Confused how many bananas can a diabetic eat in a day? When a person has diabetes he has to keep his blood sugar levels stable. If you perform a good blood sugar management, it can help you reduce the level of diabetes and prevent you from further reaching a new life-threatening level of diabetes.
To maintain a stable blood sugar level, one should avoid foods that cause spikes in blood sugar.
Fruits are ideally recommended by doctors during any medical emergency as they are accumulated with higher nutrients than any other foods. Banana is a healthy fruit and people consume it on a daily basis, but it consists of high carbs and sugar, and this raises blood sugar levels.
This article will discuss whether a diabetic person can eat Banana or not and if yes how many he can eat in a day.
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Is it safe for diabetic people to eat bananas?
Bananas contain carbs that raise blood sugar levels. A diabetic person should regulate his diet and what types of carbs are present.
Carbs are primary nutrients that change the blood sugar management in a human body.
An increase in blood sugar level causes the body to produce insulin that pushes sugar out of the blood into cells.
But this process doesn’t work fast as in people with diabetes, either body is not producing enough insulin or cells are resistant to insulin. This causes a rise in blood sugar levels in people with diabetes.
One medium banana contains:
- 105 calories
- 27 grams carbs
- 3 grams fiber
- 14 grams sugar
- 10 milligrams vitamin C
- 422 milligrams potassium
- 88 grams water
Although Banana contains starch and sugar, it also consists of fiber. People who have diabetes are recommended to eat an appropriate amount of dietary fiber. It is very well suited to benefit diabetic people.
Fiber slows the digestion and absorption of carbs which are present in the Banana. This reduces the overall blood sugar levels of the human body.
Bananas have a low glycemic index score, and eating this fruit can affect the blood sugar level of diabetic people. Let’s learn more about which types of bananas are good for diabetic people but first understand how many can they eat in a day.
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How Many Bananas Should A Diabetic Eat In A Day
According to some doctors, it is okay to eat bananas by a diabetic person, but he should not overeat it. A diabetic person can only eat bananas twice or thrice a week but it is not safe to consume bananas in his daily routine. The number of bananas a diabetic person can eat in a day depends on how the banana is affecting their blood sugar levels.
For normal people, it is safe to eat 2 or 3 bananas in a day but diabetic people don’t have this luxury. Although banana has a low glycemic index score, it consists of carbs and sugars. When a diabetic person consumes excess sugars or carbs it causes a severe change in blood sugar level. To avoid this doctors prescribe foods that have low carbs and sugars in a diabetic person’s diet.
To know the exact number you should speak to your doctor or registered dietitian about the number of bananas you can eat in a day.
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How to choose bananas for diabetic people
People with diabetes should always consider the banana that contains resistance starch.
Resistant starches are long chains of glucose that work similarly to fiber and won’t cause a rise in blood sugar levels. It also increases the digestion and absorption process in a diabetic process.
Go for a green banana
For selecting a banana for a diabetic person, always go for a green (unripe) banana as it contains less sugar and more resistant starch.
On the other hand, if you select a yellow( ripe) banana it contains less resistant starch and less sugar than a green banana.
Resistant starch helps to boost insulin production and thus never causes a rise in blood sugar levels.
The ripeness of a banana also determines the types of carbs present in it. Yellow bananas have a high glycemic index score, more carbs than a green banana and it causes fluctuation in the blood sugar management system.
If a diabetic person eats a yellow banana instead of a green banana it has a high probability of raising blood sugar level. So, it’s better to choose a green (unripe) banana over a yellow (ripe) banana.
Size of a banana
We figured it out that to select the best banana it’s better to select a green (unripe) banana but ripeness is not the only factor to consider. Size is also an important factor to look at when picking bananas for a diabetic person. Size determines the amount of carbs and sugars is present in a banana.
This usually means the bigger the banana the higher it has a number of carbs, sugars which will have a higher probability of raising your blood sugar levels.
But as we know green bananas contain resistant starch and it is large in a bigger portion size.
This is calculated using the tool known as the Glycemic tool that shows the number of carbs served in a banana and at what speed this food can cause a rise in blood sugar. Large bananas have a higher glycemic load than small ones.
Pair bananas with a “healthy” fat or protein source
Always pair a banana with adding a fat or protein source as it slows the rise of blood sugar from any carb foods. There are several options you can choose which you love to eat like nut butter, a small handful of nuts or seeds, an egg, pistachios, sunflower seeds, walnuts, or a dollop of plain Greek yogurt. All these foods are the right options that help you maintain control over your blood sugar level system. Also, after eating these foods you have no craving for food throughout the day.
Does Eating Bananas Help in Diabetes
Yes, eating bananas prevents blood sugar spikes in a diabetic person. Although bananas are rich in carbs and sugars, they also consist of fiber and resistant starch. These help to regulate the blood sugar level system in a diabetic person’s body. It helps to slow the digestion and absorption of carbs that prevents the rise in blood sugar level.
Another advantage of bananas is that they are rich in Vitamin B6, Potassium, Antioxidants. Consuming these nutrients could result in various health benefits like:
- decrease risk of stroke
- lower blood pressure
- reduce the formation of kidney stones
- support bone and muscle strength
- Prevent the development of Type 2 diabetes
- Prevent chronic conditions (heart disease and cancer)
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Conclusion
Diabetic people can enjoy banana in their diet plan as it contains fiber and resistant starch that prevents blood sugar spikes.
But before a diabetic person consumes bananas he should confirm with a doctor some people’s blood glucose is sensitive to bananas and they should avoid eating them. Following these, you can minimize the rise in blood sugar level when you eat a banana.
Choose a green (unripe) banana: Green bananas have low glycemic score and low carbs and sugar ratio than fully ripe (yellow) bananas.
Go for a small banana: Large banana will have higher carbs and it’s best for a diabetic person to avoid carbs.
Pair them with a healthy fat or protein: These decrease the digestion process of food which prevents spikes in blood sugar levels. You can pair it with peanut butter, nuts, or yogurt.
