Bananas are one of the most popularly consumed fruits on the planet earth. They are sweet and elongated crescent-shaped fruit with soft flesh. Basically, they belong to the genus Musa and the family of Musaceae. When ripe, they appear in their own yellow parcel, this makes them easier to take along on the go. They provide tons of nutrients and contain carbohydrates as well. When they are ripe, they are rich in their carb state and this might make you wonder how many carbs are contained in them, worry less as we read through, you will get to know more.
This sweet fruit has a lot of health benefit in which some people assume one of it as being the perfect way to stay lean. Perhaps, calories have been the standard of the measurement of a good diet check. At times, some of this information is contradictory because we are not focused on the 100% fact that supports the assumption. Nevertheless, our focus here is different, all we want to know here is; how many calories are in a banana
Carbs and Calories in Banana
It is well known to many people that banana is highly nutritious, but we need to understand the calorie and carbohydrate content of the food. There is clarity that the number of calorie content present in banana depends on its size. In the same manner, one should also understand that the banana has more content of water and carbohydrate.
About ninety-three percentages of a banana’s calories are gotten from carbohydrates, whereas, four percent is from protein, and the remaining three percent are finally gotten from fat. This would impress you; Unripe banana has less carbohydrate content to be digested, however, this shows that unripe banana has a high starch resistant carbohydrate than that of a ripe banana.
All the same, starch becomes converted to sugar when the banana is in the process of ripening; as a matter of fact, less than one percent of starch is found in a ripe banana. In other words, resistant starch carbohydrate can’t be digested, therefore they function as fiber. When the fruit gets to the gut, it provides nutrition for the bacteria situated in the gut.
After digestion, Short Chain Fatty Acid (SCFA) and gases are produced and they are highly beneficial to the digestive system health wisely. Despite the fact that the digestive tract will not make use of these calories immediately, the calories will be transformed for future utility. Finally, both the green and the yellow will, in the long run, provide the same quantity of calories.
Sizes of Banana and the Values of Calories found in them
- Extra Small Banana; about six inches long, (approximately 81 g) contains 75 calories.
- Small Banana; this banana is between six and seven inches long as it contains 90 calories.
- Medium Banana; this banana is between seven and eight inches long containing 105 calories.
- Large Banana; this banana is between eight and nine inches long and contains 120 calories.
- Extra Large Banana; this is over nine inches long (approximately 182 g) contains 135 calories.
Bananas are a fantastic nutritional addition to the diet, as they serve as a good choice for our health.