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Bananas: Friend or Foe?

Why does everyone say to keep your banana consumption to a minimum?

For me being a student, it is one of the most a) easily accessible foods b) cheapest foods (you really don’t need to buy organic with a peel that thick) and c) easily blendable foods (it can be blended into things to make it stretch further…like almond butter and nutmilks)

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Comments

  • Who says this? So far, I have heard a lot of people telling me that it’s okay to eat as many bananas as possible. So this is new to me. I think it’s okay to eat 3-5 bananas a day as long as you vary it lots of other fruit.

  • Morning_theftMorning_theft Raw Newbie

    REALLY depends who you ask. Bananas are highly hybridized fruit, notice they have no seeds? Very unnatural. They have WAAAY more sugar in them than they should, and not much for minerals. The fact that they can only reproduce by grafting and can’t grow in the wild at all anymore… Well, certain ‘raw food authorities’, specifically David Wolfe, will say that weak hybrid plants are harmful to us and will weaken our system.
    Now on the flipside of this, you have Douglas Graham, who says that fruit is everything and if the fruit is more sugary, the better. Honestly, I don’t jive much with him, but that’s just me, I don’t poopoo the 80\10\10 enthusiasts (Doug Graham’s diet of no fat and lots of sugar) but I would not want to try it.
    I personally try not to eat too many bananas, they are ‘empty calories’ and while they’re good to fill up on, they’re not much for nutrition. They sure are tasty though.

  • juicyjuicy Raw Newbie

    I have heard this limiting banana theory many times also, but I completely disregard it. I go by how I feel after I eat things, and for me, i feel completely fine after bananas. Maybe as I become more in-tune with my body, I will realize that bananas don’t make me feel great? Even so, for now I eat between 4-6 a day. And I loveeeeee them! If you think about it, the way we were all eating before, eating pasta and maybe even meat, I’m pretty sure even if all you ate were bananas you would be doing your body a whole lot better than before!
    On my path to raw food I have come across so many people telling me all different things to avoid- but I have chosen to pave my own path- something I think all raw foodies should do. Listen to your body and see how you feel after eating certain things, and always remember that you are still doing something good for your body, even if you aren’t eating an ideal raw diet!

  • CarmentinaCarmentina Raw Newbie

    Morning_theft, my sister lives in Hawaii, and banana trees often pop up spontaneously in her yard, grow, give fruit, then die. Of course these are the “wild” variety, but I assure you they’re delicious! I think the main issue with eating a lot of bananas is the high sugar content. Here in Italy people believe bananas are hard on digestion.

  • coconuttycoconutty Raw Newbie

    Well, in my experience the high sugar content was making my body go wack-o. I didn’t really realize it that much til I cut them out of my diet. Wow, what a difference! I looooove bananas too which sucks, so I only eat them every now and then. And I make sure to always buy them organic.

  • I stopped putting bananas in my smoothies for a while and actually felt a little better. I did add one to my smoothie today and feel o.k. I think it’s good to vary your food, no matter how healthy it is.

  • I eat two bananas a day, blended into my green smoothie, and love them. It’s too bad they are hybridized—I would love to live somewhere where I could eat wild bananas. But at least they are not anywhere as evil as non-raw foods!

  • humanimalhumanimal Raw Newbie

    Seedless? Look more closely. They have tiny black seeds in the center the size of a poppy seed. Bananas are without a doubt my best friend. They always seem to keep me grounded, but hey everyone is different. I am just doing what feels right.

    V

  • teadeteade Raw Newbie

    They are definitely a comfort food for me. I LOVE them. lol.
    I don’t know much about it, but there’s supposed to be a balance of potassium and sodium in our systems for mental health…
    bananas make me happy. lol.
    But I haven’t done much research on potassium, but apparently you can overdose?

  • Great topic, teade I think that it is actually possible to overdose on any vitamin, mineral, or other substance. Probably not too much to worry about though with potassium because it is water soluble and my guess is that even by eating 20 bananas per day you wouldn’t get close to OD.

    Due to their high sugar content, bananas tend to be on the ‘use in moderation’ lists for people with sensitive blood sugar levels but it’s interesting to note that many dieticians and MD’s feel that if human had only one food on which to survive, bananas would be the best. Again, mainly because of the potassium that plays such a vital role throughout our bodies. For those who have a tough time eating B’s, avodacoes have about 3x as much potassium so they’re a great sub.

    Does anyone know much about the little “red bananas” and how they compare nutritionally??

  • humanimalhumanimal Raw Newbie

    Getting too much potassium can really throw your body off. 6-7 bananas covers the recommended daily value (2000-2500 mg) I dont eat as many as I use to (20) because I began to feel ill. Right now I eat about 10-12 a day and I feel awesome!

  • Morning_theftMorning_theft Raw Newbie

    humanimal, those little black seeds you see in bananas are TINY and aren’t viable. http://cairnarvon.rotahall.org/pics/wildbanana.jpg this is more like what they’re supposed to look like.
    And hey, if you feel right and balanced eating lots of em, go crazy :c) I just feel like I’m overdoing it with the sugar when I eat lots of them. Doesn’t mean I don’t do it, haha. Just like medjool dates. Nothing natural about them, but they’re so good.

  • Nothing natural about Medjool Dates?

  • TomsMomTomsMom Raw Newbie

    I remember when I was a kid, bananas had the tiny black seeds near the center. The banana flesh was a deep, creamy-yellow color and the taste was rich and amazing! The ones I see now in the stores suck. There are dozens of varities of bananas in the world, so I suspect western growers took the one with the “whitest” fruit and smallest seeds and played screw-around again with the hybridizing. I really don’t know what our problems are in my country, how we can possible be offended because something is not a pristine white!! We’re a pack of jerks.

  • Morning_theftMorning_theft Raw Newbie

    Medjool date palms are thinned after about 9 weeks, meaning, they take off 75% of the fruit to make the rest grow much bigger and sweeter. I admit, ‘nothing natural’ is an exaggeration. But it’s still a compromise in comparison to other dates that are not as tough on your blood sugar.

  • A couple of days ago, I felt kind of nauseous in the morning after drinking my big glass of water. I didn’t really feel like having citrus or any acidic fruit on an empty nauseous stomach. I was actually craving a piece of toast! Instead I ate a banana. It was perfect.

  • I’ll eat as much as 1 bunch of bananas a week. Not because of the nutritional value or sugar content, but because it varies my fruit. I’ll admit I don’t feel that great after eating bananas. But I think that varying your fruit is much healthier than the fruit itself.

  • roadrunnerroadrunner Raw Newbie

    Lol, I eat 20 to 40 bananas a day! EASILY! I feel great! there are many days where Ill come close to 40 bananas! With the exception of my greens for dinner with occasional avocado or 2 with it I completely live on bananas, the more I eat the better I feel. Im fruitarian now and pretty much eat 100% fruit and seeds. A handfull of soaked seds a day. If I eat seeds I dont eat avocado and vice versa, dont want to combine fats with proteins. I eat mono meals and bananas are about 90 % of my diet. Guess were all different. Hey a year ago i was eating chips,candy,burgers,fries,steak,chicken,turkey,macaroni, you name it, I lived off fast food! So 40 bananas a day is quite a bit better and I feel awsome! I dont jive on the hybrid stuff, everything is hybrid nowdays. I stopped worrying about everything like that and just eat fruit, and yes I do eat apples,mangoes,cantelope,oranges and so on but the vast majority of my diet is bananas and I cant get enough,I buy them spotted on clearance at a local store here for 29 cents a pound for organic! Spotted is the only way i eat them I dont like them yellow or green they have to have the spots on them because when I buy them Im buying them to eat right now, not later! Variety is good sure but Im on the go all day working 12 hours daily and so I just eat the bananas. There are negatives out there for virtually everything food wise I just know my body loves fruit and especially bananas. Ok enough ranting now, LOL!

  • I have to agree with th epoint roadrunner makes about everything we eat being a hybrid today. I fyou think about, since humans sopped the whole nomadic thing we’ve been selectively breeding the plants we use for food to increase yield, make them more palatable, etc. I’m not saying I’m happy about and I do think heirloom and wild varieties are better for the enviroment but you can’t say a food isn’t good for you just because it’s different from the way it used to be.
    Hey, carrots were originally black! Not orange.
    Anyway, just listen to your body and don’t choke something back if you don’t really want it and don’t exclude or restrict a food in your diet just because someone else says you should/ shouldn’t. Everyone’s different.
    But may I just say; roadrunner, 40 A DAY! HOLY S#@T! lol. You must be like the frickin energizer bunny!

  • I think whatever works for you ,works.
    Although it got me thinking of all these bananas ansd “blind guru” who is on this site said they were dampening to the body. I don’t follow him but just thought I would add this, it has stayed with me ever since I read it and yes I still add bannanns to my smootjies.

  • ajcajc Raw Newbie

    “But may I just say; roadrunner, 40 A DAY! HOLY S#@T! lol. You must be like the frickin energizer bunny!”
    This made me laugh,thanks…I don’t do it enough these days!

  • ajc,laughter is good!

  • I was told not to eat bananas that where picked green and unrippened. Every banana you buy is that way now a days. There is a farmer in Miami I go to that grows a few varieties and sells them ripe off the tree. Big difference! I stopped eating bananas for years and just started back. It upsets my stomach a little, especially raw plantain (super ripe and dark too). So I only eat about 1 a day or every other day. My suggestion… If you have super foods in your diet you dont have to worry about any other food your eating. Eat more of less of it and it does not matter, you got everything when you eat super foods!

  • roadrunnerroadrunner Raw Newbie

    Yea you should see the looks I get at the store when I roll up to the checkout stand with 15 lbs or so of bananas and nothing else! Its quite hillarious! If you think about it though 40 bananas in a 12 hour work day isnt much. I eat like 10 to 15 or so at a time 3 times a day. I usually get hungry around mid morning, I go to work at 6am so mid morning I eat. then around noonish and one more time mid afternoon so about 3 times a day 10 to 15 comes up to close to 40. theres no way I could eat 40 in one shot! but I could try! Kinda like those discusting hot dog eating contests I could do it with bananas!
    Rob

  • jenny2052jenny2052 Raw Newbie

    I have to speak up for green bananas! My favorite way to eat bananas is when the ends are green and the main color is green/yellow. They taste so fresh and crisp! Once the peel turns all yellow I only like them in smoothies.

    I have to say, I’ve had problems with bananas in the past, but lately they’ve been making me feel great.

  • alpdesignsalpdesigns Raw Newbie

    I eat about 2 dozen bananas a week. I love them, they’re cheap and they’re good left out of the refrigerator. I use them in lots of ways. I read a post to this group by another member who told of the horrors of bananas and it bothered me some, but you have to go by your own experiences. Mine are good.

  • angie207angie207 Raw Master

    I have to agree with juicy & others: listen to your body and pave your own path! There are a lot of foods besides bananas (grains, legumes, root vegetables, etc.) of which we don’t have ancient varieties available any more. I have now started eating completely raw and don’t eat any of these non-eclectic foods, and I feel great. Last year I went through a few months of eating bananas in and with everything (although roadrunner is the champion!), and that really worked for me at that time. Just do what is best for you, whatever that is.

  • I agree listen to your body whatworks for one may not work for someone else. However,moderation? Can you have too much of anything? Raw foods included?Please konw I am not attacking anyone nd their prefed diet.Any thoughts?

  • roadrunnerroadrunner Raw Newbie

    I used to eat hot dogs YUK!!! So Im not worried about the negatives that are said about bananas!
    I used to eat whatever i wanted without even thinking about what i was putting in my body! But now Im RAW and trying to put SAD behind and rebuild a new better stronger healthier body with fruit so I just dont worry anymore about negatives on bananas or anything else like pesticides. Our bodies have a natural cleaning system that works great when it isnt clogged and filled daily with junk and processed food so the contaminants like what pesticides may be on the fruits your body will clean out and still benifit from the nutrients of the fruit because i am no longer putting poisons in there so I am feeling better and better each day.

  • angie207angie207 Raw Master

    p.s. I have type I diabetes, and as long as I eat raw, I use way less insulin. The bananas (even when I was eating a ton of them) didn’t seem to have any negative effect on my blood sugar levels or insulin efficiency.

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