How Bananas Can Benefit Your Health

How healthy are bananas? Here’s all their benefits.

Let’s chat bananas

Bananas are some of the most easy, affordable, and adaptable options to have on hand. They’re delicious, nutritious, and can mix and match to create a variety of treats. You can eat them fresh like in smoothies, as a simple snack, in frozen treats, or even as ice cream, or you can bake them to enjoy their natural sweetness in delish options like banana bread, banana muffins, banana cookies, and so on. They’re found all over the world and are enjoyed in such a variety of ways especially thanks to how easy they are to find, their affordable price point, and their nutritional value.

All the banana benefits

The benefits of bananas are bountiful. They are most notably rich in fiber, potassium, vitamin B6, vitamin C, and various antioxidants and phytonutrients. Here are some of their benefits explained.

They’re packed with potassium. A medium banana gives you 422 milligrams of potassium, which is 9% of what you need every day. This can help with heart health and blood sugar. Potassium also keeps your bones and muscles healthier, can lower your risk of stroke, and can help to prevent kidney stones.
A solid source of prebiotics. An upset stomach can be aided by a quick banana thanks to their prebiotics which help to balance out your gut. Prebiotics are a food source for probiotics, which we can all benefit from.
Bananas are rich in fiber. An average sized banana gives you about three grams of fiber, about ten percent of your daily needs. Most of the fiber in bananas is what’s called soluble fiber. It can help keep your cholesterol and blood pressure in check, and help ease inflammation.
Vitamins B6 and C. A medium banana gives you about a quarter of the vitamin B6 you should get each day. It helps with metabolism and plays a key role in brain development during pregnancy and infancy, as well as immune system health. On the other hand, you get about 10 milligrams of Vitamin C from a banana, a good amount out of the goal of around 75-90 milligrams per day. It helps your immune system work better and protects your body from damage.
Bananas contain magnesium. A banana gives you about eight percent of the magnesium you need which can help with blood sugar, blood pressure and keeping your bones strong.

Potential banana disadvantages

While there are bountiful benefits to bananas there are just a few potential downsides.

If you have kidney problems, they might have a tad too much potassium for you.
People with type two diabetes may find that bananas can be too high in starch and sugar. However, due to their low GI (glycemic index), moderate consumption of bananas should not raise blood sugar levels nearly as much as other high-carb foods. Keeping in mind, as the bananas get more and more ripe, the sugar levels rise. So if you’re looking to keep your sugar low, go for the slightly less ripe bananas.
As with most foods, if you go a little too banana crazy there’s also a risk of an upset stomach.

Say hurray to a banana a day

All of the key benefits that we’ve been talking about make bananas a great tool to keep yourself healthy. On top of the health benefits, they’re also pretty dang delicious and super versatile so you can fit them into your diet when and where it makes sense for you.

When should you grab a banana?

The timing of when you grab a quick banana will change the taste. If it’s less ripe, it’s higher in resistant starch which keeps you fuller for longer and helps with digestion. On the other hand, for baking or adding to a sweet treat, ripe and even overripe bananas provide a naturally sweet addition.

Try out our signature Smoothies with bananas.

We love throwing bananas into a lot of our fan favorite Smoothies both for their numerous health benefits, but also because they make them oh-so-creamy. Try some of our banana-based Smoothies to see for yourself just how delish they really are.

Go for Banana + Greens for an earthy green milkshake vibe, made with banana, citrus, superfood kale, energy-boosting wheatgrass, and anti-inflammatory cucumbers to hydrate and support a healthy digestive system. Or maybe try out Black Sesame + Banana for a fun flavor combo. It’s packed full of blueberry, black sesame, and bananas, and paired with pine pollen which contains more than 20 amino acids, plus minerals like copper, manganese, and zinc. Lastly, give our Banana + Almond Smoothie a go, for a delish chocolate banana bread vibe. And if you’re feeling extra creative, transform this Smoothie into decadent Chocolate Drizzled Frozen Banana + Almond Cups. You won’t be disappointed. Trust.