Is It Full Of Bananas?
Author: Victoria Aly
Time for reading: ~1
minutes
Last Updated:
August 08, 2022
The amount of sugar in bananas makes them unattractive to people who do not understand how different types of sugars work.
Bananas are perhaps the most popular fruit in Bulgaria, although they are not typical of the native climate. They are full of nutrients, have a low glycemic index, are available all year round and are relatively inexpensive.
Unfortunately, bananas are a victim of misconceptions and misconceptions about their nutritional value, and a surprising number of people believe that bananas make you fat. Everything can be overdone, but by themselves, bananas do not lead to weight gain, even if consumed daily.
The idea that they are gaining weight arises from the incomplete understanding of their composition. The available sugars in an average banana weighing about 100 grams are between 11-13 grams. The recommended daily amount of sugar, according to the World Health Organization, is 37.5 g for men and 25 g for women. The simple calculations of some "nutritionists" conclude that by consuming nearly half of the daily sugar from only 1-2 small fruits, the body is fed too much sugar, which leads to obesity.
What escapes many is that the white, crystalline sugar used in our daily lives is different from the sugar found in fruits and affects the body in different ways. The fact that most sugars in fruits are not in the form of cooking sugar, but are locked in long carbohydrate chains, often composed of hundreds and thousands of monosaccharide compounds, is widely ignored.
In contrast, white granulated sugar is composed of only two monosaccharides - glucose and fructose. They are rapidly broken down by the body and quickly enter the bloodstream, sharply raising blood sugar (glucose).
Although bananas contain microscopic amounts of free monosaccharides, almost all of their sugars are in long hydrocarbon chains that break down slowly and release sugar into the blood slowly and gradually - meaning they have a low glycemic index . In addition, they are not completely broken down and a significant part of the ingested sugars do not reach the blood.
In addition, sugars from pasta, carbonated beverages and sweeteners enter the bloodstream quickly and cause sharp spikes in blood sugar because they are " naked ". In contrast, the sugars in bananas are accompanied by vitamins (A, C, B 6 ), minerals (magnesium, potassium), fiber (10% of what is needed for the day), antioxidants and water. They are processed simultaneously with the sugar content and significantly reduce the body's absorption.