- Eating one banana a day is generally safe for most healthy people and can be a helpful way to get in more fruit.
- Bananas offer potassium, fiber, vitamin C, and resistant starch, which may support digestion, fullness, heart health, and exercise recovery.
- They may not be the best fit for everyone, especially people on low-potassium diets or those who need to closely monitor blood sugar.
No one can really fault you for eating a piece of fruit. After all, fruits and vegetables are both essential to a healthy diet. The NHS recommends that everyone should have at least 5 portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables every day, with an adult portion of fruit or vegetables being 80g (one portion being an apple, banana, pear, orange or nectarine). But when it comes to specific fruits, are some better than others? And is it actually healthy to reach for the same fruit day after day?
As someone with a proclivity for bananas - they do seem like the most filling fruit to me - I reached out to a nutritionist named Lauren Manaker, to find out whether it's actually okay to eat a banana every day.
Health Benefits Of Bananas
Bananas are a great source of nutrients, offering a good dose of potassium, fibre, and vitamin C. They also come with a number of reported health benefits, thanks in part to their fibre and resistant starch. These components may help support blood sugar balance, improve digestion, and keep you feeling fuller for longer (which tracks!).
Eating bananas may also benefit heart health thanks to their potassium, magnesium, and antioxidant content. The fruit is commonly eaten before or after exercise because it contains electrolytes that can help support muscle function and reduce cramping.
"It is estimated that 90% of Americans are not eating the recommended servings of fruits and vegetables every day," Manaker says. "So, if someone wants to eat a banana every day, that can be a great habit to get into to get some fruit servings in."
Potential Downsides Of Bananas
Still, bananas may not be the ideal pick for everyone. Manaker says they might not be the best choice for people following a low-potassium diet or for those who experience elevated blood sugar after eating them.
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Because bananas contain carbohydrates and natural sugars, they often come up in conversations about diabetes. However, according to Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, bananas still rank low on the Glycemic Index, though they carry a moderate Glycemic Load, so portion size and frequency may still be worth paying attention to.
Potassium can also be a concern for some people, especially those with kidney issues or those taking certain medications for high blood pressure or heart failure. While it would take a lot of bananas for potassium levels to become dangerously high, the British Heart Foundation recommends that anyone with a relevant medical condition or concern check with their primary care physician to make sure bananas are a safe choice. Instead of focusing on one kind of fruit or vegetable, just try to make sure you eat at least five portions every day. By choosing a variety of different coloured fruit and vegetables, you’ll benefit from the wide range of nutrients they provide.
"For a generally healthy person, it is unlikely to cause hyperkalemia (high potassium) by eating one banana a day, especially if the rest of their diet isn't excessively high in potassium-rich foods," Manaker says.
The Bottom Line
A banana a day is likely safe for most people, but the answer still depends on your individual health and overall diet. In general, Manaker recommends eating a variety of fruits and veggies: "While eating a banana every day isn't bad for many people, it may be more beneficial to eat different fruits, with bananas sprinkled into the rotation."
She adds that how many bananas someone can eat in a day depends on their overall diet. For example, someone with a stomach bug who can only tolerate bananas may be just fine having more than one. But it may not be the best idea for someone who's already eating a lot of other carbohydrate-rich foods.
As with most things, balance matters. Even a healthy food can have downsides if you overdo it.
As a Contributing Writer, and former Associate Editor, at Delish, Allie is a writer, reporter, and producer of features at the intersection of food and culture. Before Delish, Allie worked for publications including Apartment Therapy and Insider. She even spent time working in restaurants and breweries. Allie has dumpster-dived in NYC to expose food waste, reported on the invasive lionfish you can eat, and wrote about the growing trend of weed weddings. Her health and nutrition stories on hydration culture, bananas, and coffee have generated nearly 2M combined views. She loves traveling, running, and eating her way through new places and even has a thorough Google Maps ranking system for her favorite restaurants and bars! When not writing about food, she's planning her next trip, lifting weights, or training for a race. Expertise: food & culture (Sustainability, Health, Travel) Education: M.S. in Journalism from Columbia University, B.S. in Information Science (User Experience Design) from the University of Michigan
Amanda Mactas is a News & Features Editor at Delish, where she covers food news, trends, taste tests, and all of the deliciously weird things happening in the wide world of food. She has ranked everything from candy to chips to ice cream sandwiches, investigated viral food trends, interviewed some of Hollywood’s biggest stars about their favorite foods, and asked the questions that keep us up at night—like the one food Matt Damon will never eat and Jennifer Garner’s favorite Ina Garten recipe. Her work has also explored food science, restaurant culture, and travel.
In addition to Delish, her work has appeared in Women’s Health, Time Out, Eat This Not That, Global Traveler Magazine, and The Daily Meal, among others. She is also an expert panelist for USA Today’s 10Best Travel Awards.
When she’s not writing about food, Amanda is probably hunting down a great matcha latte, watching a horror movie, reading, falling down a true-crime rabbit hole, or planning her next trip—preferably somewhere with excellent eats.
