Do Bananas Fit on a Ketogenic Diet?

It is a fact that bananas can help to prevent various conditions like asthma, high blood pressure, cardiovascular ailments, diabetes as well as malignancy. Bananas might also help in fixing our digestive problems.

Bananas are considered to be a healthy fruit; however, if you happen to be on a keto diet, you might be thinking whetherbananas and ketogo together. In this article, we have provided an answer to this question.

But, first, we will take a look at the nutritional content of bananas.

While you are on a keto diet, it is imperative to be aware of the nutritional contents of the food items that you are going to consume in order to avoid spoiling your weight reduction quest.

One serving of banana is approximately 125 grams and it is full of minerals and vitamins including the following:

• Manganese (0.3 milligrams)

• Potassium (450 milligrams)

• Magnesium (34 milligrams)

• Riboflavin (0.1 milligrams)

• Folate (25 mcg)

• Niacin (0.8 milligrams)

• Vitamin B6 (0.9 milligrams)

• Iron (0.3 milligrams)

• Vitamin 6 (9 milligrams)

• Protein (1 gram)

• Dietary fiber (3 grams)

• Vitamin A (81 IU)

There are 110 calories, 30 grams of carbohydrates, and 1 gram of protein in a single serving of banana. Bananas are free from the content of cholesterol, fat, and sodium.

Next, we will take a look at the different benefits provided by bananas.

Benefits of Bananas:

Bananas are not only widely available, but they are also loaded with lots of health benefits.

1. Rich in potassium

Bananas contain a high amount of potassium, an electrolyte, and a mineral that enables the muscular tissues to function properly including those muscles which are responsible for regulating your heartbeat and breathing. Bananas also help to minimize the effect of sodium on our blood pressure levels.

2. Helps in preventing asthma

It has been found by extensive studies that children that consume one single banana on a regular basis had approximately 35% less possibility of being affected by asthma.

3. Improves heart health

Being full of vitamins C, fiber, vitamin B6, and potassium, bananas help to support our heart health to a great extent.

Arebananas keto-friendly?

While following the keto diet we have been suggested to consume lots of fruits. However, when it comes to bananas, it is important to note that banana is not a keto-friendly fruit whatsoever.

Technically speaking, any food item which fits into your carbohydrate limit on a daily basis is keto-friendly.

It has been suggested to consume no more than 25 grams of carbs while you are on a keto diet.

One medium-sized banana consists of 25 grams of carbohydrates. Considering the number of carbs in banana, it can be asserted that eating a single banana every day and ensuring that the other food items are either pure protein or pure fat will get the job done for us.

However, this is simply not possible at present. Consequently, it will be a sensible idea to refrain from consuming bananas while you are sticking to your keto diet.

What is the amount of sugar in the contemporary bananas?

Our common sense makes us believe that all fruits are quite healthy in terms of nutritional content. As a matter of fact, you will come across some fantastic minerals and vitamins in certain fruits out there.

However, it will be possible to obtain all of these from other sources like seafood, veggies, and meat.

What you will find in bananas, you will not come across in these aforementioned nutritious food items and this happens to be plenty of sugar.

In fact, there are 21 grams of sugar in one medium-sized banana. And, sugar is strictly forbidden in a keto diet.

Of course, the sugars present in bananas happen to be “natural sugars” since they are not derived from any added refined sugar.

Firstly, sugar is going to provoke a glucose response in our system and increase the level of insulin irrespective of whether it occurs naturally or is added during processing.

We all know that high levels of insulin can be the cause of many debilitating and persistent ailments in the long run.

Because of this, we must refrain from consuming sugar while following a keto diet.

Human beings started cultivating bananas a long time back and there were innumerable varieties of bananas that were available in different textures, sizes, and colors. All of them had plenty of big seeds and they were not that sweet as well.

However, the farmers started selecting bananas for a sweeter taste and smaller seeds. The modern banana came into being by 1836. It was changed significantly from its original ancestor and had little resemblance to its predecessor in terms of the number of seeds and taste.

Contemporary bananas are not considered healthy for the monkeys at present!

It has been found by studies that modern bananas are extremely sweet. Monkeys that consume these bananas on a regular basis are susceptible to arthritis, diabetes, and obesity.

Although monkeys might prefer the sweet taste of bananas, the high sugar content in them, unlike their wild counterparts, tend to make the monkeys suffer from obesity and sickness. As a result, some zoos have stopped providing bananas to the monkeys nowadays.

We, human beings, might like the sweet taste of the bananas, but the high content of sugar in them is detrimental to our health.

Similar to monkeys, we can become fat and sick as well. There are lots of low-carb fruits on the market that should help to satisfy our taste buds. These fruits are full of nutrients and low in the content of sugar that will help to promote our health eventually.

Conclusion:

If you must consume a banana, make it a point to consume only half of it. Otherwise, you can go for a small banana which is less than 6 inches in length and weighs approximately 80 grams.

An extra small banana will consist of 19 grams of carbohydrates which can be permitted while you are following a keto diet.

A fantastic alternative to bananas will be avocados which have a high content of potassium and are considered to be keto-friendly.

Reference Sources:

Are Bananas Keto-Friendly? How Many Carbs In Banana?