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Bananas

Dave Brierley

Well-Known Member
Messages
49
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hi all.

I've been eating bananas because after 2 hours after eating there were no signs of a spike because the energy from a banana is released really quickly. My thoughts were that damage is done to the body if the bg is 2 mol/ml higher than the value at first bite and a spike after a short time is just a spike that's not lasting 2 hours does no damage, is this correct or am I hoping too much.
 
Hi Dave, the level at 2 hours is just a convenient yardstick that catches the impact of most foods. But just because a food spikes before then doesn't mean it can't do any harm if done frequently. It's still more sugar than you really want to expose your system to as a diabetic. Some say that short term wild fluctuations in BG level are themselves more harmful than the same carb intake spread over a longer period.

Bananas in particular are full of sugar and will spike quickly. That's why tennis players eat them at changeovers. Personally I wouldn't touch them now even though I used to love them.
 
Thanks Rod

Ok that's bananas out too, although I'll test after 30 minutes but I bet they spike like something that won a worldwide spiking competition.

I need to find something else that is filling, low carb, quick and easy and can be kept in the cab of a lorry all week.

Bananas were good because used to buy them green and put 2 on the warm dashboard every day for the next days consumption.
 

Green bananas would be better than ripe ones, although still not a wise choice. The riper the fruit the worse they can be for us, same with tomatoes. How about testing apples? A small apple such as the ones they sell for children's lunch boxes, or a normal apple and a knife for cutting it in half?
 
Yeah I'm fine with small apples re the 2 hour guideline, I've tried green bananas too, not nice.
 
I go for nuts (brazils or almonds) or cheese for snacks whilst driving.
 
Bananas are the one fruit that I used to eat a lot of, I love them. I'm very tempted to order a bunch of tesco small banana to see if they spike me. Bananas and double cream, nectar of the gods!
 
It's definitely worth testing.
But I would test every half hour (or even 15 mins) to map things out.

I've had a few weird surprises doing this - sweet potatoes spike me terribly while snickers bars don't. I think it's the fat. But hey, more research clearly needed.
 
Snickers also have peanuts in which are low carb!!
 
You can eat 1/2 a banana (bananas come in different sizes too) . With a half a banana the problem is halved. and of course talking spikes, total carbs and the starting points are important too.

I work bananas into my diet
 
If I eat something that spikes my levels too much, I drink water. It brings your levels down as it dilutes your system.
 
I'm going to try bananas, a whole one every 15 minutes and go from there.
 
forge said:
You can eat 1/2 a banana (bananas come in different sizes too) . With a half a banana the problem is halved. and of course talking spikes, total carbs and the starting points are important too.

I work bananas into my diet
Click to expand...
Nice one, forge. Always good to discourage people who have the guts to make hard choices
 
Snacks whilst driving .... pork scratchings and todays pork scratchings are not rock hard but quite light and crunchy.
Cheese too and lots of water.
 
JACKTHELAD said:
Snacks whilst driving .... pork scratchings and todays pork scratchings are not rock hard but quite light and crunchy.
Cheese too and lots of water.
Click to expand...

I threw away the pork scratchings I bought, they were like bullets and I want to keep my teeth!
 
forge said:
You can eat 1/2 a banana (bananas come in different sizes too) . With a half a banana the problem is halved. and of course talking spikes, total carbs and the starting points are important too.
Click to expand...

That's why I said I was going to get some of tesco small bananas, they are listed as 'small bananas' and are probably smaller than half a large banana.
 
I will eat a small banana sometimes
Agree those small apples and pears , if you want to try them are a possible ..
 
Paul59 said:
A bit of nutritional info on 100g of banana, it also has a GL of 8 which is good, meaning slow release into the blood.
Info taken from http://nutritiondata.self.com/
Click to expand...

I don't know where that site gets its info from, but bananas are anything but slow release. The starch and glucose gets to work immediately it hits the mouth. Athletes eat them during competitions, particularly tennis players between games because they give instant energy boosts. They wouldn't bother if the energy were slow to arrive.
 
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