Bananas are the most popular fruit in the country with the average American consuming more than 10 pounds of them each year.

And with the mass ingestion comes great benefit to athletes and the public in general. Brandon Hall of Stack.com recently shared six benefits of eating a banana every day.

• Bananas help you breathe easier. According to an Imperial College of London study, asthmatic children who eat at least one banana each day experience 34 percent less wheezing than who have less than one a month on average.
• Bananas help control blood sugar. Studies have shown that regular consumption of bananas are a way to lower blood pressure and increase potassium citrate levels.
• Bananas assist with appetite control. Bananas also go a long way toward increasing fiber intake, which slows digestion and makes people feel full for a longer period of time.
• Bananas potentially help ward off cancer. Providing roughly 17 percent of daily vitamin C value, bananas provide nutrients that can potentially lower the risk of esophageal cancer, according to the American Institute for Cancer Research.
• A banana is essentially a sports drink in fruit form. Carbs available in bananas can quickly be converted into energy. They are also high in key electrolyte potassium – which can prevent dehydration – and contain important nutrients such as antioxidants, fiber and vitamin B-6, which are not commonly found in sports drinks.
• Bananas build stronger bones. Potassium again plays a key role here. A Maryland Medical Center study concluded that a diet high in potassium and bicarbonate-rich foods greatly reduce bone turnover. Bananas also contain 16 percent of the needed daily value of manganese, which can help prevent arthritis and osteoporosis.

SEE ALSO: The true benefits of eating an apple a day.