Bananas have a sweet taste and unique aroma, making them easy for everyone to eat whether eating them directly, making smoothies or snacks . So how many calories does each banana contain and will eating bananas cause obesity or weight gain? Let PT Health Life reveal it in the Kitchen Tips section .
1. How many calories are in bananas?
The calorie content of each banana depends on its size. When examining them on most types of bananas, on average each banana has about 100 calories, or you can distinguish the specific banana size as follows:
- Very small (about 81 grams, less than 15.24 cm): 72 calories
- Small (about 101g, from 15.24 – 17.78cm): 90 calories
- Medium (about 118g, from 17.78 – 20.32cm): 105 calories
- Large (about 136g, from 20.32 – 22.86cm): 121 calories
- Very large (about 152g, 22.86 or more): 135 calories
- Sliced (per 150g cup): 134 calories
- Mashed (per 225g cup): 200 calories
In addition, the calorie content also depends on the ripeness of the banana, in which ripe bananas usually contain over 100 calories, higher than raw bananas due to their high sugar content.
While raw bananas – which are usually boiled or cooked – contain a lot of starch and resistant starch , so they contain less than 100 calories.
2. Does eating bananas make you fat?
Bananas are ranked on the list of foods with a low glycemic index (GI) , but 90% of the calories that bananas bring are determined by their inherent carbs content , especially when bananas are ripe.
For raw bananas, the resistant starch content has the ability to slow down the digestive process in the small intestine. Combined with fiber, when eating bananas, it helps the body feel full longer.
Not only that, this resistant starch ingredient can also inhibit the fermentation process of starch (found in bananas) to form a compound that helps burn fat effectively.
However, reality shows: if you consume a lot, especially ripe bananas, you still face the risk of unwanted weight gain because your body now has too many extra calories.
Even the sugar content in bananas also affects the blood sugar index in the body, which is also the reason why obesity is often associated with diabetes or the risk of increasing blood sugar levels.
Besides, to overcome weight gain when eating bananas, you should exercise and exercise a lot so that your body burns excess calories after eating bananas, thereby maintaining a more ideal weight. .
3. What is the right way to eat bananas?
Bananas are a nutritious fruit for health, but eating bananas properly will help you reap many benefits from bananas. Such as:
- Combine bananas in your diet to balance the calorie intake in each meal.
- Limit eating bananas in the morning, because the serotonin compound in ripe bananas can cause drowsiness, affecting work or study.
- Avoid eating bananas when your body is hungry, because it can affect the heart or cause bloating.
- Avoid eating overripe bananas because many compounds that are harmful to your health will appear.
In addition, the time to eat bananas is also quite important, such as eating bananas 15 minutes before meals and about 30 – 60 minutes before exercising, which will help the body maintain weight as well as supplement essential nutrients for activity. body.
