how many bananas in a day?

ss_explor3r
ss_explor3r Posts: 7 Member
Hi All!

I'm working on my nutrition plan to include as many quality calories in my diet as possible.

1 organic banana (150 grams) has 135 calories

30.5g carbs (out of which 27.2 g is sugar)
0.2g fat
1.8g protein

Questions:

1. Is eating 2 bananas in a day safe?
2. High sugar content of bananas. I believe that the quality of sugar obtained from banana is healthy, however due to the high sugar content in an organic banana, is it safe to eat 2 or more in a day?

The reason I would like to add more bananas in my diet plan is because it allows to add more calories in an easy way.

Replies

  • harper16
    harper16 Posts: 2,564 Member
    Why would it not be safe to eat 2 bananas in a day? Eat has many as you like, and can fit into your nutritional needs.
  • Mithridites
    Mithridites Posts: 600 Member
    Perfectly safe. If trying to gain also look at avocados, peanut butter and other nut butters, and nuts of all kinds.
  • savageriderTX
    savageriderTX Posts: 2 Member
    You set percentages you want for all of your macros. If two bananas fit in a day, then eat them. I limit bananas because I can't do high sugars. I find kiwi fruit higher in potassium, lower in sugar and it has lots of calcium and Vitamin C. The beauty of MFP is that you set your daily goals and any food can fit in there. I find low sodium works best for me.
  • ss_explor3r
    ss_explor3r Posts: 7 Member
    Perfectly safe. If trying to gain also look at avocados, peanut butter and other nut butters, and nuts of all kinds.

    thanks, yes, I love avocados too. And I eat peanut butter straight from the jar, a couple of table spoons, it seems like an easy to way to add more calories.

    About nuts, do you think its okay to eat only one type of nuts or should I go for mixed nuts?

    I eat around 50g of cashew nuts in a day. With mixed nuts, its a bit more tedious to do the calorie calculations
  • ss_explor3r
    ss_explor3r Posts: 7 Member
    harper16 wrote: »
    Why would it not be safe to eat 2 bananas in a day? Eat has many as you like, and can fit into your nutritional needs.

    Yes, good to know. It was just the high sugar content of bananas which kind of concerned me.

    I've set my goals in MyFitnessPal application and it shows that for one day, my sugar intake should be a maximum of 106g. With 2 bananas, I get 54g of sugar and that is more than 50% of my daily sugar intake limit set by the MFP app.
  • alexmose
    alexmose Posts: 792 Member
    I read somewhere once that a person had to eat upwards of 17 bananas to get adverse health effects
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    edited June 2020
    As long as the bananas aren't crowding out other important macros or nutrition, have at it.
  • ccrdragon
    ccrdragon Posts: 3,374 Member
    JBanx256 wrote: »
    alexmose wrote: »
    I read somewhere once that a person had to eat upwards of 17 bananas to get adverse health effects

    17 is if they aren't organic. If you go organic, 19 is the safety cutoff.

    I just eat regular bananas since you don't (at least I don't) eat the peel and any pesticides that you are trying to avoid would be concentrated in the peel. They are also about half the price where I'm at.

    As to the original question, OP enjoy your bananas - no harm, no foul with 2 or more a day.
  • KayakerJoe
    KayakerJoe Posts: 80 Member
    Old bananas are mostly sugar and not worth eating.

    Bananas with a very slight tinge of green are perfect
  • GeneralSTpower
    GeneralSTpower Posts: 25 Member
    Doesnt matter as long as it fits into your daily calorie goals!
  • jtechmart
    jtechmart Posts: 67 Member
    I eat plenty of Bananas, sometimes 2-3 per day. I wouldn't worry about eating them. Although I used to work for the government where they did nuclear research, and during training I was told the radiation I was exposed to just being there wasn't any worse than eating 1 Banana per day. So, Bananas are radioactive. But, I don't think it's anything to worry about.
  • Sawjer
    Sawjer Posts: 229 Member
    Sugar is sugar but sugar from fruit is the not so bad sugars. Eat as my any banana's as you want up to 10 banana's I would say (Reason; A large banana provides 487 mg, x10 goes over your reccomended allowance of Pottasium (4700mg))
  • durhammfp
    durhammfp Posts: 494 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    That's because MFP has no way to track added sugar, since that's not reliably listed separately on packages, so can't be accurate in a crowd-sourced database. Health authorities like WHO, USDA, etc., suggest we limit added sugars, but are not concerned about inherent sugars in fruits, veggies, or dairy products, as long as we don't consume so much of those that we can't get enough of other essential nutrients. Your bananas, plus any other fruits/veggies/no-sugar-added dairy, aren't a worry, as long as you're getting the overall nutrition you need at proper calories.

    This is exactly why I break out fruit as its own category in my food diary. Sure there is inherent sugar in a lot of foods (like dairy) but I'm a big fruit eater so most of my sugar comes from fruit. When I'm checking my sugar for the day/week it is easy to disregard all the noise in the fruit category.

  • mullanphylane
    mullanphylane Posts: 172 Member
    Sugar is sugar, so that can be problematic - quick energy but not so good if there are any underlying medical
    conditions, and too much can be a contributing factor for many problems.

    High in potassium which can pose serious risk for anyone with heart problems.

    Bananas can be a good choice as PART OF A HEALTHY BALANCED DIET, but too much of anything is bad.

    Maybe consider a more balanced approach. Instead of looking for foods that permit you to eat more, build a meal plan that satisfies your wants as well as your needs. All too often I would plan my meals around as low a calorie count as possible so I could eat more (and worse-for-me foods). I always gained pounds that way. No I have a budget and do my best to stay within it to build a habit for a lifetime. It's working - down 30 pounds in six months.
    EAT LESS
    EAT BETTER
    MOVE MORE
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    edited July 2020
    @mullanphylane OP's goal is to gain weight. I'm glad "eat less" worked for you but that is not a good idea in this case. He needs to eat more.
  • lucidchroma
    lucidchroma Posts: 57 Member
    ccrdragon wrote: »
    JBanx256 wrote: »
    alexmose wrote: »
    I read somewhere once that a person had to eat upwards of 17 bananas to get adverse health effects

    17 is if they aren't organic. If you go organic, 19 is the safety cutoff.

    I just eat regular bananas since you don't (at least I don't) eat the peel and any pesticides that you are trying to avoid would be concentrated in the peel. They are also about half the price where I'm at.

    As to the original question, OP enjoy your bananas - no harm, no foul with 2 or more a day.

    Speaking of peel, do you weigh banana after peeling? Asking for my later use. Thank you.
  • harper16
    harper16 Posts: 2,564 Member
    ccrdragon wrote: »
    JBanx256 wrote: »
    alexmose wrote: »
    I read somewhere once that a person had to eat upwards of 17 bananas to get adverse health effects

    17 is if they aren't organic. If you go organic, 19 is the safety cutoff.

    I just eat regular bananas since you don't (at least I don't) eat the peel and any pesticides that you are trying to avoid would be concentrated in the peel. They are also about half the price where I'm at.

    As to the original question, OP enjoy your bananas - no harm, no foul with 2 or more a day.

    Speaking of peel, do you weigh banana after peeling? Asking for my later use. Thank you.

    Yes. Only weigh the part you'll be eating.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,272 Member
    edited July 2020
    KayakerJoe wrote: »
    Old bananas are mostly sugar and not worth eating.

    Bananas with a very slight tinge of green are perfect


    Not sure if your post was serious. :*

    But if so - no, it really doesn't matter if you eat bananas with a slight tinge of green or if you eat them a bit riper.

    Slightly ripe is how I do them - I don't like them too firm.

    But that seems just personal preference - they have plenty of nutrition either way.

    And 2 a day is by no means excessive.
  • GaleHawkins
    GaleHawkins Posts: 8,159 Member
    https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21524710/

    @ss_explor3r Here is a two banana a day study if you are interested in science and health relationships that you may find helpful.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    edited July 2020
    sardelsa wrote: »
    @mullanphylane OP's goal is to gain weight. I'm glad "eat less" worked for you but that is not a good idea in this case. He needs to eat more.

    Yes, it helps if one actually realizes what the OPs goals are and in which forum they are posting before giving formulaic advice.

    From the original post:
    I'm working on my nutrition plan to include as many quality calories in my diet as possible
  • hipari
    hipari Posts: 1,367 Member
    As a kid and teenager I ate 3 bananas per day, every weekday for several years (one with breakfast, one after school, one with evening snack). I was perfectly healthy and normal weight.
  • ccrdragon
    ccrdragon Posts: 3,374 Member
    ccrdragon wrote: »
    JBanx256 wrote: »
    alexmose wrote: »
    I read somewhere once that a person had to eat upwards of 17 bananas to get adverse health effects

    17 is if they aren't organic. If you go organic, 19 is the safety cutoff.

    I just eat regular bananas since you don't (at least I don't) eat the peel and any pesticides that you are trying to avoid would be concentrated in the peel. They are also about half the price where I'm at.

    As to the original question, OP enjoy your bananas - no harm, no foul with 2 or more a day.

    Speaking of peel, do you weigh banana after peeling? Asking for my later use. Thank you.

    Every time
  • jmata20
    jmata20 Posts: 3 Member
    None, I’m allergic. It’s avocados and raisins now 🤣🤣
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,928 Member
    jmata20 wrote: »
    None, I’m allergic. It’s avocados and raisins now 🤣🤣

    I'm mildly allergic to bananas that still have a hint of green. Mine need to be yellow, edging on brown. Apparently it's the same allergy that causes reactions to some tomatoes, pineapples, kiwis and walnuts. And latex.