- Bananas are good for weight loss because they have fiber, which slows digestion and keeps you full.
- Research has found that boosting fiber intake can reduce the risk of weight gain by up to 30%.
- Eat up to one banana a day as part of a healthy diet for weight loss.
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Eating more fruits and vegetables is one of the best ways to improve your health. In fact, eating bananas can have many health benefits, whether you're trying to lose weight or improve heart health.
To lose weight, it's important to talk to your doctor about developing a safe and effective weight-loss plan that fits your individual health needs. On top of eating right, you should also get more exercise and sleep enough, for example.
But eating more fiber-rich foods like bananas can be a good start toward a healthy weight-loss plan. Here's why.
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Are bananas good for weight loss?
While one banana has 110 calories, which may seem high for a fruit (a serving of strawberries only has 50), their high vitamin, phytochemical, and fiber content makes them a strong addition to a healthy weight-loss plan.
"Bananas are a great source of multiple key nutrients like fiber, potassium, vitamin B6, vitamin C, magnesium, and manganese," says Chelsea Tersavich, a physician assistant who is a nutrition-outreach fellow through the PA Foundation, a position that challenges her to educate the public to be healthier. "The fiber also keeps us full during the day, which leads to a decrease in the total amount of calories we take for most people."
The fiber in bananas is a key part of their benefit for weight loss. The fiber in a banana accounts for 12% of the recommended daily value, which directly contributes to weight loss. In fact, eating a high level of fiber may cut the risk of gaining weight by up to 30%.
Varying fruit intake can help someone who is dieting eat a range of key nutrients. While bananas are known to be full of potassium, other fruits can be beneficial as well. Though pears and apples are higher in fiber, bananas have more per serving than cherries, avocados, or grapes.
Overall, it's recommended that people consume two or more fruits a day as part of a healthy diet. Bananas are certainly a good choice for one of those fruits, and you can enjoy up to one medium-size banana a day as part of a healthy weight-loss plan.
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Understanding resistant starch and weight loss
According to Tersavich, there isn't a difference in the nutritional value of bananas as they ripen, but there is a change in the taste and carbohydrate levels.
Greener, less ripe bananas have a higher level of starch — especially resistant starch. This type of starch can be beneficial for weight loss because it is digested more slowly and helps you feel more full.
"As bananas ripen, the starch is converted into natural sugars which is why they taste sweeter and become soft," Tersavich says. And even though they might taste better, the ripening process may come with slightly fewer health benefits.
This might be especially true for people with diabetes or prediabetes, who need to carefully control their diet and blood sugar. "For someone that's diabetic or prediabetic, a banana on the unripe side of the spectrum may be better since it causes a slower rise in blood sugar," Tersavich says.
However, it is safe for people with diabetes to eat fruit, and they should not avoid fruit out of fear of natural sugar content.
Greener ripe bananas can also be tougher to digest, however, so anyone with digestive or gastrointestinal health issues may want to avoid them.
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Insider's takeaway
As part of a balanced diet, bananas can be nutritious and beneficial, even if you are trying to lose weight.
It's clear that eating more fruits and vegetables is a good choice for weight loss — and the high fiber content in bananas makes them an especially healthy option.
Jessica Farthing is a freelance writer lucky enough to live on the coast of Georgia. In addition to exploring topics for Insider, she's written for Eating Well Magazine, Eat This, Not That, MSN, YourTango, and many other publications discussing food, lifestyle, health, and disability. She enjoys exploring health topics and sending the links to her three children, trying to convince them to take care of themselves. Life as an empty nester is challenging her to take on those unfinished projects, like a cookbook and a thriller novel or two. Jessica spends her downtime riding her horses, Henry and Limerick, and working off those sore equestrian muscles on her yoga mat. She and her husband Paul are enjoying their dinners for two. You can follow heron Instagram at@saltairsavannah.
