What happened was that I had never been fond of bananas to begin with. I think they have a really weird texture and are naturally so sweet it's slightly worrisome. However what triggered my strong dislike for these fruits was that I was forced to eat them on a daily basis.
According to Dr. Oz bananas are believed to help fight cancer. This original speculation erupted from Japanese scientists Haruyo Iwasawa and Masatoshi Yamazaki. From here came the claim that a substance called TNF (Tumor Necrosis Factor) which destroys cancerous tumors, can be found in ripe bananas.
Skeptical Raptor states that bananas do not make TNF, in fact the scientists never stated they did. This misinformation came from various uncited facebook memes.
The problem is that the internet lies. The author supports his evidence with science. He explains that "...bananas do not produce TNF. It is simply an evolutionary impossibility, unless through some amazing instance of evolutionary convergence, the banana plant evolved the ability to produce the TNF molecule for a completely different purpose for the banana plant. This would violate several principles of evolution, since there are reasons why the TNF molecule evolved in mammals and not in plants."
This brings us to the conclusion that it's impossible for plants to make the TNF molecule, only mammals are capable of this.
Whatever the case may be, whether bananas prevent cancer or not, is an idea yet to be fully experimented on. I on the other hand. am not taking any risks. I refuse to eat bananas and as for their claimed cancer fighting properties I might be able to acquire those from other fruits such as grapes or strawberries.
 |
| Uncited banana meme which may or may not be true |
 |
| May or may not be true. We just don't know. |
 |
| More uncited memes |
