Notes from a phytochemist. Green banana, or Don't forget to feed the microbiota

Every schoolchild knows that bananas do not grow on trees - they are the fruit of a herbaceous plant. But not every adult knows whether it is possible to eat bananas if you have gastritis. The exotic fruit is sold everywhere, it is filling and relatively affordable. For 150 rubles you can buy a whole bunch and treat yourself. True, if you have gastritis or other stomach problems, you will have to follow certain rules of use. Indeed, in case of gastrointestinal diseases, many fruits are excluded from the diet. Because they contain a lot of fiber, they can lead to a sharp surge of hydrochloric acid in the stomach.

Beneficial features

In short, bananas definitely have benefits for gastritis. They are allowed to be eaten during the period of remission, because the fruit is very soft. It is easily digested and has the most beneficial effect on inflamed walls. In order not to damage the mucous membrane, doctors advise eating fruits between meals, and not on an empty stomach.

Let's get back to the benefits of fruits. They are quite high in calories - one medium banana contains more than 100 calories. A large amount of carbohydrates makes you feel full for several hours. Therefore, they can always be used as a complete snack between breakfast and lunch.

From a botanical point of view, a banana is a berry. The inflorescences are very massive - they contain up to 300 berries and reach 60 kg. Bananas contain enough manganese, potassium, and ascorbic acid. In addition, they contain special substances that provoke the production of mucus in the stomach. The result is that bananas, which are ordinary at first glance, create a special barrier between food and damaged walls for erosive gastritis of the stomach. This minimizes harm - even if the patient ate something forbidden.

Rules for eating fruits for gastritis and peptic ulcers

To prevent eating bananas from leading to discomfort or pain in the abdominal cavity, you must adhere to some rules for their consumption. First of all, due to the large amount of carbohydrates, these fruits can cause increased gas formation in the patient and interfere with the normal outflow of bile from the liver. In this case, you need to reduce the amount of fruit you consume, do not eat it before meals and do not drink it with water.

It is not recommended to combine them with dairy products, as this may cause digestive upset.

If you have gastritis, you can eat ripe fruits; doctors do not recommend eating green fruits, as they contain a large amount of insoluble starch. It is better to let them ripen, during which time the starch will turn into sugar.

Important information: Psychosomatics of gastritis development

Another rule is to be sure to wash the fruits thoroughly before eating. To increase shelf life, their peels are treated with extremely toxic chemicals.

Try not to eat bananas after meals, since almost all foods are digested in the stomach for more than two hours and during this time the fruits can begin to ferment directly in the stomach, increasing gas formation and the manifestations of gastritis. You need to eat fruits at least a couple of hours after eating. Choose non-forage varieties (the smaller the size and the thinner the peel, the better).

TOP 10 reasons why bananas are good for the stomach

There is no longer any doubt that yellow fruits can be eaten. But are bananas good for gastritis? Here are 10 reasons why they should be included in the diet:

1. They have a beneficial effect on the pancreas and are useful for chronic pancreatitis.
2. Helps normalize stool.
3. Eliminates the effects of intoxication.
4. Speed ​​up metabolism several times. Food is digested faster and absorbed much better.
5. Ask your doctor if you can eat bananas with erosive gastritis - and he will give a positive answer. Even with stomach and duodenal ulcers, fruits are actively included in the diet.
6. A sufficiently high concentration of potassium allows you to restore the water-salt balance.
7. The presence of an element such as manganese contributes to normal lipid metabolism. This is also important if a person is diagnosed with gastritis.
8. The antioxidants included in the composition accelerate recovery and help remove waste and toxins.
9. Bananas create an environment in the stomach that is unfavorable for harmful microorganisms.
10. And one last thing. Exotic fruits contain magnesium. It acts as a sedative. When gastritis is caused by a stressful situation, such food becomes the best medicine.

Be sure to include fruits in your therapeutic diet. The healing process will be much faster.

Effect of bananas on stomach ailments

The fruits are not only tasty, but also healthy, especially for ulcer patients. The thing is that their pulp contains substances that can suppress pathogens, which are the primary source of gastritis and ulcers.

After contacting a gastroenterologist, the patient is prescribed medications that contain:

• serotonin;
• norepinephrine;
• dopamine;
• catecholamine.

These elements have a healing effect and prevent the appearance of new foci of inflammation. If you eat bananas for stomach and duodenal ulcers, you can get all of the listed substances from your favorite treat. That is, the fruit can be an excellent addition to the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases.

Patients who ask the question whether it is possible to eat bananas with gastritis are not familiar with their pain-relieving properties. With stomach and intestinal ailments, many people are susceptible to severe pain and heartburn. Sometimes consuming this product in reasonable quantities helps eliminate the discomfort that arises.

Bananas and low acidity

Since the fruit contains a minimal amount of fiber, it does not burden the digestive system at all. The fibers included in the composition are digested quickly and do not linger for long. If pain, indigestion and weakness occur, it is recommended to postpone the use of berries until the patient’s condition has stabilized.

So, for gastritis with low acidity, bananas should be consumed overripe. That is, if they have darkened a little and are soft enough, this is your option. Do not confuse the slightly darkened skin with brown flesh. The latter indicates that the fruit has begun to rot. It is better to refuse such a “copy” immediately.

If you eat a banana and feel severe heaviness in your stomach, bloating or even nausea, try replacing fresh fruit with dried fruit. In this form, the delicacy is absorbed even better. Because when dried, it loses more than 50% of plant fibers.

The benefits and harms of bananas for the stomach

Stomach diseases are accompanied by nausea, heartburn, pain and discomfort in the intestines, so an individual diet is prescribed for the patient, which will eliminate symptoms and improve the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract. The patient must strictly adhere to proper nutrition and select only approved foods. One of these is the banana; its benefits are due to the large number of vitamins and microelements that can normalize metabolism.

So, for example, in case of weak stool, the patient is recommended to eat semi-ripe fruit, which strengthens the stool, and, conversely, in case of difficult bowel movements, the patient is prescribed overripe bananas, which have the ability to weaken the stool. Bananas can relieve pain and burning in the esophagus, but in this case only fresh fruits will help, not dried ones. The fibrous structure of the fruit allows it to be used for acute chronic gastritis with normal and high acidity, and for other stomach diseases.

But, like all foods, bananas can cause harm to the body, especially if you abuse them. It is worth remembering that this fruit has the ability to strengthen or weaken, so the patient should be careful when choosing a fruit and remember that ripe ones weaken, and green ones strengthen. Therefore, eating overripe fruits is dangerous if the patient is accompanied by intestinal pain caused by diarrhea. Constipation is also dangerous for humans, because it can cause morphological changes in internal organs and provoke other diseases.

It is worth considering that the fruit contains many calories, which are contraindicated if you need to lose weight. Doctors do not recommend that an overweight patient include large quantities of bananas in the diet; it is enough to eat one or two fruits a day to quench the desire and increase the level of endorphins in the blood.

Another important criterion for consuming bananas for stomach diseases is their heat treatment, or rather, its absence. The stomach, which is accompanied by pain, spasms and discomfort, needs light nutrition, so it is strictly forbidden to overload it during the treatment process. Thus, bananas should be eaten exclusively fresh; it is forbidden to fry them or make chips from them.

If defecation is difficult, the patient may be prescribed a banana with kefir. However, in the case of kefir, it should be remembered that fresh fermented milk products weaken, and old ones strengthen, therefore, in order to improve bowel movements, the patient needs to choose ripe fruit and fresh kefir. Doctors recommend eating banana dishes before meals, as the fruit is able to create a protective layer on the mucous membrane of the organ, which serves as a barrier to the aggressive effects of hydrochloric acid.

For gastritis with high acidity

For a patient with high acidity, doctors prescribe to consume the fruits of a tropical plant exclusively before meals, as they provoke the production of mucus, which serves as a protective layer for the surface lining of the stomach. It is worth remembering that the fruit has the ability to weaken, and with high acidity, excessive consumption of the fruit can cause discomfort in the stomach. Therefore, it is strictly not recommended to eat it in large quantities for gastritis with high acidity.

For gastritis with low acidity

Vitamins and minerals contained in bananas.
A patient with low acidity is allowed to include bananas in the diet. They speed up the process of restoration of the mucous layer and enrich the body with useful microelements and essential vitamins. These sweet fruits of a tropical plant normalize the functioning of the intestines and improve the process of digesting food. Doctors recommend choosing overripe fruits, as they are easier for the stomach to digest.

For gastric ulcers

Ulcerative lesions of the gastric mucosa caused by pathogenic bacteria reduce the protective function of the organ. Eating bananas allows you to destroy these bacteria and secrete the mucus necessary to protect the mucous layer. Thus, the patient is recommended to include these sweet fruits of a tropical plant in the diet, but in reasonable quantities.

Depending on the stage of the disease, bananas can be included in the menu as an additional ingredient. Sweet fruits are added to fruit purees and made into smoothies and yoghurts. Banana puree can be an addition to cereals; due to the sweetness inherent in the fruit, it can replace sugar.

For erosion

Erosive damage to the gastric mucosa is one of the gastroduodenal diseases and is a defect in the surface of the organ tissue. For erosive lesions of the stomach, the patient is prescribed a strict diet that excludes most foods, including fruits and vegetables. The only allowed fruit is banana, as it is able to heal erosive damage to the mucous membrane and accelerate the process of restoration of microflora.

Due to the beneficial substances in the fruit, it is consumed when necessary to improve blood clotting, so this fruit is mandatory and indispensable for stomach erosion.

Bananas and high acidity

Bananas for gastritis with high acidity are good because they contain a lot of potassium. This chemical element normalizes the pH level and reduces the acid concentration. It is safe to say that with high acidity, bananas should be consumed regularly.

The fruit also helps combat heartburn - especially if consumed with milk, cottage cheese and other dairy products. Just the perfect combination!

How to make a healthy diet shake? Very simple. Take 2 fruits, peel them and mash them with a fork. Then mix with a glass of full-fat milk, beat with a food processor. The finished cocktail is cooled in the refrigerator and drunk in small portions between meals.

Contraindications

Despite the fact that you can eat bananas with gastritis, there are a number of situations in the development of which it is necessary to completely exclude this product from your diet. There may be several contraindications:

• individual intolerance to banana, which is expressed in signs of an allergic reaction. Such manifestations include the formation of reddish spots on the skin, attacks of vomiting, persistent diarrhea, itching and burning in the mouth. In the most severe situations, anaphylactic shock develops;
• manifestation of acute pain syndrome, which can be a symptom of diseases such as pancreatitis or ulcer perforation. In such cases, consumption of bananas is strictly prohibited;
• disruption of the bowel movement or increase in the size of the abdomen.

Erosive gastritis - can I have bananas?

Exotic fruits will not be beneficial in all cases. For example, bananas during exacerbation of gastritis are prohibited in the first days of illness. But as soon as the patient’s condition has stabilized, they are gradually introduced into the diet.

Regarding the erosive form and stomach ulcers, the soft consistency of the fruit will have a positive effect. It contains vitamin E, which accelerates the healing of wounds and burns. Damaged stomach walls begin to recover, and the inflammatory process is blocked.

Another benefit of the fruit is related to its ability to thicken the blood. This will help with minor local bleeding. Moreover, bananas trigger the process of regeneration of damaged cells. This amazing effect is achieved due to the high manganese content.

Banana for gastritis

Treatment of any form of gastritis involves reducing inflammation in the gastric mucosa and restoring normal acid-base balance. To combat the disease, doctors prescribe medications and recommend that the patient follow a diet.

The very word “diet”, to one degree or another, puts the human body into a state of stress. Even understanding that the right diet can alleviate symptoms does not always help improve the patient’s psychological state. And here bananas come to the aid of a patient with gastritis.

Their use has a coating and antiseptic effect on the esophagus. Due to its high vitamin E content, banana helps restore the stomach walls. Its soft, naturally sweet pulp does not irritate the esophagus and does not aggravate the symptoms of the disease.

Also, eating bananas reduces irritability and anxiety in patients with gastritis, helps fight hunger, and saturates the body with vitamins and minerals, which is especially important during a diet.

Can I drink banana juice?

We found out whether it is possible to eat bananas during exacerbation of gastritis, and clarified the specifics of consumption for hyperacid, atrophic, and other forms of gastritis. We've sorted out the fruits - let's move on to juices.

Of course, a packaged drink from a supermarket with a rich set of preservatives is unlikely to suit you. Maybe try squeezing banana juice at home? The idea is good, but useless. There will be very little of it, and the high time and money costs make the event completely irrational. In addition, with increased acidity, banana juice can provoke an exacerbation.

But mashed bananas made from bananas are quite acceptable for gastritis. True, you should eat it immediately after grinding. This will help preserve all vitamins and nutrients.

In what form can it be eaten?

Fruits that are not yet fully ripe should not be eaten. Green bananas have a high starch content, so they are difficult to digest and slow down peristalsis.

Bananas can be used to prepare many different dishes, not all of which are beneficial for people with gastritis. You need to know what to do so as not to harm the body.

Eating dried fruits will bring benefits - they retain the existing beneficial substances, while eliminating the development of fermentation processes.

You can eat ripe fruits fresh, prepare purees, juices, yoghurts, cocktails with kefir and banana. You can make cottage cheese casserole with bananas. Another advantage of this dish is that there is no need to add additional sugar.

To prepare a cocktail, use the following recipe: beat 4 cocktails and 1 liter of 1% kefir or 0.5 liters of low-fat yogurt. This cocktail will not only benefit the digestive system, but will also help you lose weight. You can arrange a fasting day - dividing the resulting volume into 5 servings.

Banana chips and fried bananas should be avoided. You should not combine bananas with milk - such a combination can lead to indigestion.

Despite the benefits, you should not consume the fruit uncontrollably . The maximum number of bananas you can eat per day is 2 pieces.

It is important to wash bananas thoroughly before eating. The peel is treated with phenol, a dangerous substance that increases the shelf life of the product.

Also, when buying fruits, you should pay attention to their size. It is worth refusing to purchase forage varieties - they can be recognized by their large size and thick peel.

On our website: What wine can you drink if you have gastritis?

Eating bananas. How to choose and eat correctly with gastritis?

Ever seen banana chips on sale? So, you definitely can’t have them. They contain dangerous carcinogens that harm not only the stomach, but the entire body. The same can be said for fried bananas. They only aggravate the inflammation process.

In conclusion, here are a few more useful recommendations for those who intend to eat bananas for gastritis:

• When exactly should you eat fruit? Doctors advise doing this 2 hours after eating.
• What fruits should you definitely not eat? Definitely green - they will lead to intestinal upset and flatulence. But if you keep them on the windowsill for 2-3 days, they will ripen quickly.
• How to clean it properly? The peel and threads that are located on the surface are removed.
• Give preference to medium-sized fruits. But long, indecently large bananas are considered fodder.
• After you have eaten 1 or 2 fruits, refrain from drinking liquids for 40 minutes.

Rules for eating fruit

In order for bananas to benefit the body during gastritis, you need to eat them correctly. You should not eat chips made from this fruit. They contain carcinogens that harm a sick stomach. Fried bananas are also prohibited. In this form, they lose valuable properties and aggravate the inflammatory process in the stomach.

Rules for eating bananas for gastritis:

• You should eat fruit no earlier than 2 hours after a meal and no later than 40 minutes before a meal;
• You cannot eat green fruits, they can cause intestinal upset and flatulence;
• peel the product not only from the peel, but also from the white threads on the surface of the pulp;
• wash thoroughly with soap (to increase shelf life they are often treated with chemical compounds).

Bananas can be eaten if there are no symptoms of exacerbation of the disease. Preference is given to medium-sized fruits. Bananas that are too long and large and pale yellow in color are classified as forage varieties.

After consuming the product, it is not recommended to drink any liquid for 30 minutes. The banana takes 30–40 minutes to digest. If you drink the product, it will stay in the stomach longer and can cause heaviness and bloating. Any liquid dilutes gastric juice and interferes with the digestion of fruits.

Green fruits ripen in a few days at room temperature.

For tropical countries, bananas are one of the main exported products. In African countries, this fruit is the most consumed product - up to 190 kg per year per capita.

Notes from a phytochemist. Green banana, or Don't forget to feed the microbiota

Somehow it has become so customary since the days of my hungry student youth that I often bought myself bananas with my leftover money, rather than chips or buckwheat. There can probably be many reasons for this, from “in Belarus bananas are cheaper than potatoes” to “bananas, like chocolate, promote brain activity.” But the fact remains a fact. If persimmon is a seasonal fruit, then banana is the kind of thing that accompanies us throughout life constantly. How not to repay a debt and not to write down a note. In addition, according to a mini-survey I conducted among my friends, one of the main fruits, which with a 99% probability will be on almost every New Year's table, is also a banana. But the right banana still needs to be found...

In general, to “warm up” I suggest an express test. Which banana in the picture do you think has the maximum healing effect according to Chinese researchers? To get started, just select and remember the number under the picture you like.

Well, for the answer - traditionally, under cat.

Even recently, in some places you could meet wandering actors and preachers who had in their stash an undeniable, “banana argument” against any atheist. The key element of this argument was this image, invented by fellow Raymond "Ray" Comfort aka Banana Man - creationist, Christian (Protestant) writer, street preacher and video producer.

Under the spoiler is the translation (with comments, I couldn’t resist

1. The banana has a shape that is convenient for grasping by a human hand (most likely it was meant that the number of ribs on the sides of the banana coincides with the number of joints between the phalanges of the grasping fingers)
2. Banana has a non-slippery surface (well...)
3. A banana has external indicators that the contents are ready for consumption: green - too early, yellow - what you need, black - too late (but it’s not so simple, read the article further)
4. The banana has an “opener” for removing the peel (I open from the pointed end, but there are so many different opinions among people)
5. The banana has a perforated “packaging peel” (well...)
6. Banana has a biodegradable “packaging peel” (I agree)
7. The banana has a shape adjusted to the size of a human mouth (???)
8. The banana is pointed at the top to make it easier to eat (???)
9. Banana is pleasant to the taste buds (especially wild )
10. The banana is curved along the face to make the whole eating process more ergonomic (there is such a creative (more than) German artist Karl Friedrich Lenze who invented a machine that straightens bananas, and there is no end to those who want to buy this machine )

I don’t know about you, but I, without any extra thought about divine providence (mentally thanking unknown agricultural breeders and geneticists), like the proposed description of the banana’s strengths. That's why today we're talking about him. We will consider medicinal components later, because now, when there are only a few days left until the New Year, it is much more important to choose the right banana. Because what you celebrate the New Year with is what you will spend with.

So what about gas?

From time to time I hear people who buy bananas say that “they are treated with some kind of gas,” which means it’s not mine, it’s still harmful. In fact, this misconception has absolutely no fundamental basis. To prove this, we will have to talk about plant hormones. Let's start from afar.

One of the key aspects of the banana phenomenon is its degree of ripeness. Since it is this factor that affects the taste characteristics. Bananas that are exported are harvested green “starchy” and without noticeable changes in their condition are easily transported around the world in refrigerators at a temperature of +13-15 °C (56.3 and 59.0 °F). At lower temperatures, bananas turn black due to the destruction of the cell walls (which can be observed by keeping them in the refrigerator at 4°C), although the inside of the fruit remains unchanged. By the way, they can remain in this state for quite a long time, until they rot (“never reaching maturity”). Some national cuisines (Jamaican, for example) use such green bananas as food raw materials with a high starch content, so many suppliers offer “still bananas” to the market, i.e. those on which the gassing procedure has not been carried out. But we love yellow and sweet bananas, and for this we need to trigger the mechanism of forced ripening. This is done in the country of destination, in special aeration (ripening) chambers. For processing, bananas are transferred from relatively cool storage areas to a heat-insulated aeration chamber, where first the bananas are heated to +18-20 °C, and then the chamber is filled with the so-called. “banana gas” - a mixture of nitrogen (95%) and ethylene (5%).

A daily exposure in a gas atmosphere starts the ripening process, and after storage in a normal atmosphere for three to seven days, the bananas are ready for sale. The degree of ripeness of bananas is controlled by the parameters of aeration and the duration of aging in the warehouse. The picture actually shows instructions for the operator of the ripening chamber (degrees in Fahrenheit, if someone wants to make such a chamber at home, is translated using the formula (Fahrenheit - 32): 1.8 = Celsius).

By the way, a characteristic feature of an unripe banana (in addition to color) is pronounced longitudinal edges (ribs) on the fruit; A ripe banana has an almost circular cross-section, without pronounced edges.

The main component in this entire procedure is ethylene gas. Many people have probably heard/seen about plant growth stimulants (for example, auxins or gibberellins), with the help of which everyone can grow their own miracle fruit at home. This also includes ethylene gas, because it is the simplest representative of plant hormones (yes, plants also have their own hormones).

Phytohormones are low-molecular organic substances produced by plants and having regulatory functions. They act in very low concentrations and cause various physiological and morphological changes in plant parts sensitive to their action.

There is no need to be afraid of ethylene, since it is synthesized by all plants, with the exception of algae, as well as fungi and some bacteria. The rate of ethylene formation in plant tissues averages 5-50 nl/h (g wet weight), and the content is 0.1-2.0 nl/g wet weight. A lot of ethylene accumulates in falling leaves and flowers, and in the nodes of shoots. Ripening fruits have a particularly high ethylene content. For example, in apples its concentration reaches 2500 nl/g wet weight. Like other phytohormones, ethylene controls many processes in plants, many of which are induced by stress (flooding, cooling or high temperatures, pathogens, drought). That is why ethylene is often called a stress hormone.

The main and only source of ethylene in plants is the amino acid methionine, and plants have a special mechanism for constantly replenishing reserves of this sulfur-containing amino acid (the so-called Young cycle, during which the CH3-S group remaining from methionine after the synthesis of 1-aminocyclopropane-1 -carboxylic acid (ACC - the direct precursor of ethylene), is again used for its formation. When fruits ripen, the enzymes of ethylene synthesis - ACC synthase and ACC oxidase - are activated and as a result of all these processes, the ethylene content in tissues constantly increases.

One of the characteristics of some fruits that ripen faster when treated with ethylene is increased respiration before ripening, called climacteric. In such fruits, increased respiration is followed by a sharp activation of ethylene synthesis. This process occurs in an autocatalytic mode, since it has been established that treatment of fruits with ethylene activates its synthesis and causes an even greater increase in the content of this hormone in tissues during ripening. Examples of climacteric fruits are apples, pears, plums, bananas, avocados, mangoes, peaches, and tomatoes. If during the ripening process the intensity of respiration in the tissues does not change, such fruits are called non-climacteric. These include citrus fruits, grapes, cherries, pineapple, strawberries and some others. You can check this effect by placing ripe fruit in a closed container with unripe fruit. The ethylene released from ripe fruit will be enough to speed up the ripening process in unripe fruit. At the same time, the ripening speed increases several times. Ethylene will have a similar effect on cut flowers and indoor plants. Therefore, if you do not want your roses to quickly age and wilt, never leave them indoors next to ripe vegetables and fruits.

The ripening mechanism deserves special mention (it is the same for all fruits, not just bananas). For a plant, ripening means the seeds and fruits are ready to spread. During the ripening of fruits, with the help of various enzymes, the breakdown of cell wall elements occurs (pectinase ~~ and pectinesterase ~~ dissolves cell walls and softens the fruit), hydrolysis of starch (amylase converts starch into oligosaccharides), disappearance of organic acids and phenolic compounds, including tannins (hydrolase, for example, hydrolyzes chlorophyll, which is why the skin begins to fade) and the accumulation of sugars. Ethylene, as mentioned earlier, accelerates these processes, so behind the scenes it is also called a maturation hormone.

Sometimes, by the way, it is necessary to slow down the action of ethylene, for example, to preserve ripe fruit longer. For such purposes, another gas is used - methylcyclopropene, which inhibits the production of ethylene and blocks its action.

The mechanism of inhibition by methylcyclopropene in two pictures

In the case of apples, increasing the concentration of carbon dioxide in storage also works.

Green or black?

We have examined the mechanism of maturation; I think it is worth dwelling in detail on its usefulness. Which banana is healthier, blackened or green? A few basic points at once

1. The nutritional value of any banana is approximately the same, i.e. unripe banana = ripe banana = overripe banana.
2. Any banana is good. As the degree of its ripeness changes, mainly its taste and aroma changes.
3. Any bananas (both green and yellow) contain the same amount of microelements

But everything else is special cases, one way or another related to the maturation process (see the picture above with the processes occurring during this). Let's start with the benefits of overripe ("black"/"brown") bananas.

Firstly, a brown banana will have the maximum amount of antioxidants (of various classes, I will focus on this in subsequent articles), due to the fact that high molecular weight natural polymers are almost completely broken down by enzymes into shorter, but at the same time quite biologically active fragments.

Secondly, during the ripening process, a banana acquires maximum digestibility due to the complete hydrolysis of polysaccharides (like starch) into simple, easily digestible sugars. Overripe bananas are easier to digest and are an ideal option for those people who have problems digesting food.

Well, thirdly. The answer to the test is at the beginning of the article. Among the bananas presented at KDPV, banana number 8, with black spots, has the greatest medicinal effect. By the way, it is thanks to them that this effect manifests itself. The fact is that Chinese researchers discovered a special biologically active compound in black spots on the peel of overripe bananas - homodimeric fructose-binding lectin. For a better understanding, I will quote Russian Wikipedia:

Lectins (from Latin legere - to collect) are proteins and glycoproteins that have the ability to highly specifically bind carbohydrate residues on the surface of cells. Lectins are often involved in cellular recognition; for example, some pathogenic microorganisms use lectins to attach to cells of the affected organism.

In fact, these are incredible compounds because each lectin binds to its “own” carbohydrate residue as specifically as an antibody binds to an antigen, or an enzyme to a substrate. In the mentioned article, the authors predict the role of “banana lectin” as an accessible anti-HIV drug, which, among other things, has immunomodulatory and antitumor activity. So, next time, think about whether you should throw away such a “spotted” banana.

Now we move on to the green bananas, starchy and unripe. First of all, such bananas will be acceptable for people who do not like the sweet taste and those who suffer from diabetes, since green bananas contain a minimal amount of sugar. Green bananas have a lower glycemic index than their yellowed counterparts.

And most importantly, green bananas contain a large amount of so-called. "resistant" or indigestible starch that our little friends need. To explain what’s what, I’ll allow myself a small “microbiological” digression.

Microbiome

The cosmos is inside us, we are made of stellar matter, we are the way the cosmos knows itself Carl Sagan

If you ask an ordinary person what intestinal microflora is and what its role in human life is, you can hear approximately the following answers: “digests food”, “fights diarrhea”, “absorbs vitamins”, “it dies from antibiotics, and for recovery you need to drink yoghurt” and a couple more, many answers that are at different distances from the truth. I am also a sinner and until a certain point I was not very interested in issues of intestinal microflora. Until a group of enterprising comrades approached me with an offer to watch one of the competitions announced by InnoCentive (the task was to find a non-invasive express method for assessing intestinal microflora). Already from the first articles, I clearly understood that the task of the competition was beyond us, because a world opened up before me, not even a world, but a whole Universe that lives inside each of us. In fact, the microflora, or microbiota of the human intestine, is a balanced (in a healthy person) evolutionarily developed civilization (yes, that’s right) of microorganisms living in their own ecosystem, forming microbial associations, having their own ecological niches, relationships, symbioses, predators, parasites, etc.

Remark from childhood

I immediately remember one of my favorite childhood cartoons - the Japanese series “Wonder Beat Scramble”, about scientists who have learned to shrink people and send them inside the human body to fight diseases (viruses and bacteria are presented as invasive “aliens.” Working Group The team was called "White Pegasus" and moved inside the human body on the ship "Vanderbit". A normal cartoon describing a prototype of a medical nanorobot

The composition of each person's microbiota is unique and determined genetically. Therefore, the “cast” of the microbiota will be as unique as a fingerprint, or the ear shape/print recently described on Habré. So, it’s clear why InnoCentive announced its competition. To date, more than 5,000 species of microorganisms have been identified that peacefully coexist with each other in the human intestine, and 90% of them cannot be cultivated in laboratory conditions (=it is impossible to select the composition of the nutrient medium, etc., etc.). Here is confirmation of the fact of the value of each individual person, who, together with the genetically compatible microorganisms living inside him, represents a certain single “superorganism” (read Metabolomics of a superorganism).

Despite the fact that “man is the crown of creation,” it is microorganisms that are the key element of the above-mentioned superorganism, if only because the metabolism within it is ensured by the clearly organized work of enzymes encoded not only by the human genome itself, but also by the genomes of all microorganisms. The importance of interaction between humans and the inhabitants of the “dark depths” is due to the fact that there is not a single function of the body that it does not influence in one way or another (there is a lack of evidence). The entire intestinal microflora (which is approximately 2.5–3 kg of bacteria in a healthy person) is a huge repository of genetic information (microbial, plasmid and chromosomal genes) that ensures the maintenance of the stability of microbial communities and the exchange of genetic material with human cells.

As a result of living together, microorganisms acquire receptors and other antigens of the host cells (become “invisible” to the immune system), which determines the stability of the individual microflora of each person. In terms of its role in maintaining the normal functioning of the human body, the intestinal microbiome is not inferior to any vital organ (!). It is not surprising that disturbances in its composition can lead to significant deviations in human health (for example, obesity, exhaustion, absent-mindedness). Even gene expression is affected.

Today we can safely say that the intestine is the first organ of the body’s immune system (contains 80% of all immunoglobulins and 106 lymphocytes in 1 gram of lymphoid tissue). In addition, microflora has many other local and systemic functions:

... energy supply to the epithelium, regulation of body heat exchange, maintenance of ionic homeostasis, regulation of intestinal motility, participation in the regulation, differentiation and regeneration of epithelial tissues, provision of cytoprotection, removal of endo- and exogenous toxins, destruction of mutagens, formation of signaling molecules, including neurotransmitters, stimulation of humoral and cellular immunity with the formation of immunoglobulins, inhibition of the growth of pathogens, capture and excretion of viruses, provision of substrates for gluconeogenesis and lipogenesis, protein metabolism, participation in the recycling of bile acids, steroids and other macromolecules, regulation of the gas composition of cavities, synthesis and supply to the body of B vitamins, pantothenic acids, activation of medicinal compounds (drugs)…

In general, if we fantasize about developing the theme and assume that by some force of will we will be able to “speak to this civilization” - they can easily turn us into any superhero of American comics. For now, we just live side by side, without touching each other, sometimes fighting “positionally”, nothing more...

Let's return to our banana starches

After the story about the microcosm of the intestinal microflora, it will become clearer why resistant starch is so important, and, accordingly, why you can, if not need, to eat green bananas. By the way, people who were born before the 70s can safely say that they were “born in a time when all starch was the same.” Then it was believed that any starch was completely digested during the digestion process. And with the advent of complex methods for studying the metabolism of carbohydrates in the body, it was found that some types of starch suddenly move undigested into the large intestine. After all, it was once known from school chemistry lessons that the digestion of starch begins in the oral cavity under the action of the salivary enzyme alpha-amylase (so-called salivary a-amylase). In the stomach, this enzyme suspends its action due to the acidic environment, but the main place for digestion of starch and absorption of the resulting glucose is the small intestine, where the so-called pancreas comes from the pancreas. pancreatic a-amylase.

It is with the onset of enzymatic hydrolysis of starch in the small intestine that an increase in blood sugar levels after eating begins to be detected. Everything would be fine, but it was in the 70-80s of the last century that it was established that not all starch breaks down into glucose in the small intestine (I wonder if this point is covered in modern textbooks). That indigestible part of starch, which is not hydrolyzed in the small intestine (and therefore does not affect calorie content and insulin levels), was isolated and called “indigestible” or “resistant” (from the Latin resistere - to resist) starch.

Resistant starch (RS) is a starch that is not digested by gastrointestinal enzymes and reaches the large intestine, where it is consumed (note - read, the main type of “fuel” for those who make us a superorganism) or fermented by bacteria in the large intestine (gut microbiota). Not only resistant starch has similar properties, but also polysaccharide fibers of non-starch structure, oligosaccharides and some simple sugars.

It is currently believed that there are three types of starch: fast digesting starch, slow digesting starch and resistant indigestible starch (also thanks to the tacit agreement and support of the European Commission). In turn, resistant indigestible is usually divided into 4 separate classes. See description in table below:

In general, the metabolic scheme of starch (both stable and unstable) can be represented as follows:

Fermentation of resistant starch results in the formation of short-chain fatty acids (acetic acetate, propionic propionate, butyrate), small amounts of gases (carbon dioxide, methane, etc., see NB), as well as an increase in bacterial cell mass. The resulting acids are quickly absorbed by the walls of the colon and then metabolized in its epithelial cells (and then in the liver and/or other tissues). Butyric acid is the most important source of energy for colonocytes - the cells of the colon mucosa. In addition, biologically active substances produced by microorganisms that are sensitive to the content of this substance in the intestine, in turn, have a beneficial effect on metabolism and cell growth; reduce the level of cholesterol, triglycerides and urea in the blood, and even interfere with a number of factors that contribute to the progression and growth of colon tumors.

Interestingly, for the reasons stated earlier (resistance to hydrolysis in the small intestine, etc.), in 2020 the US Food and Drug Administration issued a document in which it confirmed the fact that resistant starch (approx. - high in amylose, i.e. corn, for example) can reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.

NB Well, a traditional fly in the ointment, for the sake of objectivity. Since resistant starch is in many ways reminiscent of various dietary fibers, it is close in physiological action to them, therefore it acts as a weak laxative and, when consumed in large quantities, can lead to flatulence. So that the inexperienced reader does not think “why is this resistant starch better than some fibers for improving digestion, which are actively sold in health food stores, etc.” I will say that it is better, if only because the fermentation process of resistant starch produces much more butyrate than in the case of other types of dietary fiber. This may be why the permissible daily intake of resistant starch in adults can reach 45 grams, which exceeds the total recommended intake of plant fiber (the same “dietary fiber”) by 25–38 grams per day.

With this, the young fighter’s theoretical course is completed. All that remains is to consolidate the skills in practice.

We practice on the ground. Instructions for finding a banana

Somehow, while constantly searching for information about the usefulness of plant materials, I came across the so-called forum. "raw foodists".

Raw food diet (rarely raw food diet) is a nutrition system in which the consumption of any food that has been subjected to heat treatment (boiling, frying, baking, steaming, etc.) is completely excluded.

I came across it because I was sure that no one else would be able to share useful observations about plant foods than those who consume them as is. There I came across rather critical statements from user el Inka, a “Russian Ecuadorian”, about the bananas sold in our hypermarkets and markets. It all came down to this:

... If the farmer is small, well, there are 20-40 hectares of land under palm trees, then he is not rich, and he only has enough money for urea, this is the main fertilizer for the banana palm. And strong large farms use chemicals with all their might, there, in addition to urea, they practice spraying with terrible poisons (not so much against insects as against birds) as well as all sorts of growth accelerators, and the ground between the palm trees is filled with some kind of abomination against weeds. By the way, the commercial banana that travels overseas to you is the most primitive and most tasteless type of banana. It is grown specifically for transportation, it is completely unnatural, I have almost never bought anything like this here. There are varieties that are much more interesting. For example, maqueño (with the taste of fresh hay), maduro (if ripe, then it’s candy), orito (wildly sweet), dedito (small and with an unusual heady aroma), bairde (hard like an apple, and not sweet, but when ripe it’s also funny ), as well as black bananas (rare), red (wild, I ate them in the jungle, there were thickets there), and a lot of other varieties. It will never be delivered to you, it is not transportable. However, regardless of the type, if it’s wild, it’s class, if it’s farmed, take care of your liver...

What to do in such a situation? Here's what. In pursuit of tasty and healthy food, people go to great lengths. And they are trying to buy from farmers, and conduct some tests on their own, etc. and so on. Moreover, very few people know about such a thing as PLU code. Namely, it is, in fact, the simplest and most accessible way to initially check the quality of fruit, berry and vegetable products. I think many people have seen stickers on bananas. They saw it and, with a high degree of probability, tried to quickly take it off and throw it away without even reading it. But in vain. Because there you can find quite important information, especially for fans of “non-GMO food”, “organic food”, etc. So, “PLU code” is nothing more than a price look up code - a price search code, which is a certain set of numbers. This set is standardized to the requirements of the International Federation for Product Standards (IFPS). The numbers clearly identify the products purchased by the wholesale departments of supermarkets. The codes have been in use for quite a long time; more than 1,400 of them have already been assigned since 1990. The Global Coalition of Fruit and Vegetable Producers, created in 2001, is promoting PLU coding of vegetables and fruits (what a name! I immediately remembered Cippolino). Although PLU coding is also used for nuts and greens

This marking was introduced to simplify the life of the buyer. Since different varieties of the same product often look the same, but are not “equally healthy”, plus the difference in prices, differences between “organic” and “NON-organic products”, etc. and so on. The adopted marking system is described in the document. The rules are simple:

1) The PLU code consists of only four digits (and starts with the number 3 or 4), this signals that the product was grown using the “traditional” method (intensive agriculture method), using fertilizers and pesticides. A combination of numbers, as a rule, can indicate the type of fruit/vegetable and its variety (regardless of the place of cultivation). Those. A banana marked with PLU code 4011 can be a banana from Mexico, Ecuador, or even sunny Florida (USA). Follow the link to check what exactly they sell to you in the store.

description of banana 4011

2) If the PLU consists of five digits, with the first digit being “8,” this means that the vegetable or fruit has been genetically modified (that same GMO ). A banana labeled "84011" or "8-4011" will be genetically modified. As practice shows, fruits such as melon, banana and papaya are most often subject to GMO-fication. UPD: But according to the latest IFPS release:

Although the '8' prefix (83000 - 84999) was once reserved for GMO products, it has never been used by manufacturers for products sold at retail. Therefore, it was decided to free up a range of PLU numbers for routine product identification. This will in no way affect the current use of the '9' prefix (93000-94999) and will continue to be used to identify organic products.

So, “we only have nine left…”

3) If the PLU consists of five digits, with the first digit being “9,” this means that the product was grown the “old-fashioned” way, as it has been done for thousands of years: hand weeding and no chemical fertilizers/pesticides. Nowadays this method is called the newfangled “organic”, which, as a chemist, I must admit, hurts my eyes quite a lot. For example, the purest naturally grown banana will be labeled "94011" or "9-4011." This is the best option of all.

Most people try to choose fruits without labels. But in fact, it is much safer to give preference to labeled products, because fruits brought from abroad must be labeled. In addition to the “degree of organicity,” you can also find out the variety (and even the color - in case the seller is deceiving). And if there are no stickers, then with a high degree of probability, the fruits were “cleaned with caring hands” (that’s a reason for you to doubt the seller). By the way, the stickers are glued to special food adhesives, so it’s okay if you suddenly forget about the sticker and get into the digestive tract.

As a workshop, it was decided on the New Year's Eve to walk through large hypermarkets on the way home and evaluate the assortment of fruits and their labeling. By the way, paying attention to fruit stickers is quite an exciting activity. By the way, photography is also interesting.

PLU-labeled fruits were found in limited quantities in only one hypermarket in the hero city (in order not to advertise, they still don’t pay, I’ll give you a tip - “there’s a karting track nearby”), as you can see, there was no place for your favorite bananas among them...

Deciphering the PLU codes of the fruits shown in the picture
3092 Commodity GRAPEFRUIT Variety OroBlanco/Sweetie Botanical Name Citrus paradisi 4022 Commodity GRAPES Variety White/Green Seedless Botanical Name Vitis vinifera 4636 Commodity GRAPES Variety Red Globe Botanical Name Vitis vinifera 3489 Commodity PEARS Variety Cep una Botanical Name Pyrus communis AKA Migo 3605 Commodity APPLES Variety Nicoter Botanical Name Malus 3619 Commodity APPLES Variety Milwa Botanical Name Malus pumila
In all other hypermarkets/"convenience stores"/stalls, etc. in the worst case, there are no stickers at all. At best, there are stickers, but “wrong”. Moreover, there is a wide assortment - bright, colorful, New Year's themed, and Santa Claus with a red nose. Only there is no PLU-shell...

This concludes the story about the green banana. Happy New Year, %USERNAME%! Let every habr-reader have only the most __ (enter the one you need after reading the article) bananas on the New Year’s table, and only with PLU-code starting with the number “9”!

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Used sources

https://chippfest.blogspot.com Medvedev S.S. Physiology of plants. St. Petersburg University Publishing House. 2004. 336 p. https://plantphys.info/plants_human/fruitgrowripe.shtml https://biohimik.net/lechebnoe-pitanie/uglevody/krakhmal/rezistentnyj-krakhmal https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/nutrition-research- reviews/article/nutritional-implications-of-resistant-starch/23D452BF13D2F1A4FFEF3D09D1275719 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/j.1541-4337.2006.tb00076.x

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