Summer time has arrived, and with all the fun comes sweltering heat as well. Fresh, ripe fruit like bananas are the earth's pure nectar that will keep you cool & replenish your fluids on a hot day, refreshing and energizing your entire body. Bananas and coconut water are both electrolyte-rich and can prevent summer dehydration and exhaustion. A perfect afternoon snack or morning treat.

Replenish Energy & Quench Your Thirst

You have spent a long hot afternoon tending your garden or chasing the kids and you're feeling parched. Nothing sounds more appealing than a cool thirst-quencher and this banana smoothie with lime and cardamom will do just the trick. The lime in this recipe is an instant lift. Lime's cool, sour, and juicy qualities stimulate both salivary and digestive secretions, which help to restore fluids, providing you with that overall satisfied, refreshed and cleansed feeling.

Sometimes, no matter how much water you drink, your body still feels thirsty. Simple water lacks the electrolytes your body needs to rehydrate. Without electrolytes, your kidneys simply can't hold onto your water. Instead, your vital fluids are quickly lost in your urine. Often, the best remedy for dehydration is a revitalizing balance of electrolytes and water.

Bananas are the ideal delight on a hot summer afternoon for restoring electrolytes. If you are feeling a little sluggish, banana's natural sugars will restore your energy levels as well. Coconut's amazing ability to rehydrate you was recognized in WWII, where coconut water was actually used for blood transfusions.

Calm Your Tummy

With its creamy, moist, sticky and soft texture, bananas have long been recommended to soothe intestinal irritation. Summer heat depletes protective mucus in the GI and overstimulates bile production in the liver, irritating your intestines. Soothe your discomfort and pacify excess heat with the unctuous banana. Bananas help to stimulate mucous production in your gut, which has an anti-acid and soothing effect on your stomach. Due to its sour and alkaline qualities (acidic in taste yet alkaline in effect), limes balance blood PH level, cooling your hot summer blood and relaxing the eyes. Lime is also considered a blood purifier.

Bananas are heavier and harder to digest than most other ripe fruits. When spiced up with lime and cardamom, two natural digestive aids, this super fruit is lighter and easier to digest. Stimulating cardamom also adds a delicious flavor element to this smoothie and is paired beautifully with banana and lime. Cardamom's aromatic perfume opens your pores, encouraging you to sweat, your body's natural way of keeping cool.

Feed Your Muscles

Do you ever feel tight cramps in the back of your legs, often called "charlie horses?" Muscle cramps are a common sign of low potassium, electrolyte, and hydration levels. If your muscles are weak, tired, or fatigued on a hot summer day, consider muscle nourishing foods that restore your electrolytes like banana. Muscles depend on electrolytes for contraction as well as relaxation. Electrolytes, especially sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium, help your muscles function at optimal levels. Bananas are rich in potassium, plus their nourishing natural sugars fuel the strength your muscles need to help you work and play. So peel yourself a ripe banana, drop one in a smoothie, pull up a beach chair, and enjoy!

Body-licious

Banana's beauty benefits are varied and bananas are considered one of nature's natural moisturizers. They impart luster on skin and hair, and whether enjoyed as a culinary delight or used directly on your body (yes, even the banana peel), you will experience soft, smooth and glowing skin.