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And the biggest-selling supermarket item is…?  

29/08/2002  

 

Next time you pick up a bunch of bananas from the supermarket, you might stop to consider that this is the 109th year that the long yellow fruit has graced the fruit bowls of the nation.

 

 

And while we may think nothing of slicing a banana over our breakfast cereal or enjoying one as a mid-afternoon snack, there was a time when the fruit was a treat only for the privileged few.

Alexander the Great was probably one of the first Europeans to sample a banana, in the Indian valleys in 367 BC, and the Portuguese started the first banana plantations in the Caribbean in the 16th century. But with no means of keeping the fruit fresh most Brits remained ignorant of its delights.

Even as late as 1902, only the most affluent families had seen, let alone tasted, this exotic treat. But once refrigerated ships began to cross the Atlantic with their banana cargo, more and more people began to sample the fruit.

Yes, we have no bananas

The banana trade was halted during the Second World War because the government commandeered the banana shipping fleet. As a result, many people missed out on the fruit during their formative years.

However, after the war the government announced a “Banana Day” and gave one to every child in the country under the age of 18.

Retired Manchester teacher Bill Joseph had to wait until he was 11 before he tried his first, but remembers his mother talking about them, because they had been plentiful before the war.

Bill remembers a colourful advert for bananas that was left up in a local greengrocer’s shop for the duration of the war.

“Every time you saw it, then you were confronted with this picture so it was a reminder of what was gone and hopefully what was to come,” he says.

But following the war the market soon picked up, and now, according to The Banana Group – an alliance of the UK’s banana importers and handlers – supermarkets sell more bananas than any other item, including bread and milk. In the UK we eat 17.8 million bananas every single day – equivalent to 6.525 billion a year. Banana sales have increased by 150 per cent over the last 18 years, the group says.

Hard to resist

Bananas, it would seem, are so delicious that even those who shouldn’t eat them can’t resist. Thom Willis, 25, from Oxford, discovered he was allergic to bananas when he was 18.

“I get a burning sensation on my lips and tongue,” he says. “Sometimes my chest tightens up and it’s a little tricky to breathe.”

Despite this, Thom can’t help but indulge from time to time. “They’re so tasty,” he says. He’s never had a really serious allergic reaction and is prepared to put up with a bit of pain and shortness of breath in order to enjoy an occasional treat.

But what is it about bananas that make them one of Britain’s favourite snacks?

A fruit with a-peel

Well, according to Lyndsay Morgan of The Banana Group, there’s a whole bunch of reasons.

Bananas are a fantastic source of potassium, Lyndsay says, and give you a great energy boost, explaining why the fruit is so popular with sporting heroes.

“They’re light, they’re easy to digest and two bananas give you enough energy for a 90-minute workout,” she says.

“They encourage the brain to produce serotonin, which is that feel-good, happy feeling, and again it keeps you calm, it allows you to be able to focus and reduces stress.”

British Dietetics Association dietician Dr Wendy Doyle agrees that bananas are a good source of a range of vitamins and minerals.

“One doesn’t think of bananas as being a rich source of anything [in particular] but as having a wide variety of nutrients, as well as having a relatively low glycaemic index and a reasonable amount of fibre,” she says.

The glycaemic index indicates whether a food is absorbed quickly or slowly into the bloodstream. Carbohydrates that break down quickly into glucose during digestion are given a high rating.

A slow-release carbohydrate

Wendy says that bananas rate 55 on the index compared to 84 for carbohydrates, and 38 for an apple. This means bananas release their energy fairly slowly, which explains their popularity with athletes.

They are, however, relatively high in calories compared to other fruit. A  medium-size banana has about 100 calories, whereas a 100 g apple contains just 35, so it may be wise to avoid making bananas your sole fruit source. As Wendy says, variety is the key, because different fruits are sources of different nutrients.

So, whether you eat yours sliced over bran flakes, in a sandwich or just as it comes, you can do so in the confidence that bananas are healthy and satisfying and an essential addition to any balanced diet.

Further information:

The Banana Group
www.bananas.uk.net

The British Dietetic Association
www.bda.uk.com