norepinephrine

You can learn more about the medicinal properties of bananas by reading the scientific literature.

Bananas are just one of the many SUPERFOOD ingredients found in B.O.S.S. Bars™. These raw SUPERFOOD snack bars use only premium ingredients and are designed for your day. Learn more and shop here.