Eckert Generations

What makes bananas so amazing?

Here is a story that even a monkey would go ape about. A professor at CCNY for a physiological psych class told his class about bananas. He said the expression ‘going bananas’ is from the effects of bananas on the brain. When compared to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrate, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around. No wonder monkeys are so happy all the time!

Energy Boost: Bananas contain three natural sugars – sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fiber. A banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy. Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world’s leading athletes. But energy isn’t the only way a banana can help us keep fit. It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet.

Depression: According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a banana. This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.

Smoking: Bananas can also help people trying to give up smoking. The B6, B12 they contain, as well as the potassium and magnesium found in them, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.

Warts: Those keen on natural alternatives swear that if you want to kill off a wart, take a piece of banana skin and place it on the wart, with the yellow side out. Carefully hold the skin in place with a plaster or surgical tape!

PMS: Forget the pills — eat a banana. The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood.

Anemia: High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anemia.

Blood Pressure: This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it perfect to beat blood pressure. So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration has just allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit’s ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.

Brain Power: 200 students at a Twickenham (Middlesex, England) school were helped through their exams this year by eating bananas at breakfast, break, and lunch in a bid to boost their brain power. Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.

Overweight and at work? Studies at the Institute of Psychology in Austria found pressure at work leads to gorging on comfort food like chocolate and crisps (potato chips). Looking at 5,000 hospital patients, researchers found the most obese were more likely to be in high-pressure jobs. The report concluded that, to avoid panic-induced food cravings, we need to control our blood sugar levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foods every two hours to keep levels steady.

Constipation: High in fiber, including bananas in the diet can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without resorting to laxatives.

Hangovers: One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to make a banana milkshake, sweetened with honey. The banana calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood sugar levels, while the milk soothes and re-hydrates your system.

Heartburn: Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body, so if you suffer from heartburn, try eating a banana for soothing relief.

Morning Sickness: Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness.

Mosquito Bites: Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing the affected area with the inside of a banana skin.. Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation.

Nerves: Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous system.

Ulcers: The banana is used as the dietary food against intestinal disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in chronic cases. It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): Bananas can help SAD sufferers because they contain the natural mood enhancer, tryptophan.

Stress: Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body’s water balance.. When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby reducing our potassium levels. These can be rebalanced with the help of a high-potassium banana snack.

Strokes: According to research in The New England Journal of Medicine, “eating bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the risk of death by strokes by as much as 40%.”

Temperature control: Many other cultures see bananas as a “cooling” fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature of expectant mothers. In Thailand, for example, pregnant women eat bananas to ensure their baby is born with a cool temperature.

Make a face mask: Who needs Botox when you have bananas? That’s right: You can use a banana as an all-natural face mask that moisturizes your skin and leaves it looking and feeling softer. Mash up a medium-sized ripe banana into a smooth paste, then gently apply it to your face and neck. Let it set for 10-20 minutes, then rinse it off with cold water. Another popular mask recipe calls for 1/4 cup plain yogurt, 2 tablespoons honey, and 1 medium banana.

Deter aphids: Are aphids attacking your rosebushes or other plants? Bury dried or cut-up banana peels an inch or two deep around the base of the aphid-prone plants, and soon the little suckers will pack up and leave. Don’t use whole peels or the bananas themselves, though; they tend to be viewed as tasty treats by raccoons, squirrels, gophers, rabbits, and other animals, who will just dig them up.

Ointment for scrapes and bruises: A simple banana peel can help heal cuts and scrapes, greatly reduce the build up of scar tissue, help soothe an itchy healing wound and reduce bruising and discoloraton. To heal bruises faster, apply the inside of a ripe banana peel to the bruise. The best thing would be to bandage the banana peel to the bruise overnight.

Shoe Polish: Bananas contain potassium, which is also a key ingredient in shoe polish. To polish your shoes, all you need to do is eat the banana, rub the banana peeling on your shoes, buff with a soft cloth, and then sit back and admire your shoe polishing job. Take the inside of the banana skin, and rub directly on the shoe. Finish with dry cloth. Amazing fruit!

So, you see, a banana really is a natural remedy for many ills. When you compare it to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrate, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around.

So maybe it’s time to change that well-known phrase to ..
“A banana a day keeps the doctor away.”

Riddle Me This:

What goes around the world but stays in a corner?

A Stamp

“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.”

Think of a phrase that you might say to a driver who is going in the wrong direction.  Switch the first and next-to-last letters in the phrase and (with the removal of a space and a hyphen) you’ll get the name of a tool followed by the time your’re most likely to use that tool.  What are they?

Make a U-turn   rake, autumn

If late summer heat has you down.  Try dripping cold water on your wrists.  It has a refreshing effect on the whole body.

If kids and clumsy adults are making your furniture look like a Jackson Pollock, try upholstering it with outdoor fabric.  This fabric is created to withstand the wear-and-tear of the elements, so it makes spills easier to clean.

Cut each of the three words directly below into two pieces (at any spot) and, keeping the beginnings as beginnings and the ends as ends, rejoin them to form three new words that all fall into the same category.  What are they?

real

sugar

coat

rat, seal, cougar

Heading out of town for Labor Day?  To keep your plants watered while you’re away, soak a disposable diaper in water and place it underneath the pot (between the pot and the saucer.)

Riddle Me This:

How many letters are in the alphabet?

There are eleven letters in “the alphabet”.  Did you say twenty six?

When you’re feeling overwhelmed, try to immerse yourself in nature to relax by going to a local park, a nearby lake, or a botanical garden.

“Whatever you may look like, marry a man your own age.  As your beauty fades, so will his eyesight.”

Phyllis Diller

Vitamin C begins to dissipate immediately after an orange is cut.  As much as 20percent is lost after eight hours at room temperature.

Riddle Me This:

If you say my name, I am no more.  Who am I?

Silence

To get rid of food stains on your clothing, saturate the stain with white vinegar and allow it to soak in .  Rinse with water and repeat as needed.  Wash as usual.

If you struggle with weekday anxiety, limit yourself to one cup of coffee each morning.  Consuming too much can make you irritable and more prone to stress.

Riddle Me This:

What belongs to you but others use more than you do?

Your name

Take a phrase (consisting of two four-letter words) for something you might need to change.  Drop the first two letters and close the space, and you’ll get a word for something you’re likely to change more often.  What are they?

Flat Tire, attire

To prevent blisters while hiking, put on a pair of knee-high hose before putting on your socks.  The hose will keep the socks from rubbing against your skin.

“Confidence in the goodness of another is good proof of one’s own goodness.”

RIDDLE ME THIS:

If you divide thirty by 1/2 and add 10, what do you have?

70  (30 divided by 0.5 = 60, 60 + 10 = 70)

Next time you’re alone in an elevator, do this easy exercise:  Bend your knees to a ninety-degree angle, as if you were sitting in a chair.  Hold the position until you reach your floor.  This works your core, quadriceps, and glutes.

The odd letters of the title of what well-known TV show spell the word METERS?

Meet the Press

To remove pen marks from skin, rub a used tea bag against the affected area and watch them disappear.

What word might include all four of these words somewhere in its definitions in a dictionary

POPE

NUMBER

SCARLET
CHIEF

Cardinal

Walk mindfully.  Compose a mantra for yourself, such as ” I am strong.  With God’s help, I can overcome any obstacle,” and repeat it to yourself during a long walk.

RIDDLE ME THIS:

What is black when you buy it, red when when you use it, and gray when you throw it away?

Charcoal

If you begin seeing brown patches on your lawn, pour beer on them.  The beer acts as a fertilizer.

Take a familiar five-letter Hawaiian word.  Drop the last letter and read the rest backward to get a word that means the same thing in Spanish.  What are the two words?

DID YOU KNOW . .

The first lipstick, estimated to be more than five thousand years old, was found in the Sumerian region of Ur, now in present-day Iraq.

Change two of the three words in the phrase “HASTE MAKES WASTE” by eliminating the letters after A and replacing them with the letters RT.  Then put the resulting three words in a new order to get the name of what famous person?

Martha Stewart

Aloha, hola

…that special time when all the Eckert’s gather together in celebration of a shared history, a sense of belonging, and a love that keeps growing through the years.  Kinda gives you a reason to come, doesn’t it??

When: Sunday, August 9, 2015, 12:00 p.m. till 4:00 p.m.

Where: Carpenter Community Center in Carpenter, IA.

Please bring a dish for potluck, your own table service.

Also a wrapped $.50-$1.00 prize if you wish to play bingo.

Any questions contact Darlene & Wayne Meyer  715-299-5830

Sandy & Duane Kuka  715-662-5412