Before you Throw Away That Banana...

Unlike other fruits that have their nutrient content change as they
ripen, bananas have their antioxidant content increase as they ripen.

Most times when I get bananas from the farm they ripen so fast that
most of them end up in the dustbin. We notice the spotted bananas and
how the spots keep increasing and my kids go "eeew!".

But Japanese scientists have said "the spottier the better"...

In an experiment carried out by Japanese on ripe fruits such as
bananas, grape, pear, watermelon, pineapple and persimmon, the banana
came out tops:

"The fully ripe banana produces a substance called TNF( Tumor Necrosis
Factor) which
has the ability to combat abnormal cells. As the banana ripens, it
develops dark spots
or patches on the skin. The more dark patches it has, the higher will
be its' immunity enhancement quality.
In full ripe bananas with dark spots on skin, the starch content
changes to simple sugars that are easier to digest.

The research concluded that the
activity of banana was comparable to that of Lentinan, a chemical
immunostimulant
that is intravenously administered as an anti-cancer agent. So, ripe
banana can act
as an anti-cancer agent by stimulating the production of white blood
cells in the human cell line and preventing cell
mutation."
(www.healthyfoodstyle.com/what-happens-with-your-body-when-you-eat-ripe-bananas-with-dark-spots/)

The levels of TNF increase with the dark spots BEFORE the bananas turn
fully brown so no one is recommending brown or spoilt bananas. So eat
healthy!