Bananas are one of the most popular fruits available in Polish stores. Regardless of the season, you can buy them at virtually any retail outlet. They are also very healthy and extremely versatile in the kitchen. Find out which bananas are better to eat – unripe or overripe ones.
Bananas – nutritional properties
In 100 g of bananas there are about 90 kcal. This makes them a medium-calorie fruit, but do not forget about the other nutritional properties they provide to the body. First of all, they are a source of carbohydrates – in 100 g you will find about 22 g of sugars. In the same amount of fruit there is only 1 g of protein and a trace amount of fats. First of all, bananas are a great source of potassium (as much as 360 mg in 100 g), as well as phosphorus, iodine, magnesium, calcium and vitamins (A, B6, C, E and K). Despite their relatively high caloric content, they can be allies during a weight loss diet, as they speed up metabolism.
Which bananas are better to eat?
However, when we go to the store, we can be quite surprised when standing at the shelf with bananas. The thing is that most often you will find on it both green, unripe copies and the ripe one with black spots. Which to choose in this case? There is a very universal answer to this question: it depends. On what? First of all, on what flavor of bananas we like, and secondly – what we expect from eating them. Unripe bananas, first of all, have a lower glycemic index (60 GI) than ripe ones (70 GI).
Such a change is due to the fact that during ripening, the starch contained in the green banana transforms into simple sugars. If we do not want to cause a sudden rise in blood sugar levels, we should eat unripe bananas. On the other hand, if we want to raise the sugar level in our body (e.g., during heavy exercise), it is best to use ripe fruits. Regardless of our choice – ripe or unripe – bananas are great in the kitchen for making smoothies, oatmeal or banana breads.
