Bananas are one the famous fruit all around the globe and are Australia’s favourite fruit. Banana is a kind of fruit from herbaceous plants of the genus Musa. A long curved fruit with thick peel and sweet, soft, white flesh inside. They are the more purchased fruit in our shopping basket, and many families always have them in the fruit basket. Bananas have apparent benefits such as creamy texture, sweet taste and natural packaging. They are natural mood boosters for the mind and energy boosters for the body thanks to their vitamin, carbohydrate and minerals content.
Understanding the glycemic index
It’s a way of measuring how certain food affects your blood sugar levels. As Mayo Clinic describes, three carbohydrates are found in food: sugar, fibre, and starch. When the body breaks that carbohydrate down, the starch and sugar are converted into glucose, which your body utilizes for energy.
Glucose is a transfer from the blood into the cell by a hormone known as insulin, made in the pancreas. Extra glucose is saved in the liver and free by the other hormone known as glucagon when low availability. Throughout this process, the body stays energized. But because some food is higher in carbohydrates than others, and other carbohydrate-higher food has different ratios of starches, fibre, and sugar, different food will offer different amounts of glucose faster.
The glycemic index, named GI, measures this effect on a scale of zero to 100. The glycemic index can be useful for people, and in some situations, it can be useful for people who want to lose weight. Tufts University observed that low glycemic index food tends to be better for weight control than high glycemic index food.
Banana Glycemic Index
The difficult aspect of the glycemic index is that it changes for certain foods, including bananas. Tufts university describes that an unripe banana has a lower glycemic index than a ripe banana, just as pasta cooked al dente has a lower glycemic index than pasta cooked until it is very soft.
Green bananas are becoming increasingly famous because they provide many nutritional benefits such as vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin B6, potassium, fibre, phosphorus, zinc and magnesium. They also contain resistant starch, potentially preventing or curing type 2 diabetes, reducing blood cholesterol, and preventing intestinal disease.
Resistant starch is digested lately and is broken down in the intestines, so minimum sugar is released into the bloodstream. But some resistant starch turns into sugar as bananas ripen.
A banana has a GI of 51, although an underripe banana has 41. Both would fall under the category of low glycemic index foods, which have indexes of 55 or less. The doctor suggested that people who experience diabetes try to add more of these foods to their diets, as low glycemic index foods do not significantly raise blood sugar levels. Take a look at our complete list and discover the glycemic index of fruits
Banana glycemic index Compared To other fruits
Harvard lists an orange with a glycemic index of 43 and an apple as having a 36. Both fruits are lower than a ripe banana, but an unripe banana would be a little lower than an orange. On the other hand, watermelon has a higher glycemic index at 76. In addition to being low glycemic, bananas provide many other health benefits. Harvard describes that the rich potassium level in bananas is beneficial in staving off hypertension and lowering blood pressure.
Which type of banana has a low glycemic index?
According to International GI Database, ripe bananas have a low glycemic index of 51, with slightly under-ripe bananas even lower at 42; they have a moderate glycemic load of 13 and 11, respectively.
Which type of banana has a high glycemic index?
A yellow or ripe banana has less resistant starch than a green banana and more sugar, which is more fast absorbed than starch. This means fully ripe bananas have a high glycemic index and will cause your blood sugar to rise quicker than an unripe green banana.
Does banana raise your blood sugar?
It is vital to minimize or avoid food that causes blood sugar spikes. Despite being a healthy fruit, bananas are rich in sugar and carbs, the main nutrients that raise blood sugar levels.
Is banana ok for diabetes?
Bananas are nutritious and safe fruit for people who experience diabetes to eat in moderation as part of an individualized, balanced diet plan. A person who experiences diabetes should add new, plant food options to the diet like vegetables and fruit. Bananas provide plenty of nutrients without adding more calories.
Is a banana a day too much sugar?
An average medium-sized banana has about 14 grams of sugar, about 53% of its 105 calories.
Does banana make you gain belly fat?
When taken in moderation, bananas do not lead to or increase belly fat. Bananas are a tasty fruit that can consume in limited portions to maintain or lose weight. Have it a snack rather than a sugary option like pastries and cookies.
