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Help - Bananas

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Pammie13

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Help I need assistance !!! I have been told that I have very low potassium levels and have been told to eat 2 bananas a day for the forthcoming future. I though that bananas were bad for Diabetics. By the way I am insulin dependent. Have tried to speak with my diabetic nurse but she is not available and I am start to tonight!!!! any assistance would be truly grateful :-)
 
Bananas are relatively carby -a smaller banana has around 15g of carbs and a large banana can have as much as 30g of carbs

One option may be to buy the smaller bananas and have 3 or so of them.

If having whole bananas monkeys around with your sugar levels (sorry, couldn't resist), pushing them too high, you could opt to have 4 sets of half a banana and either share the other halves with others or store it in the fridge if you don't mind it browning a little bit.

Enjoy your 'nanas

Ed
 
When I had low potassium my doctor suggested either bananas or chocolate. I decided to stay off the chocolate and had bananas instead. Perhaps dark chocolate has less carbs than bananas? Try searching with google. Or maybe try a multivitimin?
 
Though bananas are high in potassium there are other foods that are higher for example spinach is very high. Unfortunately though can lose a lot of it in cooking so may be better in salads.
Here's a list (short list at top, scroll down for fuller list; unfortunately it's from the US so uses cups for measurement )
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?dbid ... e=nutrient
 
Pammie13 said:
Help I need assistance !!! I have been told that I have very low potassium levels and have been told to eat 2 bananas a day for the forthcoming future. I though that bananas were bad for Diabetics. By the way I am insulin dependent. Have tried to speak with my diabetic nurse but she is not available and I am start to tonight!!!! any assistance would be truly grateful :-)
Click to expand...


I eat a banana every day (sometimes two) and have done for a number of years now, they are a powerhouse of nutrition and extremely good for you. Provided you dose adjust for the carbs in the banana then there shouldn't be a problem, if you find banana's on their own spike you then try eating one after your main meal not forgetting to calculate it into your insulin dose.
 
Nothing wrong with eating 2 bananas a day. They're not bad for diabetes at all, they're just a fruit that are relatively high in carb content. Just take an extra unit or so for each banana. For the first week or so, test BG a little extra before and after to see the effect and adjust dose if required.


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The riper they are the more likely they are to spike your blood sugar levels, so if that is a problem go for the greener ones. Also could mix them with full fat Greek yoghurt as the fat should reduce the spike



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The people who have some problems with bananas are T2s as they may have no way of managing the fairly high carb (and high-GI) levels. With insulin it is easier to take account of it. Yes, over-ripe bananas are the worst for being high-GI. So, not banned but note the carb content.
 
lrw60 said:
When I had low potassium my doctor suggested either bananas or chocolate. I decided to stay off the chocolate and had bananas instead. Perhaps dark chocolate has less carbs than bananas? Try searching with google. Or maybe try a multivitimin?
Click to expand...

You should seek advice from your GP before taking supplements to restore your potassium levels.There are certain minerals and vitamins which require care in restoration and there is potentially a risk in using supplements depending on dosage and what it is you are trying to replenish. If your GP suggested bananas or chocolate rather than supplements, I would, personally, go with that.

Quote from NHS site ....
"You should be able to get all the potassium you need by eating a varied and balanced diet. If you take potassium supplements, do not take too much because this could be harmful.
Taking 3,700mg or less of potassium supplements a day is unlikely to cause any harm.
However, older people may be more at risk of harm from potassium. This is because as we get older, our kidneys may become less able to remove potassium from our blood. Therefore, older people should not have potassium supplements unless advised to take them by a doctor."
 
alaska said:
you could opt to have 4 sets of half a banana
Ed
Click to expand...
That's true. If its 2 bananas a day you could have it like a medicine divided across the whole day (2x bananas once per day or 1/8 a banana every 1.5 hours etc). Might not get the increased BM than as too spread out but will still get all the potassium


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