Plantain, Its Health Benefits

Scientifically Reviewed By: Ezenwa Sylvester

Plantain also referred to as platanos is a type of weed that originated in Europe and Asia but is now found worldwide. As in bananas, plantains too belong to the musaceae family. Plantains are a close relative of the bananas and sometimes, without close glance can be mistaken for bananas.

Plantain trees grow best in moisture-rich, tropical climates. The tree flowers develop into a bunch, which holds about five to ten fruits or more than. However, plantains don't have a growing season and are always available year-round. Plantains are starchier, contain less sugar than bananas. Unlike bananas, plantains are typically cooked before eating.

HISTORY OF PLANTAINS


Plantains in this regard, are referenced in history as far back as 2,500 years ago. There are even mentions of the fruit in Ancient Greek records of Alexander the Great's travels to India. According to records, he liked plantains so much that he ordered them to be grown in his coastal domains in Africa.

The Swedish botanist, Linnaeus, named the banana and plantain family Musa after the biblical Moses in the 18th century. He named the plantain Paradisiaco because he lamented that it was the tree of paradise.

Originally native to Southeast Asian Islands, plantains and bananas are now found in tropical climates all over the world. Currently, the utmost producers of plantains are African countries like; Nigeria, Rwanda, Uganda and Ghana, where plantains provide more than 25 percent of food energy requirements for about 70 million people.

HEALTH BENEFITS OF PLANTAINS 

Plantains are a solid source of carbohydrates with a low fat content. They also provide other health benefits like the following:

• Plantains are a great source of potassium: We have 913 milligrams of potassium in one cup of cooked, mashed plantains. However, it accounts for about 20 percent of your recommended daily amount of potassium, making plantains one of the utmost potassium-rich foods on earth. 
• Plantains help regulate the digestive system: One cup of plantains provides almost a fifth of the fiber recommended daily, which is roughly 25-30 grams. Fiber has a profound effect on the digestive system and plays important role in keeping it regular.
• Plantains help to reduce the number of harmful free radicals: Free radicals which are made when your body breaks down food or when you are exposed to harmful elements like; tobacco smoke or radiation-play a part in aging, disease and cancer. In this effect, Vitamin C is an antioxidant that combats free radical damage and plantain provides over 35 percent of the Vitamin C needed per day.
• Plantains boost the immune system: Plantains pack 36 percent of your daily recommended amount of Vitamin A. Vitamin A provides a number of benefits to the body-as another powerful antioxidant. In support of Vitamin C, it helps control your immune response, combats disease. Vitamin A's antioxidant properties can neutralize free radicals also and help prevent inflammation caused by overreacting cells. Furthermore, it helps with eye health and vision.
• Plantains promote healthy brain function: Vitamin B6 also known as pyridoxine, generates several important neurotransmitters that convey information from one cell to another. Plantains can provide up to 24 percent of your daily amount needed of Vitamin B6. Vitamin B6 benefits healthy brain function and, according to research published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, it helped make hormones like serotonin and norepinephrine, which keep moods stable, and melatonin, which regulates the body's clock.
• Plantains are great source of magnesium: Plantains offer about 16 percent of your daily need for magnesium, which is especially important because magnesium affects over 300 biochemical reactions in the body. Magnesium directly affects calcium absorption, which can avert or reverse osteoporosis. 
• Plantain prevents aspirin-induced ulcers: In a study from the International Journal of Research in Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences, dried plantain powder displayed an important ulcer-healing effect on an aspirin-induced gastric ulcer. 

    WAYS TO USE PLANTAINS 

• Baked, boiled, roasted or fried.
• Mashed or chopped up and used as an ingredient in stew and soup.
• Steam cooked for infants and the elderly.
• Dried and ground down into flour and used with milk for infant food.
• In Peru, it is boiled and mixed with water and spices to make a drink called Chapo.
• When deep fried, it's enjoyed as chips. 
• It is made into curries.

NUTRITIONAL FACTS ABOUT PLANTAINS  

One cup of raw plantain has roughly these values:

• 181 Calories.
• 47 grams Carbohydrates.
• 1.9 grams Protein.
• 0.5 grams Fat.
• 3.4 grams Fiber.
• 27.2 milligrams Vitamin C (45 percent DV).
• 1,668 IU Vitamin A (33 percent).
• 0.4 milligram Vitamin B6 (22 percent).
• 739 milligrams Potassium (21 percent).
• 55 milligrams Magnesium (14 percent).
• 0.9 milligrams Iron (5 percent).

Plantains are often eaten when cooked, this changes the fruits' nutritional value. One cup of cooked, mashed plantain has:

• 232 Calories.
• 62.3 grams Carbohydrates
• 1.6 grams Protein.
• 0.4 gram Fat.
• 4.6 grams Fiber.
• 1,818 IU Vitamin A (36 percent).
• 21.8 milligrams Vitamin C (36 percent).
• 930 milligrams Potassium (27 percent).
• 0.5 milligram Vitamin B6 (24 percent).
• 64 milligrams Magnesium (16 percent).
• 1.2 milligrams Iron (6 percent).  

View more photos of plantain:

References

• Paul Turnbull (5 May 2004). "Plantains". South Seas Companion. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
• Alan Davidson (2014). Tom Jaine, ed. The Oxford Companion to Food. Oxford Companions Series (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press. p.58. ISBN 9780199677337.