How Bananas Affect Diabetes and Blood Sugar Levels

When you have diabetes, it is important to keep blood sugar levels as stable as possible.

Good blood sugar control can help prevent or slow the progression of some of the main medical complications of diabetes.

For this reason, avoiding or minimizing foods that cause big blood sugar spikes is essential.

Despite being a healthy fruit, bananas are pretty high in both carbs and sugar, the main nutrients that raise blood sugar levels.

So, should you be eating bananas if you have diabetes? How do they affect your blood sugar?

Bananas Contain Carbs, Which Raise Blood Sugar

If you have diabetes, being aware of the amount and type of carbs in your diet is important.

This is because carbs raise your blood sugar level more than other nutrients, which means they can greatly affect your blood sugar control.

When blood sugar rises in non-diabetic people, the body produces insulin. It helps the body move sugar out of the blood and into the cells where it’s used or stored.

However, this process doesn’t work as it should in diabetics. Instead, either the body doesn’t produce enough insulin or the cells are resistant to the insulin that is made.

If not managed properly, this can result in high-carb foods causing big blood sugar spikes or constantly high blood sugar levels, both of which are bad for your health.

93% of the calories in bananas come from carbs. These carbs are in the form of sugar, starch and fiber.

A single medium-sized banana contains 14 grams of sugar and 6 grams of starch.

Bananas Also Contain Fiber, Which May Reduce Blood Sugar Spikes

In addition to starch and sugar, a medium-sized banana contains 3 grams of fiber.

Everyone, including diabetics, should eat adequate amounts of dietary fiber due to its potential health benefits.

However, fiber is especially important for people with diabetes, as it can help slow the digestion and absorption of carbs.

This can reduce blood sugar spikes and improve overall blood sugar control.

One way of determining how a carb-containing food will affect blood sugars is by looking at its glycemic index (GI).

The glycemic index ranks foods based on how much and how quickly they raise blood sugar levels.

The scores run from 0 to 100 with the following classifications:

Low GI: 55 or less.
Medium GI: 56–69.
High GI: 70–100.

Diets based on low-GI foods are thought to be particularly good for people with type 2 diabetes.

This is because low-GI foods are absorbed more slowly and cause a more gradual rise in blood sugar levels, rather than large spikes.

Overall, bananas score between low and medium on the GI scale (between 42–62, depending on the ripeness).

Portion Size Is Important

Ripeness isn’t the only factor when it comes to the amount of sugar in your banana.

Size also matters, as the bigger the banana, the more carbs you will be getting.

This means that a larger banana will have a greater effect on your blood sugar level.

This portion-size effect is called the glycemic load.

Glycemic load is calculated by multiplying the glycemic index of a food by the amount of carbs in a serving, then dividing that number by 100.

A score of less than 10 is considered low, 11–19 is medium and more than 20 is high.

Here’s the approximate amount of carbs in the different sizes of bananas:

Extra small banana (6 inches or less): 18.5 grams.
Small banana (about 6–6.9 inches long): 23 grams.
Medium banana (7–7.9 inches long): 27 grams.
Large banana (8–8.9 inches long): 31 grams.
Extra large banana (9 inches or longer): 35 grams.
If all these bananas were ripe (GI of 62), then the glycemic load would gradually increase from 11 for an extra small banana to 22 for an extra large banana.

To ensure you don’t cause your blood sugar to rise too much, it’s important to be aware of the size of the banana you’re eating.

Are Bananas Safe for Diabetics?

Most generic dietary guidelines for diabetes recommend following a healthy, balanced diet which includes fruit.

This is because eating fruits and vegetables has been linked with better health and a lower risk of disease, such as heart disease and some cancers.

Diabetics are at an even greater risk of these diseases, so eating enough fruits and vegetables is important .

Unlike refined sugar products like candies and cake, the carbs in fruit such as bananas come with fiber, vitamins and minerals.

More specifically, bananas provide you with fiber, potassium, vitamin B6 and vitamin C. They also contain some antioxidants and beneficial plant compounds.

A recent study looked at the effect of limiting fruits on the blood sugar control of 63 people with type 2 diabetes.

They found that advising people to eat no more than 2 pieces of fruit per day resulted in people eating less fruit.

However, they also found that eating less fruit did not improve blood sugar control, weight loss or waist circumference.

For most people with diabetes, fruits (including bananas) are a healthy choice.

One exception to this is if you’re following a low-carb diet to control your diabetes. Even a small banana contains around 22 grams of carbs, which may be too much for your diet plan.

If you are able to eat bananas, it’s important to be mindful of the ripeness and size of the banana to reduce its effect on your blood sugar level.