While you might not think "bananas" when you think about groundbreaking scientific research, this fruit is one of the most popular research topics in the health industry. Bananas are constantly being poked, prodded and analyzed to determine what makes them grow and why they are so good for us.
History
Bananas first appear in documented history about 4,000 years ago in Malaysia. The Spanish brought them to North America on trade ships, and they were extremely popular as an overseas traveling food because they do not require refrigeration and stay sealed in their skins until peeled. While they were considered an exotic dessert at first, as transportation methods improved they became a staple fruit in the common diet. Bananas are actually a result of hybridizing two inedible plants, and today's most common yellow banana was discovered by a banana farmer whose cooking bananas had mixed with his green bananas. As you can see, the banana itself is the result of a fortunate experiment.
Types
Banana research is largely in the areas of grow more bananas and make bananas as good for you as possible. Because many South American countries rely largely on the export of bananas for the majority of their livelihood, banana farmers are always interested in finding new ways to grow more and better bananas. Generally, this research focuses on ways to make bananas more naturally pest resistant and have a longer growing season. Scientists are also working on sequencing the banana genome and exploring the myriad health benefits of the fruit.
Effects
One of the main effects of this wide research focus on bananas is that there is a great deal of funding for banana-related research. This enables literally thousands of scientists around the world to continue groundbreaking work in horticulture and nutrition. Institutions have researched bananas all over the world.
Benefits
Because bananas are widely accessible and relatively inexpensive, they are an ideal fruit for people of every economic status to add to their diet to help with everything from improving their eyesight to fighting depression. As research progresses, it is becoming more clear to everyone that bananas are one of the most nutritious and beneficial fruits one could eat. They regulate digestion, fortify kidneys and bones, improve eyesight and can actually soothe and heal ulcers.
Misconceptions
You might think that bananas are just another healthy fruit but scoff at the idea that they have any practical purpose outside of getting you one of your daily fruits and vegetables servings. However, research has shown that bananas have some extremely practical uses outside of nutrition that other fruits cannot match. Bananas have high levels of vitamins B6 and B12, which are believed to seriously ease nicotine cravings.
Potential
Research on bananas has already yielded a plethora of fascinating and valuable information. However, the field is still wide open. Due to bananas' extremely nutritious nature and convenient natural packaging, some researchers believe that bananas could be used to deliver life-saving vaccines and preventative medicines en masse to undeveloped countries. This is just one unusual avenue of banana research. Every day, researchers find new and exciting information about bananas and the many ways they can improve your health and your life.
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