The delicious sweet creamy banana is not only good for our health; it's also used in alternative medicine.
Bananas not only provide energy boosts, they help prevent and alleviate cramps, lift spirits, regulate blood pressure, aid digestion and battle chronic illnesses. In short, bananas are wonderful healers. Eating them is not the only way to put bananas to good use. This unassuming little fruit, so nervous that it comes in bunches, and has a host of secret abilities. Whether or not we are eating them, bananas are handy to have around the house. Let's look at bananas from another perspective.
Sleep: Banana tea is a natural aid for helping tossers-and-turners to sleep more soundly. This is because bananas are loaded with potassium and magnesium, both which are great for the nervous system and are effective for relaxing muscles. When we are stressed out, the magnesium is the first mineral that becomes depleted from the body. Bananas restore it. Cut the ends off of an organic banana {skin on} then boiling it in a small pot of water with a sprinkle of cinnamon to make tea.
Fertilizer: Keeping in mind that bananas are loaded with minerals, especially the peels, it's not difficult to imagine that they can provide a healthy, natural boost for garden plants, too. There are many methods for using bananas as fertilizer. Soak the peel in a jar for a couple of days and use the mineral infused water on plants. Or, chop up the banana peel into quarter-inch squares and bury the pieces in the soil before planting. Or, dehydrate the peels and grind them into a mineral powder that can be sprinkled at the base of the plant.
Skin Treatment: Human skin can also benefit from the minerals & vitamins from bananas. Plus, bananas have an antioxidant called lutein, which is good for the skin. Once a banana is eaten, the peel can be applied to areas with acne, by rubbing the area with the underside of the peel, this gives the skin what it needs to recover. Banana peels can also help with treating warts, itchy bug bites, rashes, psoriasis, and even wrinkles and scars. {Don't use chemicals. There are so many other great holistic alternatives for healthy skin}.
Damaged Hair: For those dealing with damaged hair, bananas can be used to create a rejuvenating conditioner. To make a banana conditioner, just throw two peeled bananas into a blender with a bit of water, almond or jojoba oil and whip into a creamy mixture, similar to a topical conditioner. Then, rub it into the hair, letting is stay on the hair for a few minutes, then rinse it out.
Whiter Teeth: The number of ways bananas can be used is just incredible; whitening teeth is yet another possibility. Take a banana peel and rub the inside of it on your teeth, creating a paste. Try to keep the paste off your gums and lips. Then, allow it to sit for about ten minutes before brushing it away with a dry toothbrush. The potassium, magnesium, as well as acid in the peel reduce staining on tooth enamel, and the texture polishes it.
Silverware: Banana peels can also be used as a silver polish. Once again, we have a natural and nontoxic solution to something that we normally throw a batch of chemicals at. This time, simply rub the banana peels on the silver and buff any residue away with a cloth. It gets the job done, without the chemical overload.
