DON'T
THROW THAT BANANA PEEL AWAY!
Many
people eat their banana and then toss the peel into the garbage.
However, banana peels
can be used for
many things that compliment sustainable living and help the
environment. There are loads of surprising applications for the
humble banana peel ranging from cosmetics to composting. Many banana
varieties are grown in over one hundred countries in the world, so
there is an abundance of peels to be had.
Rich Fertilizer From Banana
Peels
Throwing
banana peels on the compost helps your garden grow better because of
the potassium. The peels compost quickly and can help a speed up the
composting process. A fertilizer for seedlings can be made by drying
out the banana peels and then chopping them in a food processor or
blender. This is also beneficial for your house plants. To dry
banana peels, wait until you are cooking something in the oven anyway
and then add a pan of banana peels with the yellow side face down in
the pan. Be sure to take the tag off of the peels. Banana skins
make a very cheap, rich fertilizer that is natural and safe for
indoor and outdoor plants.
Tenderizing
a Tough Roast
In many
countries food is cooked in banana skins. The Readers Digest's book,
titled, 摘xtraordinary
Uses for Ordinary Thingssays, 釘anana
leaves are commonly used in many Asian countries to wrap meat as it's
cooking to make it more tender.(page 77) Banana skins can also be
used to keep skinless, boneless chicken breasts moist while cooking.
Just putting a skin on top of the chicken ensures that you will get
moist, juicy meat.
Polish It
With a Banana Peel!
Banana
peels can be used to polish silver and leather shoes! The book,
摘xtraordinary
Uses for Ordinary Thingscomments, 的t
may sound like a bit like a lark, but using a banana peel is actually
a great way to put the shine back into your silverware and leather
shoes. First, remove any of the leftover stringy material from the
inside of the peel, then just start rubbing the inside of the peel on
your shoes or silver. When you're done, buff up the object with a
paper towel or soft cloth. You might even want to use this technique
to restore your leather furniture. Test it on a small section first
before you take on the whole chair.(p.77) This is just another
amazing use of banana peels that you might just have thrown in the
garbage without thinking.
Beautiful Complexion From Inside the Banana Skin?
Banana
skins may help some skin conditions such as psoriasis, warts, poison
ivy, mosquito bites, and wrinkles. For psoriasis, just rub the
inside of a banana peel on the affected area. At first the skin will
initially get red, but with continued use the redness and the
psoriasis should clear up. Warts may also be helped by banana
skins. With ordinary warts, rub the area for 7 to 10 days. Plantar
warts may
take rubbing
for 15 days. Also, a piece of the banana peel can be taped over the
wart to remove it.
Splinters in
the skin can be worked to the surface by taping a piece of banana
peel over the area. Banana peels also work to soothe acne and reduce
the itchiness of bug bites and speed up the healing of bruises.
Since banana peels have moisturizing properties they may help reduce
wrinkles with everyday use, but don't wait for a miracle.
Making
Charcoal Briquets From Banana Peels
It
has been discovered that in the developing Third World countries
where bananas grow, the banana peel can be used to make briquets,
called banachakol for
fuel, thus saving the trees and some money. The process is described
below in an interview with Farm Radio International: “Host:
How did you adopt the
technology of banana peeling
briquettes? Guest:
I have known the technology of banana peeling
briquettes for five years, which has made me a constant user and
promoter of the product. I grow bananas and besides using the
peelings as animal feed for my goats and for manure, I now use them
to make charcoal briquettes. Host: So banana
peelings have many different uses. Can you describe for our listeners
how to make charcoal briquettes from the banana peels? What materials
are needed? Guest: You will need one-half basin
full of fresh banana peelings, a quarter basin of charcoal dust, and
a quarter basin of fine sand ... First you have to chop the fresh
banana peelings into small pieces. Once the banana peelings are
chopped, then mix the three ingredients together - the banana
peelings, the charcoal dust and the sand.
http://www.farmradio.org/english/radio-scripts/76-5script_en.asp)
The briquette recipe calls for the banana peelings to be 50% of the
mixture and the charcoal dust and sand have to be 25% each. The sap
in the peelings moisten and glue the briquettes together and
everything is put in the hot sun to solidify. These briquettes can
then be used for heating or cooking.
Water
Purification in a Peel?
Banana
peels have been shown to purify water systems that have been polluted
with heavy metals.
These
pollutants make people sick and are a serious problem. However
minced banana peels have been found to be the best water purifying
agent yet. Paul Ridden comments, “Heavy metals can end up in
the waterways of the world as a result of industrial or agricultural
processes and have been linked to a variety of health problems,
ranging from nausea and vomiting to lung, kidney and brain damage.
While there are numerous purification methods are already employed
..., many involve significant cost and can carry their own toxic
risks ... Gustavo Castro and colleagues from Brazil's Instituto
de Bioci麩cias
de Botucatu at the Universidade Estadual Paulista
have found that minced banana peel could quickly remove lead and
copper from river water and is at least as effective, and in some
cases even better than, existing methods. The team found that the
banana skin water treatment apparatus can be used up to 11 times
without losing its cleansing properties.
(http://www.gizmag.com/banana-peel-finds-use-as-water-purifier/18126/
.) Using banana skins for water filtration is a cheap and safe for
Mother Earth.
More Eye
Appealing Uses for the Peel?
Macular
Degeneration is a major cause of blindness and there is some research
that may indicate that banana peels may prove to be helpful. 徹ne
intriguing possibility is the use of a banana peel extract in macular
degeneration. American researchers have found that lutein, an
antioxidant carotenoid, may allow the eyes to filter short-wavelength
light and thereby curtail damage to the macula
(the centre of the retina). And researchers from Taiwan claim that
banana peel is rich in lutein and that in tests an extract has
regenerated retinal cells damaged by exposure to strong light.
(http://www.pjonline.com/blog_entry/that_banana_peel_appeal)
This research is in its infancy, but it shows that banana peels may
have another miraculous use. To obtain the nutrients of this it may be
boiled in water and consumed or it can be juiced.
Conclusion
Banana
peels are abundant and cheap. They provide rich fertilizer to feed
your worm farm, plants or compost. They also have been known to catch
coddling moths and ease bug bites. Banana peels provide many home remedies and skin care. Banana peels can provide fuel and water filtration very economically. So, when you eat your next banana, don't throw that peel away! Whether it is polishing your shoes and silver, or
treating psoriasis, banana peels can be used for many bizarre and wonderful
things.
