Should You be Eating Yellow or Green Bananas?

You may be wondering what type of bananas you should be eating. You have probably heard how great they are for your health and nutrition and you want to eat them. How do you pick out the right color? Should you be eating yellow or green bananas? This is a mystery that many question when they are out buying bananas. Bananas are full of Vitamin C, fiber, magnesium, anti-oxidants, Vitamin B6 and potassium. Did you know that you can get approximately ten to fifteen percent of your daily recommended dose of potassium from a medium-sized banana?

Where do bananas come from?

You may already know that bananas are grown in tropical areas. When they are picked, they are green in color and this allows them to get ripe before they get sent to stores or while they are sitting in stores. You should know that it is nutritionally safe for you to eat a green banana. However, there are some digestive and nutritional differences that you should know about between yellow and green bananas. There is also a taste difference between the two colors of bananas as well.

What is the taste difference?

The first thing that you should know about between yellow and green bananas is that there is a taste difference between them. When you eat green bananas, they will be more bitter than the yellow bananas. This is because they aren’t quite ripe yet.

What about the resistant starch benefits?

When a banana ripens, the starch in it will break apart into little carbs that digest in the body easier and taste more sweet. That is why, when you eat a ripe yellow banana, it is sweeter than a green banana. The green bananas are one of the best ways for you to get resistant starches in your diet. These offer you benefits in many ways including controlling type 2 diabetes, losing weight and creating better brain functioning as well. In addition, resistant starches will break down when in your small intestine. This means when they get to your large intestine, they won’t be big enough to be absorbed for any energy. At that point, the starch is used like a pre-biotic for the probiotics that are in your large intestine. As a probiotic, consumes that starch it offers your body many more benefits. Some of which include balancing of hormones, reduced gut pain, better insulin responses from the body and more. If you want these benefits, you should go for the green bananas.

What about which banana is best for digestion?

Bananas can be great for your digestion as well. If you are feeling sick to your stomach, bananas can help you to feel better. They are easy for your digestive system and comforting to your body as well. If you are looking for the banana that is easier for your body to break apart, you should go with the yellow bananas. Since yellow bananas are easier to break down in your digestive system, you should eat them before you work out as a nutritional food and energy booster. Green bananas are more difficult for your digestive system to break apart because they are higher in starch.

What about the anti-oxidants in bananas?

You should also be aware of the anti-oxidants that are found in bananas. The anti-oxidants are great for reducing your risk of cardiovascular issues. When a banana is ripe, the chlorophyll in it will break down and the anti-oxidants go into the banana. If you have a ripened banana that has brown spots on it that is even higher in anti-oxidants. If you want to get the most anti-oxidants out of a banana, go for the yellow bananas. As a conclusion, you will see that green and yellow bananas can be great for you. The green bananas are healthy but they are different than yellow bananas. If you want resistant starches, go for green bananas. For most other health benefits of bananas, you should eat yellow bananas.