BET ON BANANAS
Bananas are rated by most experts as the ideal snack. A ripe banana offers quick energy (equivalent to 5 teaspoons of sugar) and is also full of more complex carbohydrates, yet it is easy to digest. And they are not so calorie-laden as to be fattening unless you eat them in bunches! Bananas are also rich in potassium, an important mineral that helps to keep blood pressure low. Plus, it’s a “happy food”: The food-to-mood relationship is bridged by neurotransmitters in our bodies. Bananas offer significant amounts of tryptophan and tyrosine—precursors to “happy” neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine! In fact, a banana delivers the same dose of serotonin naturally as a Prozac pill supplies artificially. The perfect pick-me-up for mid-afternoon blah.
Illustration by Jayachandran / Mint
Long-term benefits:Bananas control blood pressure (all that potassium), strengthen bones (calcium at work), prevent constipation (fibre) and counter hyperacidity.
Did you know? Jokes apart, bananas follow you from boardroom into the bedroom—potassium and B vitamins are necessities for sex hormone production.
Nutritional info: 1 banana (100g)
Calories: 90kcal
Protein: 1.1g
Carbohydrate: 23g
Fibre: 2.6g
Total fat: 0.33g
Saturated fat: Negligible
Cholesterol: Nil
Sodium: 1mg
Bonus: 362mg potassium, 5mg calcium.
SWITCH TO SOYA
Unless you’re desperate for a hot cuppa, forget caffeine-laden java and give soya milk a shot. Coffee and tea may perk you up at once, but they draw water gradually away, leaving you slower, duller, sleepier. Soya, on the other hand, stabilizes blood sugar, taking away that gnawing in the tummy, that droopy-eyed feeling. Soya is a low-carbohydrate source of high-quality protein with high satiety (meaning your appetite stays satisfied for longer and further cravings are reduced). Just make sure you pick natural over sweetened or flavoured (which are chock-full of sugar, salt and other unnecessaries).
Long-term benefits: By stabilizing blood sugar, soya foods also balance the hormonal see-saw that leads to weight gain. Cancer-fighting isoflavones are an added advantage.
Did you know? The latest superfood to battle hair loss: soya milk (and other soya products, according to a study in the Biology of Reproduction journal).
Nutritional info: 100ml soya milk
Calories: 54kcal
Protein: 3.27g
Carbohydrate: 6.3g
Fibre: 0.6g
Total fat: 1.75g
Saturated fat: Negligible
Cholesterol: Nil
Sodium: 51mg
Bonus: No cholesterol (which occurs naturally in milk), and great for those who can’t have milk because they are lactose intolerant.
APPLES, ANYONE?