When it comes to bananas, many of us go well… literally “bananas” for them; after all, they are the nation’s favorite fruit and the original 100-calorie snack! Sometimes we often look at fruit and think, “oh, it’s far too ripe” or “oh dang, that fruit is too green!” which is a shame because, quite often, different stages of a fruit’s maturity have different benefits.

Benefits

Unripe Bananas

• Benefits: One benefit of green bananas is the high resistant starch content. For anyone trying to avoid food with high sugar content, green bananas are an option, whereas yellow bananas are not. So those suffering from Type 2 Diabetes can eat unripe fruit, while maybe ripened bananas are not as compatible. Unripe bananas also have probiotic bacteria, a friendly bacterium that helps with good colon health. In addition, green bananas also help you absorb nutrients better, particularly calcium.
• Drawbacks: Because antioxidant levels actually INCREASE as bananas age, unripe bananas are lower in this category.  Also, green bananas may cause some bloating and gas due to the higher resistant starch content.

Ripened Bananas

• Benefits: Because the resistant starch changes to simple sugar when a banana ripens, yellow bananas are easier to digest.  The higher glycemic index of ripe bananas shows that they are digested quickly. Ripened bananas also have higher levels of antioxidants.
• Drawbacks: Studies show that there is some micronutrient loss that happens as a banana ripens. To lessen the number of vitamins and minerals lost, it’s better to store and ripen bananas in the refrigerator.  Also, the high sugar content makes ripe bananas; something Type 2 Diabetics should avoid.

The Bottom Line: There are benefits on both sides.  You could eat unripened bananas or ripened bananas and get the benefits of either one.  The only difference is that for Type 2 Diabetics and anyone trying to avoid excess sugar.

Related Content:

• Foods That Help Produce Melatonin: Oats, Bananas, and More!
• Creative Plant-Based Desserts To Make with Very Ripe Bananas [Video]
• Growing Bananas at Home
• Coconut Tapioca Pudding with Caramelized Bananas [Vegan]
• The Human and Environmental Impact of Bananas

Easy Ways to Help the Planet:

• Eat Less Meat: Download Food Monster, the largest plant-based recipe app on the App Store, to help reduce your environmental footprint, save animals and get healthy. You can also buy a hard or soft copy of our favorite vegan cookbooks.
• Reduce Your Fast Fashion Footprint: Take initiative by standing up against fast fashion pollution and supporting sustainable and circular brands like Tiny Rescue that raise awareness around important issues through recycled zero-waste clothing designed to be returned and remade over and over again.
• Support Independent Media: Being publicly funded gives us a greater chance to continue providing you with high-quality content. Please consider supporting us by donating!
• Sign a Petition: Your voice matters! Help turn petitions into victories by signing the latest list of must-sign petitions to help people, animals, and the planet.
• Stay Informed: Keep up with the latest news and important stories involving animals, the environment, sustainable living, food, health, and human interest topics by subscribing to our newsletter!
• Do What You Can: Reduce waste, plant trees, eat local, travel responsibly, reuse stuff, say no to single-use plastics, recycle, vote smart, switch to cold water laundry, divest from fossil fuels, save water, shop wisely, donate if you can, grow your food, volunteer, conserve energy, compost, and don’t forget about the microplastics and microbeads lurking in common household and personal care products!