We all eat bananas to some extent, right? We should, after all, in addition to being very tasty and versatile, these fruits are very nutritious. What few know is that they are also radioactive. At least up to a certain level. This is precisely due to the amount of potassium they exhibit.
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But that doesn't mean we should stop eating them altogether! See how to consume them safely.
natural radiation
We usually associate radiation with the catastrophic event of Chernobyl or the fictional movies that links this process to superpowers, however it is important to point out that bananas have nothing to do with that.
In fact, the radiation present in the fruit is a natural type which, in a way, is common in nature. It is even found in other foods. In the case of the banana, it is the potassium that makes it radioactive, but only in small amounts. According to the magazine
Science Focus, they have 450 mg of potassium where there is 0.01 mrem of radiation.This amount may seem small, but when more bananas are gathered, the radiation can be surprisingly high. For example: a truck of these fruits has enough to set off a nuclear weapons detection alarm, while 50 bananas are equivalent to a dental x-ray.
How does this radiation affect our body?
In case you were surprised by the amount that is present in the fruit, you might be even more surprised to learn that the human body displays even greater amounts. Yes, we cannot forget that a large part of our organism is also composed of potassium, something very present in other foods. Remember the beans?
This means that we are constantly living with surprising amounts of radiation. On the other hand, they are not enough to bring harm. It's just an acceptable number, so you don't have to worry about your health or even think you're on the verge of developing superpowers.
And most importantly: we shouldn't stop eating bananas or other foods with potassium, as their benefits are much greater for our body than the possible harm.
