Most banana lovers prefer not to eat them by immediately separating the strange string-like fibrous pieces that come out when peeling the fruit. But there are a few good reasons to eat these fiber. Known as phloem bundles, these fibrous pieces are completely edible and perhaps surprisingly nutritious.
Although bananas can be mildly radioactive, they have many benefits. According to the USDA, one medium banana provides just under 100 calories of energy and several essential nutrients such as fiber, potassium, vitamin B6, vitamin C, magnesium and manganese, as well as a variety of antioxidants and phytonutrients.
Phloem bundles are no different.
Phloem bundles can basically be defined as the transport system of a plant. They act as tubes in the plant’s “body” through which sugars and other photosynthetic products are pumped to their desired location. To perform this important task, these tubes need to be particularly robust, so they are made up of more complex types of fiber compared to the rest of the banana.
Nicholas D. Gillitt, Chief Scientific Officer and former vice president of nutritional research at BerkleyRD and director of the Dole Nutrition Institute, said in a January 2023 interview with the Huffington Post, “While we haven’t specifically tested phloem bundles, there is likely to be a difference in nutritional value. “Because they are intended to do a specific job and probably have a defined structure that supports that job, they are expected to have a different compound profile than the regular edible banana part.” “They probably contain more and various types of fiber and structural components necessary for their function,” Gillitt said. Therefore, they will likely have a different nutritional profile for humans,” he added.
In fact, people aren’t the only ones who don’t like these stripes on bananas. Viral videos show many monkeys peeling a banana while also peeling the fibers. However, it may be worth remembering that bananas are basically a cultivated and domesticated plant, and therefore wild apes will not encounter bananas unless they are in the vicinity of human settlements where they are grown.
Can you eat banana peel?
Banana peels have a similar place. Although very hard and bitter, these peels are edible and are also rich in many important nutrients.
The idea of chewing the peels may not sound very appetizing, but soaking the banana peels for a few days is a good way to avoid wasting them. This allows some nutrients to dissolve into the water, making it an excellent food for indoor plants.
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