Food & Fitness

   

Yes, you can still eat bananas – even if you have diabetes. Bananas are a good source of fiber, potassium, and vitamin C, but they do contain carbohydrates.  In fact, all fruit has some carbohydrate, so you need to count them in your diabetes meal plan. If you want to include bananas in your meal plan, become familiar with portion sizes and the number of carbohydrates in each.

Bananas vary quite a bit in size, so counting the carbs that they provide can be difficult. Below are some estimates for different sizes.

Extra small banana (6 inches long or less) - 18.5 grams of carbohydrate

Small banana (about 6-6 7/8 inches long) –23 grams of carbohydrate

Medium banana (7-7 7/8 inches long) – 27 grams of carbohydrate

Large banana (8-8 7/8 inches long) – 31 grams of carbohydrate

Extra large banana (9 inches or longer) – 35 grams of carbohydrate

Note that blood glucose responses can vary from person to person. Be aware that you may need to make adjustments the portion size you eat depending on your how your blood glucose responds to eating bananas or other types of fruit.