By Miracle Nwankwo
Peanuts are legumes that originated in South America but are currently grown and eaten in many parts of the world, including Africa. They go by a variety of names, such as groundnuts, earthnuts, and goobers. Peanuts can be boiled, roasted or turned into butter to give the consumer satisfaction.
Personally, I am indifferent about peanuts, but most conveniently, I love to eat roasted peanuts with banana. This might sound a bit strange to you but where I come from roasted peanuts are tangoed with a lot of other foods, especially bananas.
However, recently, I learnt something new that might cause me to forbid eating roasted peanuts together with bananas, but after many research, I am caught in the middle on which decision to take.
According to the Americas National Peanut Board, many nutrition experts have confirmed that peanuts provide the protective body benefits that are essential for healthy ageing.
Thousands of articles with ample research have been written affirming that despite the high amount of fat and calories in peanuts, they do not appear to contribute to weight gain.
I recently came across an article by an anonymous writer that forbids eaten roasted peanuts and banana. The article stressed the importance of the wrong combination of peanuts and bananas, stating that the duo is dangerous to the health and can cause ulcer, pile, tumours, kidney and liver damage and a host of other related diseases.
Before you panic, let us see how this was broken down:
“Roasted peanut contains a mixture of all the chief nutrient molecules known as carbohydrates, protein and fat in large quantities.”
“Roasted peanut is one of the hardest foods to digest because it has to pass through so many metabolic processes which ripe banana does not pass through.”
We all agree that metabolism is very important for weight management, the more reason why we exercise and try to cut down on foods that have too many calories or could take a while to digest.
According to the article, when the peanut arrives at the stomach, it will take the work of the emulsifying agents, also known as bile salts for digestion to take place which takes a few hours.
In biochemistry, emulsifying agents, also known as bile salts or bile acid is the only thing capable of digesting emulsifying fats in the body, stored and secreted by the gallbladder.
However, while it will take the process of bile acid to aid the digestion of roasted peanuts, banana does not need to come in contact with bile acid as it is harmful to the body.
Banana as fruit does not digest in the stomach. As soon as banana arrives the stomach, it proceeds to the ileum, where it is designed to digest.
“A handful of peanut takes between 4 to 5hrs to digest and leave the stomach, while banana requires less than 2½hrs.”
“This wrong combination makes it difficult for peanut to digest and also difficult for banana to travel to the ileum.”
“Thus, when this struggle continues, the end metabolism is serious fermentation which produces a large amount of acid which harms the liver, the kidney, the intestines, and other vital organs in the body.”
“This is the reason why pile, kidney disorders, liver problems etc. are so rampant in our world today.”
Peanuts are good for the body, and experts have confirmed this, but the concern is about eating peanuts and banana together.
In an article titled; Health Benefits of Nut Consumption in Middle-Aged and Elderly Population, by the US National Library of Medicine, it stated that; “Tree nuts and peanuts, because of their healthy antioxidant biochemical profile, can improve the lipid profile, increase insulin sensitivity and metabolism, and favourably influence other cardiometabolic risk factors.”
One of the major benefits of peanuts is its richness in antioxidant, which in turn triggers many health benefits.
“Antioxidants are substances that can prevent or slow damage to cells caused by free radicals, unstable molecules that the body produces as a reaction to environmental and other pressures,” said Medical News Daily.
Bananas, on the other hand, has great health benefits. For starters, the fruit is low in calories and high in nutrients and fibre, which may aid weight loss. Furthermore, because it tends to be very filling, it helps to curb the appetite.
According to healthline.com, bananas “contain several types of potent antioxidants, including dopamine and catechins.” “These antioxidants are linked to many health benefits, such as a reduced risk of heart disease and degenerative illnesses.”
Therefore, banana and peanuts in isolation are very good for health and should be taken often, but they may pose a threat to our health when they go in tango, according to some literature.
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