How many bananas are you supposed to eat per day?

Update: 2019-07-15 22:49 IST

Bananas are an incredibly popular fruit, and it's not surprising why. In many cuisines around the world. They are convenient, versatile, and a staple ingredient. While bananas are a healthy, nutrient-dense snack, it may be detrimental to eat too many.

This article explores how many bananas every day you should eat.

    Bananas are as delicious as they are convenient as highly nutritious

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♦    Bananas, their nutritional value is what makes them really shine.

♦    They are a good source of many essential nutrients, including manganese, potassium, and C and B6 vitamins.

A medium-sized, fresh banana (118 grams provides the following nutrients

        Calories: 105

    ♣    Carbs: 27 grams

    ♣    Fiber: 3 grams

    ♣    Fat: 0.3 grams

    ♣    Protein: 1 gram

    ♣    Vitamin C: 17%

    ♣    Daily Value (DV) Vitamin B6: 22%

    ♣    Potassium: 12% of the DV

    ♣    Manganese: 16% of the DV

    ♣    Magnesium: 8% of the DV

Bananas also contain various compounds that can reduce stress, inflammation, and chronic risk. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends eating at least five fruit and vegetable portions a day.

Adding bananas to your routine is a great way to boost your whole fruit intake and promote your overall health.

SUMMARY Bananas pack a variety of essential vitamins, minerals and plant compounds that promote health.

Very low in protein and fat The overwhelming majority of banana calories come from carbs. They provide only insignificant amounts of protein and fat.

Indeed, combined protein and fat make up less than 8% of a banana's total calorie content (1). Protein is your body's major structural component and is necessary for proper immune function, tissue repair, muscle building, and bone health (4Trusted Source).

Meanwhile, fats provide energy, help absorb fat-soluble nutrients, and play a role in the production of hormones and the health of the brain (5Trusted Source, 6Trusted Source, 7Trusted Source).

Because bananas lack these vital nutrients, as a nutritionally complete meal they do not hold up well on their own. If a banana is your usual go-to snack, consider combining it with a healthy source of fat and protein, such as peanut butter, a handful of walnuts, or a boiled egg, to make it more nutritionally balanced.

SUMMARY Bananas have very low protein and fat content. So, on their own, they don't make a fully balanced meal or snack.

Too much of a good thing:

Bananas are a healthy addition to almost any diet, but too much of any food — including bananas — could do more harm than good. Typically, bananas are not considered high-calorie food.

However, if your banana habit causes you to eat more calories than your body needs, it could lead to weight gain that is unhealthy. Moreover, more than 90% of banana calories come from carbs In unripe or green bananas, starch is the main source of carbs. The starch converts to sugar as the fruit matures.

Thus, a large proportion of the calories may come from sugar when your banana is ripe enough to eat (8). Carb over-consumption — without balancing it with proteins and healthy fats — could make blood sugar control more difficult for people with blood sugar conditions such as diabetes or prediabetes (9Trusted Source).

In addition, eating too many bananas can lead to deficiencies in nutrients, especially if there is no room for foods that contain bananas such as protein, fat, calcium, vitamin D, and iron.

SUMMARY Eating too many bananas can have adverse health effects such as weight gain, poor control of blood sugar, and deficiencies in nutrients.

How many bananas do you have to eat? A healthy diet is characterized by balance and variety. Your body is a complex system requiring the proper functioning of many types of nutrients.

The best way to ensure all your body needs is to eat a variety of foods from each food group. There is no specific number of bananas that make them good or bad automatically. It really depends on your unique needs in terms of calories and nutrients.

In theory, as long as you don't over-consume calories, displace other foods and nutrients that your body needs, or otherwise harm your health, you could eat as many bananas as you want.

That said, for most healthy people, one to three bananas per day would probably be considered a moderate intake. Do not forget to include a variety of other fruits, vegetables, lean proteins and healthy fats that are dense in nutrients.

SUMMARY The best way to reap the most benefits of bananas is to practice moderation. For most healthy people, one to three bananas per day are likely to be fine.

Make sure your diet is balanced by including other foods that provide the nutrients that are missing from bananas. Bananas are one of the world's most popular fruits. They are nutrients of full importance, but eating too many may end up doing more harm than good.

Too much of any food can contribute to weight gain and deficiencies in nutrients. For most healthy people, one to three bananas per day are considered a moderate intake. As part of a balanced diet that provides all the nutrients your body needs, be sure to eat this fruit.

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