Wonder of wonders, that's what experts say plantains do; they strengthen the surface cells of the stomach lining, forming a sturdier barrier against noxious juices. The British experimenters were stunned to notice that the mucosa, or stomach lining, was actually visibly much thicker in rats fed banana powder. As a sideline experiment, they deliberately fed rats banana powder or aspirin and other chemicals to see what happened to this critical barrier. It grew considerably thicker with banana powder, decreased substantially with aspirin, and ever more with Tagamet. But the rats fed both banana and aspirin, the banana counteracted the drug's detrimental erosive effects; the lining still jumped in thickness by about twenty percent.
Thus, researchers say banana stimulates the proliferation of cell in the stomach lining, and also triggers the release of a protecting stomach hydrochloric acid and pepsin from doing further damage. The British researchers' bottom line: "The role of banana is folk medicine as an anti-ulcerogenic agent, at least against gastric ulcers, appears justified..."
