Unripe Bananas – A Healthy Snack For Diabetics

There is no doubt that bananas are one of the most popular fruit in the world. Aside from being a highly convenient snack food, they also offer a lot of amazing health benefits. Found in bananas are antioxidants and nutrients such as potassium, vitamin B6, vitamin C, copper, manganese, protein, fiber, and other helpful nutrients.

What we may not know about bananas is that we don’t need to wait for them to turn yellow to get its nutritional benefits. Moreover, they offer several health benefits that we can’t get when they are ripe.

Great For Diabetics

Unripe bananas are great for diabetics. They contain low sugar and have about 30 glycemic indexes (GI) values. Low-GI foods have a score of 55 or less. According to studies, food with less GI can help prevent a rapid spike in blood sugar levels. People with diabetes can enjoy them as long as they carefully consider portion size.

They contain resistant starch, which acts like soluble fiber and escapes digestion. Additionally, researchers found that they are also rich in pectin, a naturally occurring substance and a type of fiber that gives the flesh its spongy structural form.

Nutritionist Pooja Malhotra says that:

“Raw bananas have low glycemic index because they have resistant starches that don’t get digested easily. So they are better for diabetics. However, they can cause bloating and indigestion to someone who has a weak digestion.”

Research claims that both resistant starch and pectin can help reduce appetite by slowing the emptying of the stomach and can possibly regulate blood sugar levels.

However, when it is cooked, most of the starch in green (unripe) banana becomes highly digestible and is no longer “resistant.”

Some other foods that are high in resistant starch that has lower glycemic index are cooked legumes and peas.

Other General Benefits Of Unripe Bananas

  1. May help with diarrhea as well as certain intestinal issues like shigellosis
  2. Nourish the intestinal lining, helping you absorb nutrients better, particularly calcium, thanks to short-chain fatty acids


Simple And Creative Ways Of Using Unripe Bananas

  1. Dice and toss bananas with lemon juice, onion, salt, and honey to make a tangy banana chutney.
  2. Slice and mix your green bananas with yogurt for breakfast.
  3. Dip your green bananas in yogurt, roll in chopped nuts and freeze them as ice cream or popsicle alternative.