Bananas are a widely consumed fruit all over the globe. They’re loaded with beneficial nutrients, so eating them is a no-brainer. Everyone knows bananas are healthy, but many are curious about their calorie and carb content.
Bananas are a major staple food crop around the world. They are a member of the genus Musa and are found naturally in Southeast Asia, though they are now cultivated throughout the warmer regions of the world.
Fiber, potassium, vitamin B6, vitamin C, and a number of antioxidants and phytonutrients can all be found in bananas, making them a nutritious food choice. Countless shapes and sizes are available. The majority of them are a shade of green or yellow, but there are also red variants.
Which Banana Sizes Have The Most Calories?
Bananas have anywhere from 72 to 135 calories, depending on how big they are. Approximately 100 calories can be found in a regular-sized banana. In general, a medium-sized banana has about 105 calories.
However, the calorie content of bananas varies depending on their size.
The calorie counts of various banana sizes are listed below.
- Calories for an extra-small (under 6 inches tall or 81 grams): 73
- Calories: 90 for a small (6-7 inches, 101 grams)
- Calories for a medium (7-8 inch, 118 gram): 105
- Calories for a large (about 8 to 9 inches long and 136 grams in weight): 121
- Calories for an extra-large item (equal to or greater than 9 inches in length and 152 grams in weight): 135
- In slices (1 cup, 150 grams), there are 134 calories.
- 200 calories in 1 cup (225 grams) of mashed
If you’re not sure how big your banana is, you can figure that it has around 100 calories.
Bananas get their energy primarily from carbohydrates (93%) and very slightly more from protein (4%) and fat (3%).
Unripe Bananas Have More Resistant Starch
Carbohydrates are bananas’ primary nutrients, but their carbohydrate composition changes dramatically as they ripen. Bananas that have not yet reached full ripeness have a notably high concentration of resistant starch.
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Starch, including some resistant starch, is abundant in unripe bananas. Since starch in bananas is fermented into sugar as the fruit ripens, yellow bananas have much less resistant starch than their green counterparts. The resistant starch content of a ripe banana is less than 1%.
Resistant starch is a form of carbohydrate that does not break down in the digestive system and serves a similar purpose to fiber. The colon receives it without having digested it. Beneficial bacteria in the gut benefit from this.
This suggests that despite their apparent differences, green and yellow bananas may ultimately provide the same number of calories.
What Is A Banana’s Carbohydrate Content?
Depending on how ripe it is, a single banana can have anywhere from 24 to 27 grams of carbohydrates (green). Bananas are primarily made up of sugars and water.
The carbohydrate content of a food is of interest to those who keep track of their intake.
First, let’s look at the carbohydrate content of a regular-sized banana:
- Under 6 inches or 81 grams: 19 grams Extra-small: 6 inches or less
- For a small (6-7 in., 101 g): 23
- 27 grams for a medium (7-8 inches, 118 grams)
- 136 gram, 8.9-inch large: 31 gram
- Compared to 152-gram extra-large size, the extra-long (9-inch) size is only 35 grams.
- The calorie count for 34 slices (1 cup, 150 grams) is:
- For 225 grams (1 cup) of mashed potatoes, you get 51 calories.
And depending on its size, a banana can provide anywhere from two to four grams of fiber. To get the “net” carb content (net carbs = total carbs minus fiber), subtract 2–4 grams.
Sugar content is also affected by the ripeness of the banana. Green or unripe bananas are typically lower in digestible carbohydrates than their ripe counterparts.
Bananas Have Many Additional Healthful Nutrients
Bananas are an excellent source of a number of essential nutrients.
Approximately what you’d find in a single medium-sized banana:
- 3.1 g of fiber
- Approximately 25% of the Daily Value of Vitamin B6
- Approximately 11% of the Daily Value of Vitamin C
- Manganese, 14% DV
- Calcium: 6% of DV
- 6 percent of the Daily Value for Folate
- Vitamin B2 (riboflavin): 5% of the Daily Value
Bananas are delicious and healthy. They’re great as a low-cal, nutritious midday snack.
Fibers
Unripe bananas contain a high percentage of resistant starch. It is not absorbed by the body.
This starch is fermented by bacteria in the large intestine to produce butyrate, a short-chain fatty acid that has been shown to improve gut health. Bananas are rich in pectin and other types of dietary fiber. Bananas contain a small amount of water-soluble pectin.
One of the main reasons bananas become mushy when they ripen is because their pectin content changes, with a higher percentage of water-soluble pectin. Pectin and resistant starch both help keep blood sugar levels steady after eating.
Additional Plant Compounds
Among the many different types of bioactive plant compounds found in fruits and vegetables, bananas are a particularly notable example.
Dopamine. Bananas contain dopamine, which is a neurotransmitter, but it doesn’t enter the brain to affect your mood. On the contrary, it has antioxidant properties.
Catechin. Bananas contain several different types of flavonoids, including the powerful antioxidant catechins.
Health Benefits Of Banana
Bananas have many positive effects on human health.
Heart Wellness
The leading cause of death worldwide is cardiovascular disease.
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Bananas have a lot of potassium, a mineral that’s good for your heart and helps keep your blood pressure regular. About 0.40 grams of this mineral can be found in a single average-sized banana.
A large meta-analysis of different studies found that eating 1.3-1.4 grams of potassium every day reduced the risk of cardiovascular disease by 26%.
The flavonoids that can be found in bananas are antioxidants that have been linked to a significantly reduced risk of heart disease.
Digestive Wellness
The resistant starch and pectin in unripe, green bananas are both types of dietary fiber. Prebiotic nutrients such as resistant starch and pectins promote the development of healthy flora in the intestines.
Bananas’ high potassium and antioxidant content may be good for your heart. The resistant starch and pectins in them may also be beneficial to colon health.
Banana Disadvantages
Bananas have a good reputation among health-conscious people. Well-ripened bananas are delicious, but those with type 2 diabetes should limit their consumption.
To be sure, bananas have a lot of sugar and starch. Since this is the case, it stands to reason that they would result in a dramatic elevation of glucose levels in the blood.
Bananas have a low glycemic index, so eating them in moderation won’t cause as much of a spike in blood sugar as would eating other high-carb foods.
Therefore, those who suffer from diabetes should limit their consumption of fully ripened bananas. Checking blood sugar levels frequently is recommended after consuming large amounts of sugar or carbohydrates.
Although some research suggests that eating bananas increases the risk of constipation, other research suggests the opposite. Bananas have no major negative effects when consumed in moderation.
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