Banana Flower Medicine

Reduction in pains associated with menstrual cramping and constipation while pregnant are some more things the flower is used for. It is also used for curing infections in wounds and the extract is known for treating malaria and parasites. Being high in iron and fiber this tropical superfoods can increase hemoglobin by increasing your red blood cells production. This will increase the oxygen carried to your cells.

The banana flowers possess the Vitamin C, A, E, fiber and potassium. With a high source of antioxidants the banana flower also contains flavonoids, tannins and amino acids. Loaded with magnesium, calcium, phosphorous, protein, and copper this is one of those superfoods that is easily accessible to tropical regions. 

Feeling a little down of having high levels of anxiety? This super food can also improve your moods and reduce levels of anxiety. Acting as an anti-depressant the high levels of magnesium comes with no side effects.

Lastly and most importantly to me this superfood promotes gut health and regulates digestion. I say most importantly because I believe many diseases begin in your digestion. Because banana flower contains soluble and insoluble fiber. Your large intestines will love you for eating this flower.

They are many other uses for the flower and my hope is that you will continue the journey of research educating yourself to more diverse and well balanced lifestyle.

Almost all the parts of banana tree has wonderful uses and the banana flower is no exception. Banana flowers have wonderful medicinal properties and we should include it as often as we can in our diet. Banana flowers are called valaipoo in Tamil, Mocha in Bengali, Kelful in Hindi. Many don’t use banana flowers because of the work involved in cleaning the flower, but it is so worth the effort.

To clean banana flowers first oil your hands to prevent discoloration and then remove the red petals one by one. You will see a bunch of white florets inside each petal (it is shown in the main picture), now take each floret and open it using the hands. You will find a transparent, reddish part remove it along with the thick stamen, do this for each floret. Continue peeling the petals and cleaning the florets like mentioned above till you reach the middle inner white part. Now cut the cleaned up florets and immerse it in thin buttermilk. You can also cut the white middle part finely and add it to the buttermilk. This might take from 30 to 45 minutes depending on the size of the flower you are using. I would suggest cleaning up during the weekend when you have plenty of time. Once cleaned, cut and immersed in buttermilk, it can be stored for about a week in the refrigerator. Just change the buttermilk alone once in 2 days.

We should encourage our children also to eat banana flower from their young age to reap all the benefits it offers. If we learn to cook with banana flowers, we can make very tasty dishes with it. Banana flowers if consumed regularly will keep us healthy and will prevent us from lot of diseases. Banana flowers are especially good for women as it keeps the uterus healthy. My grandmother who was very good with home remedies always used to say that food itself can be used as a medicine and she followed that principle till she passed away at the age of 96. I have given all the ways to include banana flowers in the diet, hope you will find it useful….

Home remedies:

Banana flower for menstrual problems & weight loss: Banana flower is one of the best home remedy for excessive bleeding in women as it helps increase progesterone in the body. To make the remedy:

1.cook the 1/4 cup of cleaned banana flower in little water and salt till completely cooked

2. let it cool completely.

3. add grind little coconut (1/4 cup) with 2 g.chillies and 1/2 tsp cumin seeds to a fine, thick paste.

4. Add the ground coconut mixture to a cup of thick yogurt along with the cooked banana flowers and required salt. Have this along with rice for a few days when you have excess bleeding. This gravy also can be included in weight loss diet as it full of fiber and nutrients, is very soothing on the stomach and tastes great! I love to eat it with rice during hot summer months for lunch.