A banana a day keeps the doctor away

GOOD morning everybody, well, we've reached that time of the year once again. Before going any further I must wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and Happy Fruitful New Year. But we must not forget what we are celebrating. We are celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savoir Jesus Christ. He must come before anything in your mind, his more important than the presents, food, cigarettes and enjoyment, I'm not being a sour-puss, but we should thinks of our Lord above all things. After, all did he not shed his blood for our sins, on the cross at Calvary, his more than worthy of our respect and love, we must worship him daily not just at Christmas, even then a lot of people can't tell you what it's all about, they just want a good time and lots of Selfish Enjoyment. The Lord is our Savior and our Hope for the future.

Lets pause for a moment: Take time this Christmastide to go A little way apart, And with the help of God prepare The house that is your heart. To give meaning to Christmas, Give Christ First Place in Your heart.

Our topic: A couple of weeks ago I wrote about farmers in Bohol, at Guindulman in fact, making a good business from growing banana's, “So what”, You say, so how about health and wealth, these are a couple of advantages and reasons for going into banana production. On the health factor, a book written by Frank K. Wood – “Eat and Heal,” He states that each banana is full of potassium, foliate and vitamin B for heart and bones, and vitamins A and C for anti oxidant protection, and that just for starters! It is packed with fiber for regularity and melatonin for adjusting the internal clock. The book also said that bananas are one of the foods selected to display the American Heart Associations Stamp of Approval, meaning they meet the AHA's standard for saturated fat and cholesterol.

Lets have look at heart disease and high blood pressure, homocysteine has to be checked if you are at risk for heart disease. In some cases this may be due to a person's genes but one could also be vitamin – deficient. It is easy enough to cut your hemocysteine and reduce your chances of developing heart disease by getting extra foliate. Eat a banana and you have just got 22 micrograms of this important nutrient, Check with your doctor! Meanwhile, if one has heart disease, chances are there is a limit on salt and fat in take to keep blood pressure down.

But that's only half the story, you may be able to send these BP numbers into a nosedive be eating plenty of fruits and vegetables. Its the calcium in green leafy vegetables and the potassium in fruits like bananas that seem to make the difference. By the looks of it, soft and curved fruit, the banana of course, may easily be believed to have no effect at keeping bones straight and strong. But they can actually help in having strong bones, thanks to their high potassium content. Even if a person drinks plenty of milk and eats lots of dairy products, without enough potassium, the calcium needed may not be just enough. So for your own sake – “banana a day” potassium in bananas likewise helps fight off dehydration. When suffering from diarrhea, the body lose's vital fluids and minerals.

An indication that a person is dehydrated, is when there is dizziness and weakness, at this point action is required. Try bananas, because according to the American College of Gastroenterology” Bananas are the perfect food after an attack of diarrhea”. The potassium changes balance of water in your cells”. So you see, not only doe's bananas offer huge benefits to your health, but likewise can bring in more money. Here in the Philippines , the banana is the leading fruit and is considered to be a consistent top dollar earner, this is according to the department of agriculture.

The prospect of Philippine bananas in the domestic and foreign markets is still looking promising, a report from the D.A. indicates, that particularly the cavendish variety is for export while the lakatan and latundan varities for local markets. The D.A. said that cavendish banana's export demand is expected to grow at three to six percent per year while lakatan and latundan are reckoned to grow at around three percent per year. The Philippines the Department of Agriculture said was ranked second among exporting countries, the country's major export destinations included the EU, taking 33.8 percent, USA with 28.9, Japan with seven percent, Russia with around four percent and followed by China and Canada. Cavendish varieties constitutes the bulk of the export earnings in banana's at over $300 million and rising. So come on growers, you could help increase that here in Bohol .