Can you eat bananas that are ripe and black?

If bananas are left for too long, their skin will turn black, but they are still edible. However, if the banana flesh turns black due to collision, the banana should not be eaten because the black flesh can cause disease in the human body. So when we go to the supermarket to buy bananas, it is best to buy fresh bananas with good skin for consumption.

The reason why bananas turn black

1. Storage time is too long

If a banana is left for too long, the skin will turn black because the banana epidermal cells contain carbon dioxide. Under normal circumstances, the cell membrane will wrap and protect the carbon dioxide tightly. Once the banana is hit or left for a long time at low temperatures, the cell membrane will be damaged, and the carbon dioxide will come into contact with oxygen in the air and become oxidized and turn black.

2. Anthrax invasion causes blackening

When bananas ripen, they may develop anthracnose, a disease caused by the fungus Colletotrichum spp. that causes black spots to appear on the bananas. However, this anthrax bacteria is not the same as the anthrax virus we know, so it will not cause disease and there is no need to worry when eating it.

Can I eat bananas if they turn black?

As for the blackening of banana peels, we know that it is the work of anthrax. However, anthrax is a harmless bacteria and is harmless to health when it enters the human body, not to mention that it is only on the surface of the skin. Therefore, it is completely edible if only the banana peel turns black. As for the situation where the banana flesh turns black, since the blackening component is a quinone-like substance, although it is harmful to the human body, it is relatively minor. Therefore, if there is no widespread blackening of the flesh, bananas can still be eaten. Not only that, the black spots on the banana peel just indicate that the banana is ripe, and this is the best time to eat it.

From the above analysis, we can know that in most cases, bananas that have turned black can still be eaten, unless the banana flesh has turned completely black, which means it is terminally ill and can be discarded directly.

Benefits of bananas:

Bananas can help the brain produce a chemical component in the human body - serotonin. This substance can stimulate the nervous system, bring people signals of joy, calmness and sleepiness, and even has an analgesic effect. Therefore, bananas are also called "happy food". American medical experts have found that eating bananas regularly can prevent high blood pressure because bananas can provide more potassium ions that can lower blood pressure and resist the effect of sodium ions raising blood pressure and damaging blood vessels. They also believe that if people lack potassium, they will experience dizziness, general weakness and irregular heartbeat. Because bananas contain a variety of nutrients, low sodium content, and do not contain cholesterol, they can provide the human body with various nutrients without making people fat. Therefore, eating bananas regularly is not only beneficial to the brain and prevents nervous fatigue, but also has the effect of moistening the lungs, relieving coughs and preventing constipation.