how many bananas is too many?

[mckenzie]

Our son, who has just turned one, loves bananas. And I mean LOVES them.
He would have one for breakfast, lunch and tea if we let him. I'm a believer in "everything in moderation" but how many bananas a day is moderate for a 1 year old. His diet, I think, is very good, varied and full of fresh veg, fruit and home cooking. I'm happy that he likes them obviously (he loves most fruit and veg) but dont want to let him overdose on them.

Any thoughts gratefully received.

[soothepoo]

I limit dd to just one banana a day, purely because if she eats any more she gets very constipated.

[ExpatKat]

I don't think there was ever a kid who ate more bananas than my son, particularly when he was about 1-1.5 yrs. But all those banans don't seem to have had any ill effects, so I'd be inclined to say there is no limit. I have to add that he hates bananas now, though.

[threeangels]

Hi Mckenzie. I dont know a whole lot about this but I know there could be a number of problems develope in a person if they eat too much potassium. I think it can effect the heart as one example. Bananas do have alot of this in them. I would defenatly talk to your doctor about whats too much potassium in a 1 year olds diet. I personally would only give one banana a day. Possibly 2 but this may even be too much. Most of us get so much potassim from other foods we eat and dont even really pay attention.

[Tinker]

Hmm, I would be inclined not to worry. My daughter use to eat 3 in one go but now I have to coax her to eat any.

[aloha]

I've never found any connection between constipation and bananas in my son (and frankly, with the deluge I've been getting lately, mild constipation might be welcome ) I'm sure there's no harm in them, I've certainly never heard of a case of banana poisoning and I've done quite a bit of research into nutrition

[SofiaAmes]

My son definitely gets constipated from bananas. Even one a day will constipate him unless I also give him lots of apricot/peach juice with the same meal. However, if constipation isn't a side effect for your son, I wouldn't worry too much about how many he eats as long as he is eating some of everything else. Then again by the time you read all these messages he will probably have gone off the bananas and want non-stop apples.

[winnie1]

mckenzie, around the same age as your son our son sometimes ate three bananas a day. I wouldn't worry about it. Like others here we then hit a point where he would hardly touch a banana and now he eats them but not in large quantities. Unless they disagree with him Id not worry about it.

[KMG]

My boys are only allowed one per day, to avoid constipation - which they have been prone to in the past.

It's not a new problem: My husband and his brothers were told when young that two bananas within 24 hrs was a fatal overdose!

[mckenzie]

thanks everbody. I am a tad concerned that if he has too many now it will mean that he hates the sight of them when he's older but I think i'll follow the general consensus and just go with the flow, as long as he doesn't get an upset tummy. I guess I should count myself lucky that it's not blueberry muffins that he wants to scoff, like his mum!

[SexytimeMilen]

You are ALL wrong. When I was younger and was living in Angola, I ate so many bananas (~26-27) that I needed stomach pumping. . So here is the warning - eating too many bananas leads to banana poisoning - FACT. Eat in moderation . Sexy Time

[shrooms]

Is that a joke or is it true?! I can't believe that - in hospital for an overdose.....


A banana overdose.

[nannyL]

my friends dad is on dialysis as is his kidneys dont work. (he is fully grown man!)

eating a banana could kill him... due to so much potassium.

for that reason alone i think max of 1 banana a day is more than enough for a baby / young child

[Cappuccino]

I took my daughter to a dietician when she was 5 because she was not eating enough

I said she liked bananas but was only allowed one a day

"Why?" he said. He said two was fine.

[SexytimeMilen]

No joke. Stomach was pumped. Seriously people, too many bananas is harmful. I unofficially hold the world record for banana consumption. BANANAS KILL

[exbatt]

But how many people eat 27 bananas at once? That's a somewhat extreme example when most people are talking about a few per day.

[SexytimeMilen]

Its shocking thats its nearly taken 6 years to talk about the REAL facts about bananas on this forum . Lets not beat around the bush here, 1 or 2 a day is monkey business. I'm talking big numbers here. Who are you to question me? Noone can eat that many bananas at once, it took a few hours. I might love bananas but I can't do that many at once, I'm not Bananaman

[bananaboy]

maybe you need to calm the fuck down Bananaman
why the hell did you eat 27 bananas in the first place? I think if you ate that much of any one thing in a few hours you would need your stomach pumped. And stop using stupid puns (monkey business).
Now you best peel out of here before someone flings their shit at you

[Gduffydc]

I just have to add something to these posts (banana mad babies) because our 20 month old has eaten 7 small ones per day in the past, but commonly eats 3-5. I have done some research on limits, normal amounts in various foods etc.

For me the questions are: 'is it dangerous? Is there some reason that we should know better than her instead instinct?'

Some people, medics included, have posted what amounts to nothing more speculative opinion on this topic, in particular fear-mongering that more than 1-2 bananas could result in heart damage for your kid.
Nonsense.
There is no documentation of any ill coming to any child because of eating too many bananas. Many people report constipation - so if that's the case then manage that as any parent would.
But let's address this nonsense of hyperkalaemia (excess potassium) in infants due to banana consumption. 1. There is no evidence of this ever happening. 2. Reccomended potassium intake is at best a guess and varies from 2-3g/day for an infant, with no suggested upper limit. Based on this, our infant (who eats no grains or dairy, and has a very varied diet), could eat 4 bananas per day for 'normal intake', and probably multiples of that before becoming dangerous. 3. On average bananas have little more potassium each than a glass of milk, have under half the potassium of a potato, and are just one source of potassium amongst many.

So (here is my opinion, please research for yourself and in particular if your kid has a condition then take advice); assuming you give a varied diet, your baby or infant is much more connected to what they innately need than you or I are, if you spot that they are constipated due to one food type, then look into it. If he/she eats bananas to the exclusion of all else, look into it. Otherwise let them eat as many as they want, neither overripe nor too green.

I hope this adds some sense to some of the scare-mongering nonsense out there.

[FreeButtonBee]

My currently ravenous 19mo can easily easy three day on top of full meals

[RoganJosh]

It was a thread from nine years ago, Gduffydc .

[Gduffydc]

Healthy boy freebuttonbee!
RoganJosh it's one if the top hits on Google if you ask that question, so I don't know what your point is.

[ChardonnayKnickertonSmythe]

Zombie Bananas alert!