10 Extraordinary Banana Nutrition Facts

Today I’m sharing 10 EXTRAORDINARY Banana Nutrition Facts that will make you excited to start including more bananas in your daily diet.

We have all heard all our lives that fruit is good for us.  But lately, we’ve been hearing vicious rumors that not only is fruit bad for us, but the banana, in particular, should be avoided due to its high sugar count.  

Can this be true?

Here are 10 EXTRAORDINARY Banana Nutrition Facts you never knew about the banana:

Fact #1

A medium to large banana contains about 100 calories, making it the perfect snack to fill you up in seconds, or eat a small bunch of bananas as a quick, filling and highly nutritious meal.

Some people think that bananas are too high in calories and will cause weight gain. But what matters is not going over the total calories needed for the day.

If you eat too much of any food it will cause weight gain, but with fruit, you’re more likely to be able to tell when you’re full up and not get those cravings that keep you eating more despite that fact you’ve had enough calories.

Check out my other post called Will You Gain or Lose weight eating bananas? CALORIES DO COUNT for more information about this.

Fact #2

93% of banana’s calories come from carbs.

One banana contains 27 grams of carbohydrates. Which doesn’t align well with a low carb or a ketogenic diet, which is why I don’t recommend those diets because they severely limit the amount of fruit you can eat.

Are carbs bad for us?

Not all carbs are the same.

Processed food carbs such as cakes and bread are very bad for us. But carbs contained in fruit are extremely good for us. This is why labeling all carbs as bad is a dangerous game to play when it comes to your health.

Carbs are converted to glucose in the body which quickly provides us with the energy we need. The thing that most people don’t know about low carb diets, is that when the body doesn’t eat carbs, it breaks down proteins and fats and turns them into glucose. It is just a harder process leading to tiredness.

Low carb diets are also low on fiber which causes digestion problems and increased risk of disease.

Fact #3

Surprisingly bananas have a similar level of sugars to a lot of other fruit such as a pear which has 103 calories and 27 grams of carbs, or an apple which also contains around 100 calories and 25 grams of carbs, or even pineapple and blueberries which are 84 calories per cup and 21 grams of carbs.

And despite what we are told by the low carb diet fanatics, sugar is actually essential for the proper functioning of the body.

We all KNOW that fruit is good for us. All the studies show the same thing.

So why are people so scared of the sugar in fruit that they avoid it completely?

The sugar in fruit is completely different from the added and refined sugar in processed factory foods.

When you eat too much refined sugar, it has a very bad effect on your body because the nutrients have been taken away and the body doesn’t know how to deal with it. There is nothing useful the body can take in.

Whereas when you eat fruit, it contains a perfect package of natural sugars, all the nutrients and all the fiber the body needs to digest perfectly. The fiber slows down the absorption of the sugars which balance the blood sugar levels and doesn’t spike them as refined sugar does. The body recognizes fruit as its perfect food and absorbs the nutrients and gives the body good health as a result.

So we can’t label all sugars the same. It depends on where we get the sugar that matters. Whole plant foods are perfect as including the perfect amount of sugar. Refined processed foods with high levels of high added sugars are disastrous for the body.

Continue reading because I share more banana nutrition facts that will convince you that bananas are actually essential for a healthy body.

Fact #4

Bananas continue to get a bad rap. They are reported to have a high glycemic index and cause your blood sugar and insulin levels to spike.

This is FALSE information.

Bananas are actually low on the GI scale and only have a glycemic index of 51. So bananas actually stabilize your blood sugar levels.

Fact #5

Bananas are high in potassium. Another false truth is that eating too many bananas is dangerous because you will get a potassium overload.

Again, this isn’t true. Bananas don’t even contain as much potassium as some other types of food.

Plus, it is close to impossible to get potassium toxicity from eating too many high-potassium foods. When you eat more potassium than your body needs, the kidneys will just excrete more of it. Your body is very good at maintaining its potassium and sodium balance.

The main reason for a potassium imbalance in the body is usually as a result of having a certain disease, which is exactly why we eat bananas in the first place – to prevent diseases.

You’d probably have to eat somewhere in the region of 487 bananas in one day to take in anywhere near the amount of potassium that could cause toxicity.

But, do you seriously think a single person could eat 487 bananas in one day? That would be over 51,000 calories!

The sad truth is that most people don’t actually get enough potassium in their diet because they don’t eat enough fruit and veg.

Potassium is critical as it protects against high blood pressure and helps the kidneys to excrete unneeded sodium from the body which helps to get rid of water retention.

Daily consumption of 1.3 to 1.4 grams of potassium is linked to a 26% lower risk of heart disease. Each banana contains about 4 grams of potassium. In one study, those who consumed 4 grams of potassium per day had a 49% lower risk of death from heart disease compared with those who consumed less potassium (about 1 gram per day).

Fact #6

A study by the Imperial College of London found that children who ate just one banana per day had a 34% less chance of developing asthma.

Fact #7

Consuming bananas in the first two years of life may reduce the risk of developing childhood leukemia.

As a good source of vitamin C, bananas can help combat the formation of free radicals known to cause cancer.

High fiber intakes from fruits and vegetables like bananas are associated with a lowered risk of colorectal cancer.

Fact #8

Studies have shown that type 1 diabetics who eat high-fiber diets have lower blood glucose levels, and type 2 diabetics may have improved blood sugar levels, lipids, and insulin levels.

One medium banana provides about 3 grams of fiber.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that women eat 21-25 g/day and men should eat 30-38 g of fiber. For a woman, you’d have to eat 7 bananas in one day to meet your daily minimum fiber intake.

This is why I recommend fruit meals. How else are you going to pack in that amount of fruit into your diet?

Fact #9

Research has shown that the amount of nutrients increases in bananas as they ripen.

Bananas with brown spots were eight times more effective in enhancing the power of white blood cells than green bananas, according to the study.

White blood cells are essential as they fight off infections from bacteria, fungi, viruses, and other pathogens.

So this is why it’s important to eat ripe bananas.

Check out my other post on How To Ripen Bananas (FAST & EASY) Try It Today for more information about ripening bananas.

Fact #10

Bananas can help you to overcome depression due to high levels of tryptophan, which the body then converts to serotonin. Serotonin is the mood-elevating brain neurotransmitter.

Plus, the vitamin B6 found in bananas can help you sleep well, and the natural magnesium helps to relax muscles. Synthetic forms of magnesium are very hard for the body to absorb so it’s much better to get your magnesium and other nutrients from fruit.

Additionally, the tryptophan in bananas is well known to help give you a good night’s sleep.

This only just scratched the surface of all of the extraordinary nutritional benefits contained in bananas.  

And don’t forget, you also get all the benefits that we don’t even know about yet. Science is discovering more benefits of fruit all the time.

What we do know though, is that bananas are pretty much the perfect food for humans, and they help your body to function optimally.

I hope you enjoyed this post about 10 EXTRAORDINARY Banana Nutrition Facts.  

If you liked this post you’ll probably like some of my posts in my “How To Eat A Banana Series” such as 17 Banana Facts That’ll BLOW YOUR MIND or Will You Gain or Lose weight eating bananas?  CALORIES DO COUNT.

Benefits of the Banana Peel

Perhaps you might not have known, that even the peel of the banana that we discard has many uses. Here are some of them:

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Katherine Kyle @ Green Thickies

Founder at Green Thickies

Katherine lost 56 pounds and recovered from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome with Green Thickies.
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