Bananas causing weight gain?

verptwerp

everyone's different ....... for some reason bananas make me ravenous, so I've learned to stay away from them ........

tigersword

Bananas are pure fructose, a simple carb which spikes blood sugar almost immediately. I used to eat a banana every morning back in my high-carb days and, as soon as I cut it out and replaced it with something less carb- and sugar-dense (usually nuts, bacon, hard-boiled eggs, a protein shake, etc), I began losing weight again. Everyone's bodies are different, but it seems that you have a similar issue with carbs and sugar as I did/do.

Uhh, no. Bananas are certainly NOT pure fructose. In fact, fructose makes up only about 40% of the sugar in a banana.

Also, fructose doesn't really spike blood sugar much at all, as it's digested by the liver, and doesn't travel in the blood stream.

6ftamazon

I'm type 1 diabetic and some days I eat like 3 bananas because my blood sugars get low and I have still been losing weight. Either you're going over your daily calories (which could be possible if you haven't recalculated for your losses) or your retaining water.

Annie_01

A couple of things.

A banana will not cause weight gain in an otherwise healthful diet.

As ridiculous as this might sound, I started weighing my bananas. I peel them and then weigh them because I found that the calories vary quite a lot. So, maybe make sure you are weighing them. Search for "banana usda" in the database. There is one there in grams. This way you always know that your calories will be more accurate, rather than just guessing based on approx size.

If my doctor told me to stop eating bananas, I would find a new doctor. That is absolutely ridiculous. Don't stop drinking alcohol, don't stop eating nachos, but those goddamn bananas, you better stop that's ****, they'll kill you. :yawn: So ridiculous. Don't people have better things to do?

I don't think they have anything to do...why turn an innocent banana in to the anti-christ.

They are calorie dense...that is why I weigh mine. For that calorie dense vegetable I received in return...potassium and magnesium...which both aid in trying to keep my blood pressure under control.

It also has other benefits...

http://www.medindia.net/patients/lifestyleandwellness/health-benefits-of-bananas.htm

Some days it sounds as if the demise of the world will all be due to a banana.

tigersword

Bananas are pure fructose, a simple carb which spikes blood sugar almost immediately. I used to eat a banana every morning back in my high-carb days and, as soon as I cut it out and replaced it with something less carb- and sugar-dense (usually nuts, bacon, hard-boiled eggs, a protein shake, etc), I began losing weight again. Everyone's bodies are different, but it seems that you have a similar issue with carbs and sugar as I did/do.

If you cut out fat, fruit, even bananas do not spike the blood sugar. I'm a diabetic and I eat 6 bananas a day. I eat 80/10/10 high carb diet and since doing this, my blood glucose levels have been great. Also as you can see by my banner, i've lost 23 lbs. in 30 days.

As I specifically stated, everyone's bodies are different. What works for you, your health, your weight loss, and your body will not necessarily work for someone else. I am glad you've found a way of eating that keeps your blood sugar in check, but that exact same diet has wreaked havoc on other diabetics (as well as non-diabetics) I know. The point of developing a healthy lifestyle is to find something that works for you - both short-term and long-term. It appears you have found that, but the OP has not as of yet, which is why I offered my input and advice, since it appears their body and metabolism function in a similar way to mine.

Research is showing that kind of diet isn't a bad one. Research is showing that fat has a much larger impact on blood glucose levels than thought before. Fat inhibits the effectiveness of insulin to regulate blood glucose levels. Not knowing that before is why the medical community was saying to reduce carb intake. When you cut out the fat, your insulin is able to function properly and you can eat carbs again. This will not wreak havoc on other diabetics.

Interesting I'm sure, but wrong. It slows digestion and moderates insulin spikes as does protein as well.

I am agreeing here with neanderthin. This is a classic case of not understanding research, or not fully researching. Research is not showing any marked effect of blood sugar from fat consumption (beyond what neanderthin stated.) What research IS showing, is that excess fatty acids and triglycerides in the blood stream can interfere with insulin receptors, causing insulin resistance, and eventually Type 2 Diabetes. This has nothing to do with eating fat. This has everything to do with obesity, even normal weight obesity. When a person overeats and gains fat, the fat is transferred from the liver to adipose storage sites throughout the body. When those sites are "full," fat remains in the blood stream until the body can manufacture more storage space. This can contribute to causing insulin resistance, as the fat in the blood stream block insulin from reaching insulin receptors, causing the insulin to continue circulating as well. As people overeat, this cycle repeats.

Now, this has nothing to do with dietary fat, because the body can convert any food you eat, whether fat, protein, or carbs, into glycerols, which can them be combined into triglycerides, which then get sent off into the blood stream.

walkinthedogs

everyone's different ....... for some reason bananas make me ravenous, so I've learned to stay away from them ........

I think apples do that to me. I'm trying to test my theory for the next couple weeks because it doesn't logically make sense to me, but I swear every time I eat an apple, I'm starving within a half hour.

connieflower_

Agree with everyone else about you may be going over your cal intake.

Also, are you eating the fruit after or with any other foods? Perhaps the fruits are not being digested properly causing you to experience bloating. ( Do some research on correct food combining )

Just a suggestion! Hope you feel yourself again soon x

paperpudding

Agree with everyone else about you may be going over your cal intake.

Also, are you eating the fruit after or with any other foods? Perhaps the fruits are not being digested properly causing you to experience bloating. ( Do some research on correct food combining )

Just a suggestion! Hope you feel yourself again soon x

From a weight loss point of view, it will not matter whether one consumes a banana on its own or with other foods.

shortntall1

I like bananas but I feel hungrier sometimes after I eat one

GreatDepression

I used to think bananas were really healthful but after looking up the full nutrition info, I think they have too many carbs from sugar (fructose) and not enough micronutrients. Such a shame because I liked bananas in my smoothies. I can't use them anymore.

_Zardoz_

I used to think bananas were really healthful but after looking up the full nutrition info, I think they have too many carbs from sugar (fructose) and not enough micronutrients. Such a shame because I liked bananas in my smoothies. I can't use them anymore.

Don't be silly there is nothing wrong with carbs. Carbs are an important food group and we need them. All this ridiculous carb hatred is just that ridiculous. Also fructose acts slightly different to sugars such as glucose it's energy is released slower (which is good) We need carbs as we need certain levels of sugar. As with anything as part of a balanced diet have them.

yarwell

Also, fructose doesn't really spike blood sugar much at all, as it's digested by the liver, and doesn't travel in the blood stream.

more importantly it isn't glucose, or "blood sugar", so the small increase in blood glucose from ingesting fructose is a secondary effect as the fructose itself can't become blood glucose.

VilimovskyM

It is not easy to answer the question whether bananas actually make you gain or lose weight. It depends on how many bananas one eats per day. 2 or 3 bananas are perfectly okay and they will not cause you to gain weight but if you eat 2 kilos of bananas per day than you are more likely to put on some weight.

On the other hand bananas are great food for actually losing weight due to a simple fact that they have a low glycemic index, which describes an ability of the food to generate sudden spikes of blood sugar. The lower the glycemic index is the more slowly the food causes blood sugar to rise and the more time insulin has to actually use it without transforming it into fat (if the sugar goes up slowly it can be immediately utilised by the body but if it rises in spikes some of it must be transformed to fat because the energy boost is too high).

Due to low glycemic index, bananas are more a weight loss food than a weight gain one.

You can find more information about bananas, their glycemic index and effects on weight and human body in my recent blog post here.