“Hey guys, Dr. Axe here, and welcome again to the Chopping Block. Today on
the Chopping Block our special guest is the banana. I will tell you,
surprisingly one of the most common questions I get from people is: Are
bananas good for me?
Now we have heard of some of the great health benefits of bananas, but on
the other end I think a lot of people worry about the sugar content that’s
found in certain fruits like bananas today. I will tell you here, bananas
are teetering on the edge here of the Chopping Block. Let us talk about the
negatives of bananas, and then let us talk about the positives.
The negatives, without a doubt, is that it does contain a large amount of
sugar, and it doesn’t really have much protein or any healthy fat
whatsoever along with it. One medium sized banana has 27 grams of
carbohydrates. Fourteen of those grams are sugar. Then it contains about
one gram of protein and zero grams of fat. So if you’re eating a banana by
itself, there is no doubt it could affect your blood sugar levels in a
small amount. That is really the negative side of bananas is right there
because if you’re a person who is trying to lose weight, if you have
sensitive blood sugar, bananas, in terms of fruit, are higher on the
glycemic index, which means it will typically affect your insulin more or
affect your sugar more compared to most other fruits.
Now let us talk about the positives with the banana. Bananas are one of the
most potassium rich foods in the entire world. One single banana has 500 mg
of potassium. So it is packed with potassium. It has 32 mg of magnesium, so
it’s really loaded with electrolytes. So if you’re an athlete, if you are a
person that works out, this is an amazing food for you because again it can
really help fuel your cells.
Now another thing in defending the banana is that if you’re comparing this
banana even to a bowl of oatmeal, this is still lower on the glycemic index
and has a lower amount of carbohydrates than even healthier grains out
there like rice and quinoa. So again, this really is a better option
compared to any other grains out there in my book. But when you’re
comparing it to other fruits, like berries for instance; berries have more
antioxidants. They’re higher in fiber. Berries definitely have more
benefits as well as a lot of other fruits compared to a banana, but bananas
are still better than grains.
So what do I say about the banana in closing? Well, here’s what I would
say. If you’re a person who is trying to lose weight or has some digestive
issues, I really think if you’re trying to lose weight or have sensitive
blood sugar, I would remove bananas from your diet, but I would still eat
them before any other grains. If you’re an athlete or somebody who is
already pretty lean and healthy and just trying to stay healthy, I think
bananas are still a great option for you.
So when it comes to bananas getting chopped, we’re going to spare the
banana here, and we’re actually going to peel it here instead of chopping
it. I’m actually about to go on a run, so I’m going to eat a little bit of
this banana here, because again it’s still packed with potassium, has a
good amount of fiber, has magnesium, and number one thing that saved that
banana, it is a real food, unprocessed, unhybridized, completely real.
Again, the banana is staying here on the Chopping Block.”
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