In This ArticleView AllIn This ArticleBanana NutritionImpact on Blood SugarHealth BenefitsHealthy Tips
In This ArticleView All
View All
In This Article
Banana Nutrition
Impact on Blood Sugar
Health Benefits
Healthy Tips
The banana is a highly versatile, delicious fruit that’seasy to digestand touted for its many health benefits, such as protection against oxidative stress and chronic disease due to its high fiber and antioxidant content. Bananas' soft texture and sweet taste make them a healthy option for most people—including babies and older adults, who may struggle with chewing and swallowing tougher foods, as well as athletes and active individuals who need a quick energy source while on the go.
But are bananas safe to eat for those living with diabetes? Keep reading to find out. Plus, we’ll cover how bananas affect blood sugar and the benefits of consuming bananas if you have diabetes.
Is It Safe to Eat Brown Bananas?
Michela Buttignol and Getty Images
One medium banana has:
Bananas are most known for their potassium content, but they are also high in fiber, vitamin C and vitamin B6. Potassium plays a role in maintaining fluid balance within the body and regulating blood pressure.Fiber and vitamin C are highly regarded for their impacts on digestive, heart and immune health. Vitamin B6 assists in hundreds of enzyme reactions and protein metabolism.
How Bananas Affect Your Blood Sugar
People with diabetes must be careful when eating carbohydrate-rich foods. That’s because carbs raise your blood sugar more than any other nutrient, meaning thetype of carbs you eatcan significantly impact blood sugar management. In addition, high-carb foods tend to have a higher ranking on the glycemic index (GI)—a 100-point scale that measures how fast a certain food increases blood sugar levels. In people without diabetes, their pancreas releases insulin into the bloodstream when they experience a blood sugar spike. Insulin then moves the sugar out of the blood and into the cells, where it’s used for energy or stored for later use. However, people with diabetes either don’t produce enough insulin to transport sugar out of the blood, or their bodies can’t use insulin as they should.
According toKelsey Lorencz, RD, a registered dietitian and nutrition advisor at Zenmaster Wellness, bananas are fine to eat if you have diabetes. “The carbs found in bananas are broken down into glucose, which enters the bloodstream before heading to cells for energy. Eating a banana will cause blood sugar to increase, but depending on how much you eat, what you pair it with and the ripeness, that’s not necessarily a bad thing,” says Lorencz. “A riper banana will have more sugar, and a banana on the green side will have less sugar and more resistant starch, which doesn’t impact blood sugar.”
Do Bananas Lose Fiber When They Ripen?
Benefits of Eating Bananas
While people with diabetes need to moderate their carb intake, they still need to consumehealthy carbsfor energy. “Eating healthy carbs is especially important for people with diabetes if they’re taking any blood sugar-lowering medications,” explains Lorencz. “Bananas are good sources of fiber, vitamin C, potassium, vitamin B6 and manganese.”
Bananas are a great source of quick energy, and eating them may provide several health benefits for those with diabetes.
Can Improve Insulin Sensitivity and Blood Sugar Regulation
Green (or unripe) bananas contain less sugar and more resistant starch than riper bananas. The resistant starch found in green bananas functions similarly to fiber in that it slows the digestion of carbs and prevents blood sugar spiking. Resistant starch is a carbohydrate that can’t be digested in the small intestine and has many health benefits, such as improved gut health, increased satiety after meals, cholesterol-lowering effects and improves insulin sensitivity.
Resistant starch may help your gut bacteria, which can improve insulin function and help people with diabetes better manage their blood sugar.Ripe bananas score around a 55 on the GI scale, while unripe (green) bananas will score lower, because as bananas ripen, the resistant starch decreases and is converted to natural sugars.
Boost Your Heart Health
When it comes to diabetes, taking good care of your heart is vital. People with diabetes are more likely to develop heart disease and have risk factors for heart attack and stroke,including high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Fortunately, the vitamins and minerals found in bananas have heart-protective properties. For example, bananas are an excellent source of potassium, a nutrient essential for proper heart function. Increasing potassium intake can reduce your risk of heart disease, stroke and high blood pressure. In addition, bananas are a good source ofmagnesium, which is correlated with lower blood pressure and reduced risk of heart disease and stroke. One medium banana contains 422 milligrams of potassium (9% of the Daily Value) and 32 mg of magnesium (8% DV).
Tips for Including Bananas in a Healthy Diabetes Diet
If you have diabetes, the following tips can help you enjoy bananas while keeping your blood sugar in check:
Lorencz adds, “Choose bananas that are a little on the green side. Then, pair them with a protein and fat source, like peanut butter or hard-boiled eggs, for a healthy and satisfying breakfast to keep your blood sugar stable.”
The Bottom Line
Bananas are a delicious, nutritious and affordable food for everyone, including those with diabetes. Eating this healthy fruit can help stabilize blood sugar levels, improve insulin sensitivity and improve heart health. Though bananas are higher in carbs and sugars than some foods, they also contain fiber and resistant starch that slows down the digestion and release of sugar into your bloodstream. These qualities make bananas a healthy, go-to snack for people with diabetes. However, if you have diabetes, consider choosing smaller, less ripe bananas and pairing them with other healthy foods high in protein and fats.
Can People with Diabetes Eat Fruits?
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SourcesEatingWell uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable and trustworthy.U.S. Department of Agriculture. FoodData Central.Bananas, raw.National Institutes of Health. Office of Dietary Supplements.Potassium.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Diabetes basics.Nitzke D, Czermainski J, Rosa C, Coghetto C, Fernandes SA, Carteri RB.Increasing dietary fiber intake for type 2 diabetes mellitus management: A systematic review.World J Diabetes. 2024;15(5):1001-1010. doi:10.4239/wjd.v15.i5.1001Bojarczuk A, Skąpska S, Mousavi Khaneghah A, Marszałek K.Health benefits of resistant starch: A review of the literature.J. Funct. Foods.2022,93. doi:10.1016/j.jff.2022.105094Portincasa P, Bonfrate L, Vacca M, et al.Gut microbiota and short chain fatty acids: Implications in glucose homeostasis.Int J Mol Sci. 2022;23(3):1105. doi:10.3390/ijms23031105Oregon State University. Linus Pauling Institute.Glycemic index and glycemic load.Phillips KM, McGinty RC, Couture G, Pehrsson PR, McKillop K, Fukagawa NK.Dietary fiber, starch, and sugars in bananas at different stages of ripeness in the retail market.PLoS One. 2021;16(7):e0253366. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0253366National Institutes of Health. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Diabetes, heart disease & stroke.
Sources
EatingWell uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable and trustworthy.U.S. Department of Agriculture. FoodData Central.Bananas, raw.National Institutes of Health. Office of Dietary Supplements.Potassium.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Diabetes basics.Nitzke D, Czermainski J, Rosa C, Coghetto C, Fernandes SA, Carteri RB.Increasing dietary fiber intake for type 2 diabetes mellitus management: A systematic review.World J Diabetes. 2024;15(5):1001-1010. doi:10.4239/wjd.v15.i5.1001Bojarczuk A, Skąpska S, Mousavi Khaneghah A, Marszałek K.Health benefits of resistant starch: A review of the literature.J. Funct. Foods.2022,93. doi:10.1016/j.jff.2022.105094Portincasa P, Bonfrate L, Vacca M, et al.Gut microbiota and short chain fatty acids: Implications in glucose homeostasis.Int J Mol Sci. 2022;23(3):1105. doi:10.3390/ijms23031105Oregon State University. Linus Pauling Institute.Glycemic index and glycemic load.Phillips KM, McGinty RC, Couture G, Pehrsson PR, McKillop K, Fukagawa NK.Dietary fiber, starch, and sugars in bananas at different stages of ripeness in the retail market.PLoS One. 2021;16(7):e0253366. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0253366National Institutes of Health. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Diabetes, heart disease & stroke.
EatingWell uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable and trustworthy.
U.S. Department of Agriculture. FoodData Central.Bananas, raw.National Institutes of Health. Office of Dietary Supplements.Potassium.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Diabetes basics.Nitzke D, Czermainski J, Rosa C, Coghetto C, Fernandes SA, Carteri RB.Increasing dietary fiber intake for type 2 diabetes mellitus management: A systematic review.World J Diabetes. 2024;15(5):1001-1010. doi:10.4239/wjd.v15.i5.1001Bojarczuk A, Skąpska S, Mousavi Khaneghah A, Marszałek K.Health benefits of resistant starch: A review of the literature.J. Funct. Foods.2022,93. doi:10.1016/j.jff.2022.105094Portincasa P, Bonfrate L, Vacca M, et al.Gut microbiota and short chain fatty acids: Implications in glucose homeostasis.Int J Mol Sci. 2022;23(3):1105. doi:10.3390/ijms23031105Oregon State University. Linus Pauling Institute.Glycemic index and glycemic load.Phillips KM, McGinty RC, Couture G, Pehrsson PR, McKillop K, Fukagawa NK.Dietary fiber, starch, and sugars in bananas at different stages of ripeness in the retail market.PLoS One. 2021;16(7):e0253366. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0253366National Institutes of Health. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Diabetes, heart disease & stroke.
U.S. Department of Agriculture. FoodData Central.Bananas, raw.
National Institutes of Health. Office of Dietary Supplements.Potassium.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Diabetes basics.
Nitzke D, Czermainski J, Rosa C, Coghetto C, Fernandes SA, Carteri RB.Increasing dietary fiber intake for type 2 diabetes mellitus management: A systematic review.World J Diabetes. 2024;15(5):1001-1010. doi:10.4239/wjd.v15.i5.1001
Bojarczuk A, Skąpska S, Mousavi Khaneghah A, Marszałek K.Health benefits of resistant starch: A review of the literature.J. Funct. Foods.2022,93. doi:10.1016/j.jff.2022.105094
Portincasa P, Bonfrate L, Vacca M, et al.Gut microbiota and short chain fatty acids: Implications in glucose homeostasis.Int J Mol Sci. 2022;23(3):1105. doi:10.3390/ijms23031105
Oregon State University. Linus Pauling Institute.Glycemic index and glycemic load.
Phillips KM, McGinty RC, Couture G, Pehrsson PR, McKillop K, Fukagawa NK.Dietary fiber, starch, and sugars in bananas at different stages of ripeness in the retail market.PLoS One. 2021;16(7):e0253366. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0253366
National Institutes of Health. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Diabetes, heart disease & stroke.
