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Health & Nutrition > Nutritional Facts > Bananas

Health & Nutrition

When you're trying to eat healthier, finding the right information is the place to start. Chiquita has been bringing you fresh fruits and vegetables to help nurture your healthy diet and lifestyle for over 100 years. Knowing more about the fruits and vegetables you bring home is a big part of staying healthy. Learn more about the nutritional content and health benefits of bananas as well as your other favorite fruits and vegetables on the following pages.

| Bananas | Cantaloupe | Grapes | Honeydew Melons | Other Fruits and Vegetables |

Chiquita^® Banana. Quite Possibly, the World's Perfect Food^®.

Bananas are one of nature's best energy sources. They help satisfy you when you're hungry. Eating a banana helps you meet your daily requirement of five fruits and vegetables. Whether you're watching your weight, or just trying to eat right and be healthy, Chiquita bananas are convenient, portable and a perfect part of your diet.

There's more. Chiquita bananas are the perfect post-exercise snack. During strenuous physical activity, your body loses important vitamins, like B6 and C, as well as minerals like potassium. A banana helps replace these nutrients and helps you maintain your peak performance. Now you know why marathon runners and bikers eat bananas after a race. Even if you're not in a race, a banana can give you the energy to get through a busy day!

It's also proven that low-fat diets rich in vegetables and fruits may reduce the risk of some types of cancer. Bananas are a perfect part of a good diet that can help you live longer and healthier.

Bananas have no fat, cholesterol or sodium.
A medium-sized banana has 110 calories.
A single banana supplies 20% of the U.S. Recommended Daily Allowance of B6, and 13% of potassium.
According to the National Academy of Sciences, diets containing foods that are good sources of potassium and low in sodium may reduce the risk of high-blood pressure and stroke.
Chiquita bananas are certified by the American Heart Association when eaten as part of a low-fat, balanced diet.

The average American eats 27 pounds (13 kilograms) of them every year. Europeans also love Chiquita bananas. Consumption of bananas in Sweden is 35 pounds (12.25 kilograms) per capita. Only recently have bananas become widely available in Eastern Europe, but consumption is already 10 pounds (5 kilograms) per capita.

When asked to name one brand of bananas, more consumers say "Chiquita" than any other brand. It's true. See for yourself.

Country	Total Brand Awareness

Germany	100%
Italy	98%
US	98%
Belgium/Luxembourg	96%
Netherlands	96%
Austria	95%
Sweden	94%
Greece	93%
Switzerland	93%

Source: Chiquita Awareness Tracking Studies

Not only are bananas the favorite fruit, consumers tell us they are "Quite Possibly, The World's Perfect Food." That's because they're naturally fat-free, contain vitamins and fiber, taste good, are a great source of energy and are so convenient. See what we mean? They really are perfect!

Bananas are thought to be the earth's first fruit. Today they're the favorite fruit.

The earliest recordings of the existence of bananas date to 327 B.C., when Alexander the Great and his army discovered the fruit during their conquest of India.
Bananas first appeared in the United States as early as 1804.
When bananas were introduced to the public at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition of American Independence in 1876, they sold for 10 cents each. Today they sell for less than 25 cents each in the U.S.
The average Swede consumes 35 pounds (16 kilograms) and the average American eats almost 27 pounds (12.25 kilograms) of bananas annually. How many bananas do you eat?
In India, a man once ate 81 bananas in a half hour. Now that's a lot of bananas!
There's no such thing as a banana tree. A banana plant is a giant perennial herb, related to lilies, orchids and palms. Its massive leaves can reach a height of 30 feet (914 centimeters), making the banana the largest plant on earth without a wooden stem.
The Swedish botanist, Linnaeus, gave the banana the Latin name Musa sapientum, which means the fruit of wise men.
There are approximately 400 varieties of bananas. How many do you know?
The banana is one of the fruits that ripen best off the plant. They are picked green because they lose their taste and texture if they ripen on the stem.
To ripen a banana faster, seal it in a brown paper bag with an apple or tomato overnight. This allows the natural gasses in the fruit to speed up the ripening.
Putting bananas in the refrigerator will delay their ripening. The skin turns brown but the fruit inside does not change.
If you return home from vacation and find a couple of black-skinned bananas waiting for you, don't throw them out. Stick them in the freezer and use them to make banana shakes or banana nut bread.
The inside of a banana peel can be used to polish leather shoes. Imagine that!
We harvest our bananas every day, so they're available year round.
Harvested bunches contain an average of 120 - 150 banana fingers each.
It normally takes between 2 and 2 1/2 weeks for the fruit to go from harvest to supermarket shelves.
The word "Chiquita" is a Spanish adjective for something little and feminine, like "little girl." Anyway you say it, Chiquita means the best to you everyday.