Today's health-conscious consumers already know what is so great about bananas. But those who don't will be sold on bananas' tremendous nutritional bounty. The nutrient for which bananas are best known, potassium, revitalizes muscle power and helps maintain body fluid balance. This makes bananas popular with athletes in all sporting events and particularly long-distance challenges such as marathon, decathlon and bicycling.
Potassium is also essential to mental function, brain power and nerve impulses.
It plays a crucial role in the fluid balance, the mechanism by which cells are nourished and cleansed. Stress, overprocessed foods, and diarrhea can all cause potassium deficiency. People with potassium deficiencies can enjoy a healthful tasty banana, instead of having to get theirs in a pill or shot. Cooking leaches out most of the potassium in foods, which is why it is best obtained from raw foods such as bananas. Dispelling the fat myth Despite its creamy texture a banana contains no fat.