Whether you’re trying to lose weight or just have a healthier diet, banana juice has many health benefits that will get you to your goal. Bananas are often called a perfect food, and there are many reasons for that. Bananas are packed with vitamins and low in fat. While the health benefits of bananas could fill a list 20 pages long, here are five major health benefits to choosing banana juice the next time you’re thirsty.

Heart Health

Bananas are both high in potassium and low in salt, which makes them a power food for people concerned about heart disease or their blood pressure. Potassium is an important part of a healthy heart, and low levels have been linked to heart disease. Since most Americans aren’t getting their recommended daily amount of potassium, it puts them at risk for heart problems. One medium banana provides about 10% of the potassium you need in a day, so drinking banana juice a few times a day can help you hit your daily goal of 4 grams of potassium a day. In fact, the USDA feels so strongly about the connection between bananas and a healthy heart that they endorse bananas as a heart healthy food.

Mood Elevation

There are a million causes of stress in your life, and it can leave you feeling sad or overwhelmed at times. Next time you feel this way, reach for a glass of banana juice. Bananas are a natural source of tryptophan, which helps the body produce serotonin. Serotonin calms you and even has a slight tranquilizing effect. Bananas also contain large amounts of vitamin B6, which regulates your mood and is an important vitamin to help your body convert tryptophan to serotonin. Since your body doesn’t make tryptophan on its own, it’s important to get it through your diet, and drinking a glass of banana juice is one of the most simple and delicious ways to do that.

Diet Assistance

The high fiber of bananas make banana juice a great choice for you if you’re trying to get more fiber in your diet, especially if you’re trying to reach a weight loss goal. One medium banana gives you 16% of the daily fiber you need. That’s around the same amount of fiber as is in a fiber supplement, without the chalky aftertaste. Fiber is an important part of a healthy diet, and helps you lose weight, since it keeps you feeling full longer. Banana juice can be an important part of your diet, whether you’re trying to get healthy or achieve a weight loss goal.

Stomach Cure-All

Another benefit of fiber is helping regulate your digestive system. Whether you’re suffering from constipation, diarrhea or just indigestion, banana juice can help get you feeling back to normal. Mothers have long known the benefits of bananas for sufferers of the stomach flu, as a part of the BRAT (bananas, rice, applesauce and toast) diet. Bananas also help to regulate stomach acid, and can help with morning sickness, indigestion and even ulcers.

A Natural Energy Drink

Banana juice is a great source of natural sugars, which provide a quick pick me up, and the fiber content means a sustained energy boost. The protein in bananas helps your heart and muscles work during exertion, and there’s no fat in a banana. That makes banana juice a perfect drink before you work out or in any situation where you need energy that comes on quick, stays for a while, and leaves you feeling great.

With all the chemicals, additives and supplements out there designed to replace a healthy diet, it’s easy to ignore the most simple solutions. A glass of banana juice is a quick, easy, healthy answer to a lot of health problems. Even if you’re just looking for a delicious drink, banana juice together with it’s health benefits is one choice you can make that doesn’t have a downside.