You may have read some reports that say bananas help you gain weight, while others say bananas are good for weight loss. Who's right, and what do you need to know if you're counting your calories?
Many who caution against eating bananas for fear of weight gain are looking at the content of carbohydrates, especially sugar. Bananas are extremely rich in sugar and can convert to body fat rather than other nutrients. Another reason bananas get a bad reputation is that their calorie count is higher than that of many other fruits. A cup of apple slices has about 60 calories, while a cup of banana slices has about 135 calories.
Those in the pro-banana camp argue that the neatly wrapped fruit has the right balance of carbs and calories for a safe and enjoyable snack. The level of sugar is not high relative to most sugary snacks-like cookies, and candy-and bananas have the added advantage of fiber.
There is no definitive proof that bananas help you gain or lose weight. No food is responsible for weight loss or weight gain. Instead, consider the overall daily consumption of nutrients. Weight reduction happens as you build a calorie shortage, either by eating fewer calories, burning more calories, or by combining all. Bananas have calories, and calories, whatever the source, are calories.
Bananas can be a perfect snack for the most part. They're more packing than many other snack snacks, but maybe not as much as some other fruit options. For example, half a medium banana has around 60 calories and 1.5 grams of fiber, while one cup of raspberry has 60 calories and 8 grams of fiber. Owing to the abundance and fiber content of the raspberries, they would be denser than the banana.
Eating a single banana can be a nutritious snack, but if you add three big bananas to your normal daily consumption of food, you'll eat more than 350 extra calories. Whether or not you add bananas to your meal plan would depend on your priorities and whether you like bananas.
If you are actually attempting to eat a healthy diet, consuming a banana (or 1/2 of a medium banana that is considered a whole serving of fruit) can be a good way to improve nutrition. Replacing high calories, high-fat foods such as cookies or cakes with fresh fruit such as bananas will increase satiety while reducing calories.
If you're trying to add weight, you might consider taking an extra snack every day. Peanut butter bananas can increase nutrient-dense calories and maintain a healthier weight gain.
Think of replacing, not adding, when you consider where bananas work into your diet plan. As a substitute for many less nutrient-dense snacks, they can be a healthier choice. Simply adding it to the diet contributes to calories.
