Are Bananas Low FODMAP? Bananas are one of the most nutritionally packed fruits in the world. They’re incredibly popular, and they’re high in potassium, vitamin B6, fiber, and carbohydrates. They’re often recommended as a mid morning snack, as they release energy slowly, but are bananas low FODMAP?
Bananas Retested
The Monash University tests foods for FODMAP’s, but sometimes they will retest if there’s reports of problems, or if the agricultural, or environmental factors have changed. Bananas are one of the foods that have been retested, and actually, the results have changed.
So Are Bananas Low FODMAP?
Dried Bananas
Dried bananas can be a great tasting, nutritious snack, and they are low FODMAP. According to the Monash University testing a serving is 10 chips.
Common Bananas
An unripe medium banana is low FODMAP, but a large unripe banana is high FODMAP. However, a ripe medium banana is high FODMAP, and even half of a medium ripe banana is high FODMAP. A third of a ripe medium banana is low FODMAP. So, you need to pay close attention to the serving size you’re eating.
Sugar Bananas
Sugar bananas are also known as Fig bananas, Finger bananas, Date bananas, Lady Fingers, or Sucrier bananas. They’re sweeter than the common banana, and are shorter and fatter than the common banana as well. They’re green to start, and turn to yellow as they ripen. A firm, semi-ripe sugar banana is low FODMAP in a single serve of one medium banana. The same serving size is high FODMAP if the banana is fully ripe. A moderate serve of 3/4 of a medium banana is medium FODMAP, while a half serve of half a medium banana is low FODMAP.
Why Has The FODMAP Results Of Bananas Changed?
There’s a few reasons why the FODMAP content of bananas has changed. First, plants tend to increase the fructans as a response to an environmental stressors, like cool temperatures, or a drought. They do this as the fructans make the fruit more resistant to damage. So there may be very different environmental factors in play that have changed since bananas were first tested. Secondly, supermarkets tend to store and ripen the bananas in cold storage, which also increases the fructan content. Lastly, banana farmers could be purposely breeding banana varieties with a higher fructan content, as these plants are hardier, and more able to withstand pests, diseases, and environmental factors.
Can You Eat Bananas?
It depends. If you don’t react to bananas then there’s no reason why you can’t continue to eat them, as long as you pay close attention to the size, and ripeness of the banana. However, you should be aware that ripe bananas also contain amines. Amines are not FODMAPs, but they can cause symptoms of gastrointestinal distress. Unripe bananas contain resistant starch, which again isn’t a FODMAP, but is a prebiotic fiber. This fiber can ferment in the gut, and give you gastrointestinal symptoms. Every person is different and it may take you some time to work out how much banana you can eat.
