I have been studying something pretty neat the past few months. There are super beneficial chemicals in bananas that are good for your health and more.

In fact, ripe bananas are really good for you for multiple reasons.

If you’re like my husband or me, you prefer nice fresh firm bananas when you eat them fresh. They just taste better to me, and I absolutely HATE ripe bananas. But, ripe bananas are at the peak of nutrition, so it’s the best time to consume them and use the peel.

Let’s check out this fun information today!

Super Beneficial Chemicals in Bananas and Banana Peels

 

Chemistry of Bananas

Vitamins & Minerals

All bananas contain a wide array of vitamins and minerals like all fruits do.

Bananas are known for their high potassium levels. They are also a great source of vitamin B6, A, C and D.

Bananas also contain high levels of choline which is an essential macronutrient that aides in liver functions, muscle development, energy, and metabolism.

Also found in bananas are great sources of folate, niacin, copper, manganese, and various amino acids.

Nutrition Value has a great additional breakdown of all the elements found in bananas.

So, it’s obvious that a banana is good for you and unique as a fruit. If you follow me on instagram or snapchat, you always see me using bananas for my smoothie base!

Chemicals in Banana Peels

As we shared above, bananas are a great nutritional addition to your diet. But the banana peel is also a really important part of the banana!

In fact, there are numerous ways to enjoy banana peels.

First, let’s check out the chemistry going on in the peel.

Along with the typical  substances also found in the actual banana like potassium and phosphorous, is an array of unique compounds found only in the peel. According to this GC-MS analysis, the peel showed high peaks at Vitamin E, 1, 2 Benzenedicarboxylic acid mono, β- tocopherol, and estragole. In the chemistry world, we use GC-MS machines to identify chemicals in substances through molecular peaks.

So, the peel itself has a high level of vitamin E which is one of the most important vitamins for your skin.

Also seen in the peel is Benzenedicarboxylic acid, also known as pthalic acid. This is an aromatic ester

β- tocopherol is also an organic compound that contains vitamin E.

The last large compound seen in this experiment is estragole. This is an organic compound found in many plants and fruits. It is used in perfumes and food flavoring.

Also seen on this analysis is high levels of catechins. We’ve talked about this chemical before in tea.

Catechins are a group of antioxidants which have been proven to help with blood pressure and improve cardiovascular health.  They are also beneficial for anti-aging.

With all these amazing chemicals found in a banana peel, there are so many neat things you can do with it!

 

Chemist Tips for Using Banana Peels

You may have seen rumors online about using the peel for your skin. Some people try it, but don’t know why it works. Since we looked at the chemistry of the actual peel, it is understandable how awesome it is for your skin!

Here are some ways to use it:

Treat Acne

With high levels of vitamin E and catechins, the peel of a banana can soothe and treat pimples. All you need to do is rub the peel on your face at night, rinse in the morning.

Fight Wrinkles

Again, due to the unique combination of vitamin E and antioxidants, the peel of a banana is even better to use than some store-bought remedies.

Rub the peel over your face, allow it to dry. You can sleep with it on, then rinse it in the morning. Or apply the peel, once it dries, dab it off with a warm damp towel.

Scars

Just like with wrinkles, it can heal scar tissue with the high levels of vitamin E.

Dark Spots

Banana peels also help with evening out pigmentation on your skin. Just use it the same way as above.

Teeth Whitening??

I’ve seen this on the internet too. This is NOT true, but it can clean your teeth. There isn’t a chemical in the peel that would actually have the ability to whiten. Since the peel is fibrous, it can gently exfoliate teeth to clean them though. It won’t remove stains, but it can remove anything dirty on the surface So, I guess if you need a quick mouth clean, use your banana peel ?

Chemist Tips for Storing Banana Peels

Banana peels can go bad fast and you won’t use an entire peel for each use. The best way to keep the peel at it’s peak is to keep it from oxidation.

All I do is cut off part of a peel to use for my face, then store the rest in an air tight plastic bag. As long as it is air tight, the peel doesn’t rot. It keeps like this for days. DO NOT add to a refrigerator or freezer, it will turn black immediately.

Banana Peels in the Garden

Yes, they are even good for your plants.

We love using lemon powder for plants, like in this post. Banana peels are also beneficial in powder form. You can create it in the same way. You can also just cut up the peel into small pieces and bury around your plants.

The potassium found in banana peels is very beneficial to blooms!

Enjoy using banana peels for so many great things!

Follow on Facebook | Bloglovin | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | Hometalk

Linking with Met Monday and these link parties!

Save

Save

Save

Save