Yellow or green bananas — which are the healthiest for you? It depends

Which banana will be the healthiest for you depends primarily on what effect you want to achieve

Do you like bananas? If so, bravo, it’s an extremely healthy fruit.

However, have you ever wondered whether it is better to eat ripe bananas or green ones? It turns out that the answer to this question is surprising. How do they differ and how do they affect our health?

On the one hand, we hear that green bananas will protect us from consuming large amounts of sugar, on the other, that ripe bananas have a beneficial effect on our immune system. What is it really like and which ones are best to eat?

For years, bananas have been wrongly accused of contributing to weight gain. In fact, they are very healthy and filling fruits that will also be useful on a diet. They contain lots of nutrients.

100g of this fruit contains approximately 90 kcal, but despite its calorie content, it will not harm us if eaten in moderation. It is an excellent source of potassium, an extremely important mineral for health. Bananas also contain vitamin C, fibre and vitamin B6.

They have a positive effect on the level of bad cholesterol (LDL), support the circulatory system and immunity, and provide valuable nutrients for our skin and hair. However, how they affect our body also depends on their level of maturity.

How to choose between yellow and green bananas

Green, unripe bananas are mainly famous as a source of resistant starch. The mature ones had a bad reputation due to the sugar they contained. What to choose? Of course, it depends.

The caloric value and sugar content of bananas also depend on their degree of ripeness, so if you want to avoid them at all costs, choose green bananas. During ripening, thanks to enzymes, the starch contained in the fruit is converted into glucose and fructose – simple sugars. People who have problems with glycemia should choose less ripe fruits.

Although a ripe banana is easier to digest, the unripe banana contains more vitamins and minerals. Yellow and ripe fruits, however, have more antioxidants, which have been linked to, among other things, reducing the risk of certain types of cancer.

It has been proven that overripe bananas (those with brown dots on the skin) secrete the so-called tumour necrosis factor (TNF), and this substance can fight cancer cells.

Ripe bananas have also been shown to outperform unripe ones in supporting the immune system – their results were as much as eight times better.

Which banana will be the healthiest for you depends primarily on what effect you want to achieve and where to support your body the most. If you don’t have problems with sugar, it’s best to diversify your banana feast and eat both yellow and green ones.