Banana Peel Tea: 6 Health Benefits & How to Make

Banana peel tea offers health benefits like improving sleep, supporting weight loss, protecting against premature aging, and preventing cardiovascular diseases like atherosclerosis, heart attack, and stroke. 

The benefits of banana peel tea come from the high quantities of tryptophan, potassium, tannins, and flavonoids it contains, which possess antioxidant, diuretic, and calming properties.

Banana peel tea can be made with just the banana peel or by adding cinnamon, honey, or lemon juice. To get the most benefits out of drinking banana peel tea, it is important to also maintain a healthy, well-balanced diet combined with regular physical exercise.

Health benefits

The main benefits of banana peel tea are:

1. Improving sleep

Banana peel tea improves sleep because it contains large amounts of tryptophan, an amino acid that plays an important role in the production of serotonin and melatonin, compounds that act on the nervous system to regulate mood, sleep, and a sense of well being.

2. Supporting weight loss

Banana peel tea has a diuretic effect due to its high levels of potassium, helping eliminate excess fluid from the body and promoting weight loss by reducing fluid retention and bloating.

Check out foods to reduce bloating.

3. Protecting against premature aging

Banana peel tea is rich in flavonoids, tannins, catecholamines, and alkaloids, bioactive compounds with antioxidant properties that protect healthy skin cells from oxidative stress, preventing premature aging and the emergence of wrinkles and sagging skin. 

4. Decreasing anxiety

Banana peel tea helps relieve anxiety due to high quantities of tryptophan that can improve mood and a sense of well being.

Read about natural remedies for anxiety.

5. Preventing cardiovascular disease

Banana peel tea contains large quantities of potassium, a mineral that helps eliminate excess sodium from the bloodstream and promotes relaxation of the arteries, improving circulation and preventing high blood pressure. 

Banana peel tea is also rich in leucocyanidin and gallocatechol, flavonoids with antioxidant properties that help maintain healthy blood vessels and prevent blood clots from forming, helping prevent cardiovascular diseases like atherosclerosis, stroke, and heart attack.

6. Helping support muscle recovery

Banana peel tea contains high levels of potassium, a mineral that plays an important role in muscle contraction. In this way, banana peel tea can help improve exercise performance, prevent muscle cramps, and support muscle recovery following a workout. 

Can banana peel tea help you lose weight?

Banana peel tea does not increase calorie expenditure or fat burning and will not cause weight loss. 

However, banana peel tea can be used to support weight loss by helping decrease anxiety and the compulsion to overeat.

It is important to remember that, in order to lose weight, banana peel tea should be included as only one part of a healthy, well-balanced diet in combination with regular physical exercise.

How to make

Banana peel tea is made using fresh banana peels.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup banana peels;
• 1 L (32 oz) of water.

Directions:

Wash and slice the banana peels, discarding the ends. Add the banana peels and water to a pot and bring to a boil over low heat. Allow to boil for 5 minutes, then remove from the heat. Let cool, strain, and drink immediately. The recommended amount to drink is 3 cups per day. 

You can also add ingredients like ground cinnamon, honey, a sweetener, or lemon juice, if desired.

The banana peels used to make this tea can also be used in recipes for breads, cakes, smoothies, and juices.

Side effects

Possible side effects of banana peel tea are increased urination and somnolence (tiredness). Due to its high potassium content, drinking large quantities of banana peel tea may cause diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, stomachache, and numbness and tingling of the hands, lips, and feet. 

Contraindications to use

Banana peel tea should be avoided during pregnancy and lactation and should not be given to children unless approved by a doctor. This is due to a lack of scientific studies confirming the safety of banana peel tea in these populations. 

People with kidney problems and those taking sedatives or medications for high blood pressure should talk to their doctor before drinking banana peel tea.