The latest studies have shown that the nutritional value of bananas changes as the fruit ripens. You have probably noticed that the taste of bananas also changes as they ripen, it is actually getting sweeter. Wonder why?

Bananas contain enzymes that progressively break down the starch, turning it into simple sugars, such as disaccharides or monosaccharides. Starch is actually a long polymeric form of sugar that does not taste sweet, so when the bananas are ripe, the starch has already turned into a simple sugar, which makes it easier to digest.

However, researchers claim that the amount of vitamins and minerals reduces as the fruit ripens, so they strongly suggest that you should keep your bananas in the fridge.

A group of Japanese researchers discovered a quite interesting fact about bananas. As bananas ripen, they produce more antioxidants and strengthen their anticancer properties.

Furthermore, when bananas are fully ripe, they get dark spots on the peel, meaning that the fruit has started producing TNF (Tumor Necrosis Factor), a substance which fights abnormal cells.

The results also show that the anti-cancer properties improve as the number of dark spots increases. What’s more, bananas with yelow skin and dark spots are eight times more efficient in strengthening the immune system than bananas with green skin.

You probably see our point -- eat bananas when they are fully ripe. However, if you are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes or need to avoid rapid increase of your blood sugar, you may want to eat some nut butter with your bananas, as the fat slows the sugar absorption in the blood stream. If that is not the perfect solution for you, eat the bananas when they are not fully ripe (stage 3 or 4).

Source:  www.healthyfoodteam.com