It’s one of the cheapest fruits in the world. And it is available throughout the year. Just peel a couple of bananas and chomp - it provides the perfect meal. Hygienically packed in its thick soft skin, full of nutrition, easy to digest and irresistibly delicious.

The humble banana is relished by rich and poor, young and old. It forms part of many a gourmet meal as salad or dessert, livens up a fruit display with its rich color and because it can be mashed up, it forms a major part of the diet of convalescents or those who have dental problems. Children just adore it as milk shakes and ice creams, while one can also make cakes, pies and pakoras with it.

No wonder the banana has been called the ‘Fruit of Paradise’ and hailed by Arab and Greek writers who chanced to taste it, in India, the land of its birth. Alexander the Great was probably the first European to taste the fruit. The Arab traders carried it to Israel, Egypt and Africa. Today the banana is also grown in Central America, some parts of South America and the West Indies. Germany has gone so far as to create a banana museum!

There are hundreds of varieties of the fruit and the size of the fruit varies from tiny finger-sized ones to some huge ones, the size of a man’s arm. While the green one is the most popular and easily available, they also come in yellow and red. In Israel they even grow a variety which looks and smells like a banana but tastes like an apple.

So rich is the banana in vitamins and other nutrients that one could almost say: ‘A banana a day keeps the doctor away’. It contains proteins, amino acids, vitamins and minerals such as magnesium, calcium and iron. It has tissue-building elements and is a rich source of calories. While 75 per cent is water, only 0.2 per cent is fat. It has high energy value stocked as it is with fructose (which forms one-fifth of it) and can be easily assimilated by the digestive system. Sportsmen and athletes favour it as an excellent means of recovering from fatigue.

The banana constitutes an almost complete diet if taken with milk. In ancient India and Persia this golden fruit was regarded as the nature’s secret of perpetual youth. A ripe banana is said to be an excellent remedy for leucorrhoea in women, diarrhoea and asthma, while a semi-raw one is said to help cure constipation. Mashed banana together with a little salt is a very good remedy for dysentery. Due to its high iron content it is beneficial for those suffering from anemia and is also useful for those suffering from arthritis and gout.

Oral blisters can be cured with banana mixed with curd, while the mashed fruit can be applied on burns for immediate relief. It is also useful for those who are allergic to various foods and hence suffer from skin rashes or digestive disorders. Research seems to have thrown up evidence that regular intake of this fruit keeps blood pressure at bay, while it is also recommended in treatment of kidney disorders, tuberculosis and urinary disorders. It is also said to prevent heart attacks and diabetes.

Some other studies also reportedly suggest that consumption of banana can protect against oral and lung cancer, while it also, by providing a lining to the stomach, protects it against injury by the hydrochloric acid present in the digestive system. If you wish to gain weight try taking a couple of bananas in a glass of milk for a month.

While this is its medicinal therapeutic value, the humble banana also seems to be going great guns in the field of beauty as a beauty aid. Ripe mashed bananas mixed with rose milk are an excellent face mask. Leave it on for 20 minutes and rinse off with plain water. The skin will become silky smooth.

But there are some restrictions too. For example those with colds and coughs are advised to avoid bananas. One should not eat it with ghee and those with a weak digestion should keep away from bananas in milk. Do not keep it in the fridge as it prevents ripening of the fruit.

Is it any wonder then that this versatile fruit even finds mention in the Vedas and is considered so lucky in our country that it assumes significance in most religious rituals, where it forms the Prasad. The leaves of the plant too are used during ceremonies and women down the ages have worshipped it. It is indeed hard to believe that this humble fruit is such a powerhouse of nutrition and health.