Understanding Banana Carbs and Calories

Before we dive into the banana calories, let’s understand the nutuional value of the fruit:

Fruits are an important source of several nutrients, including vitamins, potassium, fibre and folate. From bananas to berries – fruits are universally considered essential and healthy. Along with vegetables, they are said to form a good part of our daily diet.

Bananas are known for their nutritional value, but nowadays many wonder how many calories and carbohydrates they actually contain. Let’s take a look at the nutrition profile of bananas.

banana calories:

Medium-sized banana calories are about 105 calories and 27 grams of carbohydrates. Most of these calories (93%) come from carbohydrates; the rest come from protein and fat. Bananas are made up of water and carbohydrates, for the most part. The following table will give you an accurate idea about the proportions:

Size of the banana – banana calories – carbohydrates

Less than 6 inches – 72 calories – 19 grams

6-7 inches – 90 calories – 23 grams

7-8 inches – 105 calories – 27 grams

8-9 inches – 121 calories – 31 grams

9 inches or more – 135 calories – 35 grams

Bananas are rich in sugars such as sucrose, glucose and fructose apart from banana calories, but these are naturally occurring and not processed. Bananas are also low on the glycemic index, which means that they do not adversely affect blood sugar levels. The GI score of banana calories is between 42 and 62, increasing with ripeness. This is in the low to medium range, which indicates that the carbohydrates are absorbed slowly, preventing blood sugar spikes. Thus there is no cause for alarm concerning the number of calories and carbohydrates apart from banana calories.

The resistant starch content in bananas can give you the feeling of being full, which keeps away from unnecessary snacking that piles on the calories. The starch content is higher in unripe or green bananas. A fully ripe banana contains only a negligible amount of it. However, both yellow and green bananas provide a similar amount of banana calories.

The nutrients other than banana calories, cannot be ignored. Bananas are rich in fibre, vitamins such as B6, C, and riboflavin, and minerals such as manganese, potassium, copper, and magnesium. Thus, it is a highly recommended food item in your daily diet, irrespective of calorie count.