Are Bananas Good for Diabetes?- Why Bananas Are So Healthy

As the world consumes so many bananas, it is not surprising that people ask Are Bananas Good for Diabetes? Bananas help with diabetes and are one of the most widely consumed fruits in the world for a good reason. Eating them helps lower blood pressure and reduces the risk of cancer and asthma.

Bananas
Bananas

Are Bananas that Healthy?

Today, bananas are grown in at least 107 countries and rank fourth in the world’s food crops. Americans consume more bananas than apples and oranges.

Although treating a disease can be very challenging, diabetes is not a disease you have to endure. You can make simple changes to your daily life, reducing your weight and blood sugar levels. Even if diabetics should eat at least two servings of fruit a day, bananas are a healthy way to meet this requirement.

An ultra-small banana contains 8% of the daily value of potassium, which helps you control your blood pressure. It also gives you the daily value of 2 grams of fiber and 12% vitamin C. As long as you take care of them and consider their carbohydrate content in your daily meal plan, they can still be part of your diet.

Many people with diabetes find that the food they avoid is bananas because they are considered to be very high in sugar and calories, so this fruit should be avoided. However, this is not necessarily the case. In fact, bananas can be a very healthy food and are included in the diet of any diabetic patient for several reasons.

The key to remember is to pair it with a protein source or a fat source. Adding protein slows the rate at which sugar enters the bloodstream, ensuring that you don’t get sugar.

These are Why Bananas are not Food to Fear:

Cutting Calories
Cutting Calories
  1. Calorie control. First, bananas are a relatively low-calorie food, contrary to popular belief. A medium banana contains about 90 to 100 calories, and a large banana is slightly above it. Compare this to other foods you might be eating – a few slices of bread or bagels, it has very low calorie content.
  2. Rich in dietary fiber. Bananas are rich in dietary fiber. Fiber is an indigestible part of foods that diabetics need to help regulate blood sugar levels and help prevent spikes.
  3. Contains potassium. What is the next interesting point about bananas? They are rich in potassium: this is important because potassium helps to offset any sodium that may be in your diet, which can cause blood pressure readings to rise.

In general, the higher the potassium content in the diet, the less heart health problems. Most people need to add more potassium to their diet plan and reduce sodium. Bananas can help you do this.

  1. Very suitable for sports. Finally, bananas are an ideal pre-workout food. Eating them before you go to the gym, you will have a fast source of energy that won’t go away within 20 minutes of your session. This is because they contain the perfect mixture of complex carbohydrates (starch) and monosaccharides, which is what your body needs.

Remember these points and consider picking up the bananas the next time you go out shopping. They can indeed be part of any diabetes diet.

How Can Diabetics Eat Bananas Correctly?

Carbohydrate count

The recommended amount of diabetic banana is an ultra-small banana with a banana length of no more than 6 inches. Bananas of this size contain 19 grams of carbohydrates, which is about one-third of the 45 to 60 grams of carbohydrates that can be consumed in most diabetics per meal.

Glycemic index

Foods with low glycemic index cause blood sugar levels to rise to a lower level than foods with higher GI. A bit green banana has a lower GI than riper banana. If you eat bananas, this is a medium GI food that can be eaten with low glycemic index foods or foods that contain little or no carbohydrates, as this helps prevent blood sugar from soaring.

Foods with low GI include non-starchy vegetables,nuts and beans. Poultry, meat, eggs, fish, and cheese  are a few examples of foods that contain very small amounts of carbohydrates. Fruits with lower glycemic index include raw apples, cherries and grapefruit, and fruits with higher GI include dried dates and watermelons.

Create your plate

Food Portion Control
Food Portion Control

The American Diabetes Association’s Create Your Plate method permits you to control your blood glucose without being concerned about calculating carbohydrates.

Fill your half of the plate with non-starch vegetables, then place the other half of the plate between lean protein and starchy food, add a glass of milk and a small piece of fruit. When using this system, you can use ultra-small bananas as the fruit for your meal.

Precautions

It is as important to consume a consistent amount of carbohydrates throughout the day to maintain blood sugar levels as the total amount of carbohydrates consumed by diabetics. People with diabetes also need to consume some protein and fat every meal to help keep blood sugar levels no higher than the carbohydrates in the diet.

Bananas: Delicious, Nutritious and Healthy

For a single fruit, this analysis may seem overkill, but the banana is ultimately worth it. In addition to being beneficial to diabetes, bananas have other benefits. Banana is an important source of fiber, vitamin B6, vitamin C, and potassium, and overall calorie content is low.

This mixture of nutrients can improve mood and immune function and even relieve blood pressure. Potassium is especially interesting because bananas are one of the best sources of this nutrient, and many people simply don’t get enough nutrients.

It is worth noting that although bananas may have a higher glycemic index than other fruits, they are still in the range of hypoglycemic foods; after all, a piece of bread has a higher GI than bananas. As long as you track your blood sugar and understand the effects of bananas on your body’s diabetes, there is no reason why you can’t enjoy one of the most popular fruits in the country.

Facts About Bananas:

  1. Bananas are rich in potassium and fiber.
  2. They may help prevent asthma, cancer, high blood pressure, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and digestive problems.
  3. Boil the bananas at room temperature, add the cereal, and enjoy a delicious breakfast.
  4. People who use beta blockers should not suddenly increase their banana intake.
  5. Fresh bananas are served all year round. Unlike other fruits, the ripening process of bananas does not slow down after harvesting. Bananas should be stored at room temperature.
  6. The higher the temperature, the faster and more ripe the banana. However, in order to slow down the ripening, the banana should be refrigerated. The skin of the banana will darken, but the banana itself will remain longer.
  7. To promote faster maturity, place the bananas in brown paper bags at room temperature.

Health Benefits

Health Benefits

The possible health benefits associated with bananas are listed below. It is worth noting that higher quality studies are needed before these health benefit links are proven to be deterministic.

Potassium

Bananas are rich in potassium and are rich in protein and dietary fiber. Bananas are rich in potassium minerals. This mineral is important because it helps maintain fluid levels in the body and regulates the movement of nutrients and waste into and out of the cell.

Potassium also contributes to muscle contraction and nerve cell response. It can make the heart beat regularly and reduce the effect of sodium on blood pressure. With age, potassium can reduce the risk of kidney stone formation. In turn, healthy kidneys ensure that the right amount of potassium remains in the body.

A medium-sized banana contains 422 mg of potassium. It is best to try to take potassium from dietary sources such as bananas.

Nutrient Content

A banana is considered to be about 126 grams. A banana contains 110 calories, 30 grams of carbohydrates and 1 gram of protein. Bananas are naturally free of fat, cholesterol and sodium

Bananas offer a variety of vitamins and minerals:

Vitamin B6 – 0.5 mg

Manganese – 0.3 mg

Vitamin C – 9 mg

Potassium – 450 mg

Dietary Fiber – 3g

Protein – 1 gram

Magnesium – 34 mg

Folic acid – 25.0 mcg

Riboflavin – 0.1 mg

Niacin – 0.8 mg

Vitamin A – 81 IU

Iron – 0.3 mg

Adults are advised to consume 4,700 mg of potassium per day. Add chopped bananas to the cereal or oatmeal in the morning for a more nutritious breakfast.

In 2008, a popular diet was called the breakfast banana diet. It is recommended to eat bananas with water in the morning, eat normal lunches, and have dinner before 8pm.

Like applesauce, mature mashed bananas can be used in baked goods instead of oil or butter. Minced bananas provide a moisturizing, natural sweetness to muffins, biscuits and cakes.

More Reasons to go Bananas:

Bananas contain several other nutrients. A medium one will give you a lot of nutrition that you should get every day. It also plays an important role during development and infancy. Although citrus fruits such as oranges are giants, so are bananas. One gives you about 10 mg. You should shoot for 75 to 90 mg per day.

Risks

Risk
Risk
  • Beta-blockers are one of the most commonly used drugs for the treatment of heart disease and can cause an increase in potassium in the blood. When taking beta-blockers, you should take high-potassium foods such as bananas in moderation.
  • Excessive potassium intake is harmful to people with impaired kidney function. If your kidneys are unable to remove excess potassium from the blood, it can be fatal.
  • Some people may be allergic to bananas. If people with banana allergies eat bananas, they may have symptoms of mouth and throat, such as itching, hives, swelling and wheezing.
  • Bananas can cause migraine in some people. People who have frequent migraines are recommending eating no more than half a banana a day.
  • Bananas also contain a lot of fiber. Eating too much fiber can cause bloating, gas and stomach cramps.

Warnings and Tips

  • Try to avoid eating bananas as part of a dessert, such as sundaes, chocolate bananas, or bananas made with other sugary syrups. Desserts like this increase carbohydrates, calories and fat in the diet.
  • You can enjoy bananas in a variety of ways, such as fresh, frozen, canned or dried, so this gives you less dietary restrictions.

Can I eat bananas if I have diabetes? The simple answer is yes! People with diabetes only need to adjust their intake. Take ordinary bananas as an example. Although diabetics can have fruit, as long as they are aware of glucose levels, bananas will have significantly higher levels of glucose and carbohydrates.

Eating bananas and expecting an apple-like effect can lead to unnecessary spikes in blood sugar and, in the worst case, a high blood sugar episode. It is for this reason that some people with diabetes do not encourage eating bananas, but the fact is that they can be eaten safely. This requires a little caution.

Yes, they are high in sugar content compared to many other fruits, but they are also a very famous food that will allow you to eat for a long time. The reason is the fiber content – up to 7% per 100 grams of daily recommended amount (DRA).

Even for people with diabetes, bananas are a useful and delicious food. They are pre-packaged in useful biodegradable packaging (skin) that can be baked as is, or placed in a cake or bread to increase the natural sweetness.

While some may tell you that they are too sweet for diabetics, keep in mind that even a large banana containing about 114 calories, 27.8 carbohydrates and 25.1 grams of sugar is better for you than a standard candy bar with 27.9 carbohydrates, 27.8 Sugar and a whooping 260 calories.

Final Thoughts

So the question is: Are Bananas Good for Diabetes? Oh yes, they definitely are! So because their glycemic index level is 51, they are considered low in raising blood sugars. So eat your bananas, but just don’t overdo it!

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Home » Dieting » Are Bananas Good for Diabetes?- Why Bananas Are So Healthy

Rob Sciubba

Rob Sciubba - Founder of NaturalWaystoLowerBloodSugar.com

Rob is an blogger who has type 2 diabetes and wants to spread the word treating diabetes. For the past 3 years he has provided valuable information about diabetes and lowering blood sugars and continues to offer additional ways to treat diabetes.

If you’re serious about treating your diabetes and lowering your blood sugars the natural ways, then you will learn from his website.

4 thoughts on “Are Bananas Good for Diabetes?- Why Bananas Are So Healthy”

  1. Great post and good info.

    I know a lot about food and vegetables and what they contain to benefit you. 

    But about the fact that bananas can help you to reduce the chance of getting diabetes is new to me. 

    I eat a banana every day so I think my chances are pretty low of getting it. 

    My wife doesn’t eat them, so I will show her this post to push her a bit for eating it. 

    Thanks for sharing. 

    Reply
    • Hey Emmanuel,

      Bananas are healthy for you especially with the potassium they contain.

      While bananas may help lower the chances of developing type 2 diabetes, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you would avoid diabetes altogether.

      But they do help in lowering your blood sugars if you do have type 2 diabetes. And they are healthy for you regardless of whether you have diabetes or not.

      Thanks so much for sharing! 🙂

      Reply
  2. Thanks for this healthy and informative post. The importance of bananas in our world today can not be underrated. In my opinion, more awareness should be created by health experts about the benefits of banana in the body. High blood pressure and diabetes victims are on the rise and I believe if people consume fruits like bananas with so many health benefits, then diabetes related cases can reduce in society.

    Reply
    • Greetings Clement!

      I wrote this article because I wanted folks to know the specifics about bananas and how healthy they are.

      But my first concern is always about diabetes and bananas are a good fruit to eat for diabetics because they are low on the glycemic index with a rating of 51! Anything under 55 is good!

      Bananas offer many health benefits because of the potassium content as well. They do help with lowering blood pressure as well.

      Stick to eating bananas but don’t go overboard!

      Thank you for sharing your thoughts! 🙂

      Reply

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