Archive for September 30th, 2011

Can Bananas Protect Our Eyes?

Recently, it is said that bananas are especially good for eyes.

Those who often work on computers can eat a banana a day to eat the symptom of dry eyes. It has scientific evidence. The function of eye protection has much to do with the rich potassium. When people ingest excessive natrium, there will be a lot of water in cells, causing the turgescence of eyes. The potassium can expel unwanted water from the human body to reach a balance of potassium and natrium.

Besides, there is a large amount of bare-carotene in bananas. When the body is badly in need of this substance, the eyes will become dry and people look depressed. Eating bananas frequently will not only ease this symptom, but also drive away the tiredness and prevent the early aging of eyes to some extent.

Is it true that bananas contain a lot of bate-carotene? Let’s check the food tables. According to the food table published in 2002, every 100 grams of bananas contain 60 gammas of this carotene, taking up 1.25% of the vitamin A that an adult man needs one day. The food table of 2004 shows that the amount of bate-carotene in Tai bananas is 38 gammas, being equal to 0.79% of the vitamin A. After analyzing the food table, we can naturally come to a conclusion that bananas are not ideal sources of bate-carotene, let alone providing enough vitamin A for eye protection. Actually, there is no need checking the food table. The color of carotene is orange, while bananas is white with a yellow skin. Where does the carotene hide? From the other hand, carotene is fatty-soluble. The carotene in uncooked bananas cannot be absorbed at all.

Obviously, carotene cannot be evidence of bananas’ function of protecting eyes.

Compared to bananas, mangoes and papaws are more suitable. Even persimmons, loquats and apricots are better than bananas from this aspect. However, the potassium in bananas is quite satisfactory. Every 100 grams of bananas contain over 180 gammas of it. But such food is not limited to banana. Calculated by the unit of calories, kiwis, mangoes, oranges, cherries and even apples are much better than bananas. In fact, all kinds of fruit are rich in potassium, while bate-carotene in green vegetables is over 20 times more than that of bananas. It is more proper for us to say those who use computers a lot should eat more vegetables, oranges, mangoes and so on.