Ditching these healthy fruits from
your diet could significantly affect your health.
Bananas are an inexpensive, portable, and delicious way to fill up
and add essential nutrients like potassium, magnesium, and vitamin C to your
diet, whether you blend them into a smoothie or peel them as a post-workout
snack. However, if you're one of the many people who've removed these delicious
fruits from their diet as part of a low-carb diet, you may discover some
surprising health changes. According to research, read on to learn the side
effects of giving up bananas.
1. Your immune system may suffer.
Resistant starch has a prebiotic effect, which means it feeds the
good bacteria in the gut. Bananas, especially unripe bananas, are a good source
of resistant starch. However, if you cut bananas from your diet, you can
deprive your beneficial gut bacteria of the food they need to proliferate.
Adequate prebiotic fibre can even help support your immune system,
according to a 2013 study published in Frontiers in Immunology. However,
cutting out prebiotic foods like bananas may leave your immune health lacking,
thus making you more susceptible to illness.
2. You may recover less effectively from workouts.
You don't want to depend on highly processed protein bars or
sports drinks to fuel your workouts. Instead, try a banana! Potassium
deficiency has been linked to muscle cramps, as well as a medium banana
contains approximately 517 milligrams of potassium or per cent of your RDA.
A 2012 study published in PLOS One also found that bananas were
effective at reducing post-exercise inflammation and produced higher levels of
circulating dopamine in athletes post-workout than carbohydrate-based exercise
recovery drinks, meaning the lack of them in your diet could cause your
workouts to result in more significant wear and tear on your body.
3. You may find yourself hungrier.
You may have removed bananas from your diet to lose weight, but
this may have the opposite effect. Although ripened bananas are less likely to
cause the exact chemical change in your body, they can help you lose weight.
Consuming resistant starch from unripe banana flour before meals resulted in a
14 per cent reduction in subsequent caloric intake, according to a 2017 study published in the Journal of Functional Foods.
4. You may become more susceptible to the flu.
Bananas will probably be on your menu if you get the flu every
year.
Engineered banana lectin (a type of indigestible sugar-binding
fibre) has antiviral properties against multiple influenza strains, according
to a review published in PNAS in 2020. While bananas can help your immune
system, you can't even count on them to protect you from severe viruses like
the flu. It's best to wash your hands and eat a balanced diet that's rich in
many of the 30 Best Immune-Boosting Foods.
5. You may be more likely to develop high blood pressure.
If you want to keep your blood pressure in control, bananas high
in potassium should be on your menu. According to a 2005 study published in the
journal Hypertension, foods rich in potassium are likely to have a blood
pressure-lowering effect similar to potassium chloride, a widely used blood
pressure supplement.
6. You may be at greater risk for stroke.
High blood pressure is a severe risk factor for stroke, and
cutting potassium-rich foods, like bananas, from your diet could send those
numbers into dangerous territory.
A 2013 review of meta-analyses published in the BMJ found that individuals with higher potassium intakes reduced their risk of stroke by as much as 24%, so you might not want to ditch those bananas from your meal plan just yet.