Banana tea: Nutrition, benefits, and recipe

Bananas are one of the world’s most popular fruits. They’re highly nutritious, have a wonderful sweet taste, and are ingredients in many recipes.

Bananas are even used to make relaxing tea.

This article reviews banana tea, including its nutrition, health benefits, and how to make it.

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What is banana tea?

Banana tea is made by boiling a whole banana in hot water, removing it, and drinking the remaining liquid.

Depending on your preferences, it can be made with or without the peel. If it’s made with peel, it’s usually referred to as banana peel tea.

Because banana peel tea takes longer due to its high fiber content, many people ignore the peel.

Most people drink this banana-infused tea with a dash of cinnamon or honey to improve its flavor. Finally, it’s most commonly enjoyed at night to aid sleep.

Summary: Banana tea is a banana-infused beverage made with whole bananas, hot water, and sometimes cinnamon or honey. You can make it with or without the peel, though it will take longer to prepare if you leave it on.

Banana tea nutrition

Detailed nutrition information for banana tea is unavailable.

Still, as it uses whole bananas and water, it likely contains some water-soluble nutrients found in bananas, such as vitamin B6, potassium, magnesium, manganese, and copper.

Since most people discard the banana after brewing, banana tea is not a substantial source of calories.

Though steeping bananas releases some nutrients like vitamin B6 and potassium, you won’t get as much from eating the whole fruit. Longer steeping times can increase the concentration of nutrients in the tea.

Nevertheless, banana tea may be a great source of potassium and magnesium, important minerals for heart health and sleep quality.

Furthermore, it contains some vitamin B6, which helps support a healthy immune system and red blood cell development.

Summary: Banana tea may be a good source of vitamin B6, potassium, magnesium, manganese, and copper. Yet, each batch may contain varying amounts of nutrients due to differences in preparation method and brewing time.

Health benefits of banana tea

Drinking banana tea may offer various health benefits.

Banana tea may contain antioxidants

Bananas are naturally high in water-soluble antioxidants, including dopamine and gallocatechin, which may help fight free radicals and prevent chronic conditions like heart disease.

However, the peel has much higher antioxidant levels than the flesh. Therefore, adding peel to your tea during brewing may increase your intake of these molecules.

Though bananas are naturally high in vitamin C, banana tea is not a good source of this antioxidant, as it’s heat sensitive and will likely be destroyed during brewing.

Banana tea may prevent bloating

Banana tea is high in potassium, a mineral and electrolyte important for regulating fluid balance, healthy blood pressure, and muscle contractions.

Potassium works closely with sodium, another mineral and electrolyte, to regulate fluid balance in your cells. Yet, when they contain more sodium than potassium, you may experience water retention and bloating.

The potassium and water content of banana tea can help counterbalance bloating due to a high-salt diet by signaling your kidneys to excrete more sodium into your urine.

Banana tea may promote sleep

Banana tea has become a popular sleep aid.

It contains three main nutrients many people claim to help improve sleep — potassium, magnesium, and tryptophan.

Bananas are a good source of magnesium and potassium, two minerals linked to better sleep quality and length due to their muscle-relaxing properties.

They also provide some tryptophan, an important amino acid for producing the sleep-inducing hormones serotonin and melatonin.

Nevertheless, no studies have examined the effectiveness of banana tea as a sleep aid.

Furthermore, it’s unknown to what extent these nutrients leach into the tea during brewing, making it hard to know whether drinking it would have the same potential sleep-promoting effects as eating a banana.

Banana tea is low in sugar

Banana tea may be a good replacement for sugary beverages.

Only a small amount of the sugar in bananas is released into the water during brewing, acting as a natural sweetener for your tea.

Most people consume too much sugar from beverages, which increases the risk of obesity, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes.

Therefore, choosing drinks with no added sugars, such as banana tea, can easily decrease your sugar intake.

Banana tea may support heart health

The nutrients in banana tea may support heart health.

Banana tea contains potassium and magnesium, which have been shown to help lower blood pressure and reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke.

A study of 90,137 women found that a potassium-rich diet was linked to a 27% decreased risk of stroke.

Moreover, a diet rich in catechins, an antioxidant in banana tea, may reduce your risk of heart disease. Still, no studies have directly reviewed the antioxidants in banana tea or their effects on heart disease risk.

Summary: Banana tea is high in nutrients and antioxidants that may lower your risk of heart disease and prevent bloating. Also, it’s naturally low in sugar and a great replacement for sugary beverages.

How to make banana tea

Banana tea is easy to prepare and can be made with or without the peel.

Banana tea without the peel

Fill a pot with 2–3 cups (500–750 ml) of water and bring it to a boil.
Peel one banana and slice off both ends.
Add the banana to the boiling water.
Reduce the heat and allow it to simmer for 5–10 minutes.
Add cinnamon or honey (optional).
Remove the banana and divide the remaining liquid into 2–3 cups.

Banana peel tea

Fill a pot with 2–3 cups (500–750 ml) of water and bring it to a boil.
Gently rinse a whole banana under running water to remove dirt and debris.
Leaving the peel on, slice off both ends.
Add the banana to the boiling water.
Reduce the heat and allow it to simmer for 15–20 minutes.
Add cinnamon or honey (optional).
Remove the banana and divide the remaining liquid into 2–3 cups.

If you’re enjoying the tea by yourself, store any leftovers in your refrigerator and drink them within 1–2 days, cold or reheated.

To avoid waste, use the leftover banana in other recipes, such as for smoothies, oatmeal, or banana bread.

Summary: To make banana tea, simmer a whole, peeled banana in hot water for 5–10 minutes. If you prefer to leave the peel on, simmer it for 15–20 minutes. Add cinnamon or honey for extra flavor.