Banana

Why banana is rated low

A firm, just-yellow banana is low FODMAP at about 1 medium (95g), moderate in larger portions and high in much larger portions, and the FODMAP behind that climb is fructans. The steps are close together, so the size of the banana matters: an average banana is a low serving, while the biggest one in the bunch can already be past it. Ripeness matters just as much. A ripe, spotty banana is a separate food with a much smaller low serve, so the same whole banana that is low when firm can be high once it has gone soft and speckled.

What changes your risk

• Serving size For a firm banana, about 1 medium (95g) is low, larger portions are moderate and much larger portions are high. Picking the largest banana in the bunch instead of an average one is a real change in load, not a rounding error.
• Ripeness A ripe, spotty banana has a much smaller low serve than a firm one, and a whole ripe banana lands high. It is the same fruit with a much bigger load, which is why the bananas left on the counter all week are the ones most likely to cause trouble.
• Drying Drying removes water and concentrates everything left behind, so dried banana and banana chips carry the fructans of far more fresh fruit in far less food. A handful of chips is not comparable to a fresh banana.
• Blending and baking do not help Fructans survive the blender and the oven. A smoothie made with a whole banana holds the same fructans the whole banana held, and banana bread uses ripe bananas plus wheat flour, which is another fructan source on the same plate.
• Stacking with other fructan foods Wheat bread, pasta and cereal, onion, garlic, and inulin or chicory root fibre added to bars and yoghurts all carry fructans. A banana sitting on top of a wheat breakfast can push the meal over even though each item looked manageable on its own.

What else works

When you want more fruit than one firm banana, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, oranges, mandarins, kiwi, pineapple and cantaloupe all fill the snack and breakfast bowl role. For the thick, sweet body banana gives a smoothie, half a firm banana blended with strawberries or blueberries and lactose free milk or lactose free yoghurt gets you close. Skip the fruits people reach for in the same moment that are not honest swaps: apple, pear, mango and watermelon are all worse choices than a firm banana, dried banana chips concentrate the problem, and yoghurts or bars sweetened with inulin or chicory root fibre add fructans right back.

How to keep it low

Buy bananas green and eat them while they are firm and just yellow, when about 1 medium (95g) is a low serving, rather than letting a bunch go spotty on the counter. If you want them to last, peel and freeze slices at the firm stage, which also stops the whole bunch ripening at once. Pick from the average sized end of the bunch, and weigh one on a kitchen scale a couple of times until you can recognise about 1 medium (95g) by eye. Once a banana is ripe and spotty, use a few slices at a time over porridge rather than eating it whole. Ordering out is where it gets slippery, because a cafe smoothie or acai bowl often carries a whole ripe banana plus other fruit.

Common questions

how much banana is low fodmap

A firm, just-yellow banana is low at about 1 medium (95g), moderate in larger portions and high in much larger portions. A ripe, spotty banana has a much smaller low serve.

is banana high in fructans

Fructans are the FODMAP in banana. A firm banana is low at about 1 medium (95g) and climbs in larger portions, while a ripe, spotty banana reaches high at a much smaller amount.

are green bananas lower in fodmaps than ripe ones

Yes. A firm, just-yellow banana is low at about 1 medium (95g), while a whole ripe, spotty banana of the same size is high.

can i eat banana during the elimination phase

Yes, as a firm, just-yellow banana up to about 1 medium (95g). If it has gone ripe and spotty, keep it to a few slices.