Everyone knows that when bananas are unripe, their peels are green, and the flesh is so astringent it is inedible. When fully ripe, the astringency is completely gone, leaving a soft, sweet, and delicious fruit that is loved by children and the elderly. Bananas are tropical and subtropical fruits. To make them easy to store and transport, they must be picked while their peels are still green and stored before they ripen. The bananas we eat in the north are all ripened artificially. The astringency of raw bananas comes from the large amount of tannic acid they contain.
Significant constipation
After a banana ripens, although the astringent taste is gone, the tannic acid component still remains. Tannic acid has a very strong astringent effect, which can harden stool, leading to constipation. The most typical example is that after children and the elderly eat bananas, not only does it not help with bowel movements, but it can actually cause significant constipation. There are many foods that promote bowel movements
Many foods can promote bowel movements, such as coarse grains like apples, sweet potatoes, and corn. Apples are rich in dietary fiber—pectin—so they can have a bidirectional regulatory effect on bowel movements. When constipated, eating more apples can help soften the stool and promote bowel movements. The pectin in apples can absorb 2.5 times its own volume in water, softening the stool and making it easier to pass, thus relieving constipation. Apples also prevent and treat constipation
When there is diarrhea, the pectin in apples can absorb water from the stool, making it thicker and thus stopping the diarrhea. This "bidirectional regulation" effect of apples is very gentle, making it especially suitable for the elderly and infants. In addition, coarse grains like sweet potatoes, corn, oats, and buckwheat are rich in dietary fiber and also have the effect of preventing and treating constipation.