Are you wondering if your cherished bananas fit into your carbohydrate budget onto a keto meal plan?
Known for their abundant phosphorus content, there’s no arguing that bananas are packed with nutrition, making them an excellent healthy snack for most people, especially children and athletes.
Why are Bananas Keto Friendly
However, because over 90 percent of the calories come from carbohydrates, bananas do not fit readily into a carbohydrate-restricted diet, especially a keto diet. It may be challenging to provide even a single serving of fruit on a legitimate keto diet, which seriously restricts carbohydrates to 5 percent of calories or about 20 grams per day.
Only one medium banana, at about 25 g of carbs, already surpasses the 20-gram limit.
This stiff carb restriction should be considered only a temporary phase of a keto diet rather than a long-term sustainable eating way. Because of potential adverse effects, the start phase should be overseen by a doctor or dietitian.
The keto diet that most men and women follow for losing weight is known as a modified keto diet, which typically aims for significantly less than 50 grams of carbohydrates every day.
A little banana may fit into this version of a low-carb diet.
Nutrition Facts of a banana
- Calories — 90
- Total carbohydrate — 23 g
- Fiber — 2.5 gram
- Web carbohydrates — 20 gram
- Calories — 121
- Total carbohydrate — 31 gram
- Fiber — 3.5 g
- Net carbs — ~27 gram
Bananas consist mainly of water and carbohydrates, and so, yes, they are considered a carb. As mentioned above, over 90% of those calories in a banana come from carbohydrates, which explains why they aren’t regarded as keto-friendly.
The term”carbohydrate” may be misleading since not all carbs are created equal. Carbohydrates can be complicated starches or fibers, and they can be simple sugars.
Your body processes those carbohydrates differently. About 10 percent of those calories from carbs in a banana come from fiber. Fiber has little to no calorie value in the entire body, so that these carbs can be subtracted from the total carbs.
Fiber has the additional advantage of stabilizing blood sugar levels by slowing down digestion. That is why it is essential to compute net carbs on a keto diet.
Net Carbs In Banana
The number of carbohydrates depends on the size of this banana. After accounting for the fiber, a massive banana nets approximately 27 grams of carbohydrates, a medium-sized yields 24 grams, and a small-sized are about 20 grams of net carbohydrates.
If you cut bananas into 1-inch bits and freeze them, each 1-inch piece is approximately 3 grams of net carbs. The ripeness of a banana changes how the body processes the carbs.
A green banana is higher in a kind of carbohydrate called resistant starch. This does not mean fewer carbs; it means a more significant amount of wheat germ in a green banana. During the ripening process, the immune starch in a green banana divides into simple sugars.
Because resistant starch is digested much slower in the body, it does not cause a spike in blood sugar just how simple sugars, like sugar, do in a ripe banana. Because of this, green bananas have a much lower glycemic index.
Can a Banana Kick Me From Ketosis?
Reaching and maintaining a country of ketosis is extremely individualized. This is why you should work with a nutrition professional that can help you design a keto diet that meets your nutritional needs, track and assess your labs, and help you manage any side effects.
When it is deemed safe for you to begin a keto diet, a dietitian can help you figure out your goal carb ingestion, which considers your age, sex, metabolism, body composition, physical activity level, lifestyle, general health, etc..
In the initial period of a keto diet, in which the objective is to maintain a state of ketosis, high-carb fruits will not be in your meal plan.
However, this highly restrictive stage is temporary, and as more carbs are added to your diet in later stages, banana in small amounts may be included.
On a final note, regarding if your body maintains a state of ketosis, the only way to understand is to measure ketone levels. Blood ketone levels would be the most accurate measure of ketosis.
Health Benefits of Bananas
Bananas are among the most well-known fruits globally and a favorite snack across the lifespan from infants to the elderly. They’re packed with nutrients, including vitamins, fiber, minerals, and antioxidants.
A medium banana includes 20% of the daily value (DV) for vitamin B6.
They are also a fantastic source of potassium and folate. Bananas contain resistant starch, which acts as a prebiotic in the body and positively affects blood glucose. The shinier the banana, the greater the quantity of resistant starch.
How to Eat Banana to a Low-Carb Diet
The answer to this query is highly individualized. A little banana supplies 20 grams of net carbs. If your goal is to consume less than 50 g of net carbs every day, you could fit a small banana in your meal plan, but it will fill up a good chunk of your carbohydrate allowance. Again this is not one size that includes all diet programs.
A highly active person who’s adhering to a low-carb diet will have more flexibility with carbohydrates.
For Example, a small banana with peanut butter is a Superb way to Rejuvenate and nourish your Own Body after intense Training. It’s ideal for sticking with keto-friendly fruits for someone who is just starting the most restrictive phase of a keto diet. A dietitian will consider your history, body composition, age, activity, and exercise level to determine a suitable carbohydrate count for you and enable you to plan meals and snacks.
Creative Ways to Contain Banana on a Low-Carb Diet
- Cut 1/2 into thin pieces and shirt on cottage-cheese or full-fat Greek yogurt. Give the other half to some family member or freeze for later. 1/2 of a small banana includes 10 grams of net carbohydrates. Top this yummy bowl with toasted almonds or sunflower seeds. This simple recipe isn’t just keto, but it also fits into other diets as well, such as gluten-free, paleo, and diabetic.
- Cut to 1-inch bits, store in an airtight container, and put in the freezer. Throw three frozen bits into your blender as part of a low-calorie smoothie. This provides natural sweetness into the smoothie while incorporating essential nutrients like potassium, B vitamins, and fiber. Three 1-inch pieces supply about 10 grams of net carbs. Freezing small portion sizes is among the best ways to consume higher sugar fruits. You can utilize lots of other frozen fruit choices, for example, suspended açaí puree (unsweetened), blueberries, or raspberries. Adding avocado is an excellent way to give your smoothie a creamy feel.
You can use several lower-carb options instead of banana in baking, including mashed avocado or canned pumpkin. Chia seeds are another fantastic option to use instead of high-sugar fruits in recipes. Transform chia seeds into a gel-like consistency by combining one tablespoon of chia seeds with 3 tbsp of water, and let boil for 5-10 minutes. Many keto-friendly recipes utilize this substitution for replacing higher-carb fruits in low-carb baking.
The Way to Insert Banana Flavor Without Pairing Grams of Sugar
It’s possible to use pure banana extract if you crave a banana flavor without the extra sugar from a genuine banana. Be sure to look for a section made from actual bananas, not fake flavors or artificial flavorings.
There are many ways you can use the banana extract as a flavoring: add to low-fat smoothies, ice cream, bread, pancakes, waffles, or French toast. A tiny bit goes a very long way, so start by adding just a few drops.
A fast google search or Pinterest search will give many excellent keto dessert recipes that utilize natural banana extract. Recipes for keto banana bread or banana muffins commonly use the following ingredients, so be sure to keep them in your pantry or refrigerator: almond milk, coconut milk, baking powder, coconut oil, a granulated sweetener such as as erythritol, butter, eggs, banana extract, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and walnuts.
Remember that some of those fruits are only keto-friendly if you adhere to the recommended portion size. One cup of watermelon nets 10 g of carbs, but it is easy to quickly surpass a 1-cup portion size.
What’s the Lowest Carb Fruit?
After accounting for fiber, açaí berries (unsweetened) would be the lowest carbohydrate fruit with 1 g of carbs per serving (100 g ).
