Are bananas actually bad for you?

[LadyEv]

My partner's parents dropped in on us this morning while my daughter was having a banana for breakfast, which I guess is what prompted my partner's mum to tell us that in a bid to lose weight she'd banned bananas. I replied 'I didn't realise bananas were that fattening?' she said 'Well they're fruit and there's sugar in fruit.' she went on to tell me that brown bananas have more sugar in them. A bit of googling suggests she might be right about that one. Obviously I know that fruit has sugar in it. But even so surely Bananas are good for you? I think they are filling and delicious. Surely a 100 calories of banana is better for you than 100 calories of crisps or bread? Are bananas really that bad? My reasoning says not but then again I used to think fruit juice was good for me.

I think they're fine.

If I'm honest, it seems to me that on days when I eat 2 or more bananas, I seem to put on more weight. However, I think this is because if I eat 2 or more bananas, I'm probably on such an 'eat for no reason' self destruct that I've cleared the whole fridge as well.

No, bananas aren’t bad. Calories are a good thing, we need them, and we need the other nutrients that fruit contains as well. No food is ‘fattening’ unless you eat too much of it.

A middle aged woman trying to lose weight doesn’t need the same food as your growing child.

Well they are better than eating 100 cal crisps because they are full of other nutrients.

She's mad. Nuts and avocados and cheese are fattening too, if you gorge yourself, but also contain important nutrients. Carry on feeding your DC bananas!

Sounds bonkers to me. I can't imagine anyone ever got fat from eating too much fruit - doughnuts, chips, takeaways, chocolate - sure, but fruit alongside a healthy diet generally, I very much doubt it.

Yes fruit has calories but it doesn't really lend itself to overeating in the way the other stuff I've mentioned does. It also has loads of vitamins and other things that keep people healthy.

I know fruit is a trendy thing to demonise but I really struggle to believe it (plus I eats loads and loads of fruit, in fact I've only just now eaten three ripe bananas on the trot, and am very slim)

The yellower they are or more brown bits on the skin,the sweeter they are so more sugar.
I actually prefer them just turning from green, I always buy yer greenest I can find so they don’t ripen too quickly & keep the in the fridge wrapped in bubble wrap, which is the sNe ad one of the Lakeland banana bags but free.
They are full of potassium so, yes, good for you. They help to counter balance any excess salt in your diet.

Please excuse spelling/ wrong words. Typing on my phone, tiny keys.

No they are not bad for you. Too many might be, but that's true of everything, including glasses of water! The riper ones do have quite high sugar but they also contain fibre and potassium and vitamins.

They help to counter balance any excess salt in your diet.

Seriously?? This is a game-changer! I'm chain eating bananas from now on then. I have too much salt and find it really difficult to cut down. If bananas 'mop it up' then I'm eating them with every meal from now on. I need to investigate this.

Bananas are the best snack food. Tasty, good for you & come in their own wrapping. I also really like them in a white bread sandwich sprinkled with sugar 😋 not so good but bloody nice.

Eh? Bananas are fine! Potassium, fibre, natural sugars. If I’m on a low carb low sugar diet I don’t eat them, but I’m an overweight middle aged mum and your DC presumably isn’t on a diet. Carry on and ignore MIL!

People believe all sorts of stupid shit about food. Especially on here most of the time! No bananas are not bad for you. People who talk about fruit being full of sugar like they are mars bars are idiots.

This is ridiculous. What can you eat then? So unhealthy and the way to start a serious eating disorder.

@Neonplant

People believe all sorts of stupid shit about food. Especially on here most of the time! No bananas are not bad for you. People who talk about fruit being full of sugar like they are mars bars are idiots.

Couldn't agree more.

No, they are a good source of fibre. Food is meant to have calories in it. Your child needs food to grow and generate energy.

Your MIL may have been taking more calories onboard than she uses but that means she's eating too much, not that bananas are bad. Ignore her advice.

My PIL's GP told them to stop eating Pink Lady apples because they would make them put on weight. These are the people who happily eat scones and coffee cake several times a week on their regular coffee shop trips.

You’re absolutely right, OP. Bananas are completely fine. They contain lots of good stuff as well as some sugar, just like any other fruit.

Some people really are just fixated on calories, aren’t they?

Everything has calories, so unless you want to exist on celery and water, you need to consume calories.

Some food is also really nutritious. So focus on that food, for health.

Bananas are yummy, they arent bad for you and have good things in them and are fibrous. But they are one of the fruits, if you go on a diet, you're advised to cut out because they can be quite high sugar. Best in moderation and always good to mix up a variety of different fruits over the day and week to get full benefit from the different vitamins and minerals they all have to offer.

I used to work with someone who told me fruit was bad for you. I politely ignored her.

No, bananas are a perfectly healthy food. Don’t entertain this kind of nonsense.

Yes fruits have sugars in and its best not to go wild and eat tonnes of them, but they also contain tonnes of excellent nutrients and fibre, so as part of a balanced diet they're great! Smoothies etc can be a different ball game because a) the amount of fruit in them and b) a lot of the fibre etc is removed which means they're not as great.

My niece is diabetic so I know bananas are one of the 'worst' fruits as very high in carbohydrates which convert to sugar. So yes, not great if you're desperately trying to lose weight but great if you are a small child!

To be fair to her I don't think she was suggesting that I stop giving them to my daughter, but she definitely has an unhealthy relationship with food and some funny ideas about it too. It all seems to be based around the calorie count rather than nutritional value. But like I say I've had some misapprehension about certain food being healthy when it's not really. Like it's better to eat your fruit than drink it.

Everything is bad for you if you have too much of it.