Are Bananas Keto? How to eat Bananas and stay in Ketosis

A single serving of banana is considerably high in carbohydrates and while doing a ketogenic diet, one banana will hit daily limit of 25 grams of carbohydrates. This doesn’t leave any room for other carbohydrates you may consume for the day and so it is considered not keto friendly. However, if this banana is the only carbohydrate you are eating for the day then it is okay to consume. For low carbohydrate diets which are under 100 grams daily limit, bananas are okay to consume.

A typical serving size of bananas is one medium banana weighing around 118 grams. It is approximately 75% water and contains 105 kcal of calories.

One medium sized banana (118g) contains 24 grams net carbs. Total carbohydrates are 27 grams with 14.43 grams of sugar, 5.72 grams of fructose and 3 grams of fiber.

The carbohydrates from bananas digest and are absorbed fairy quickly and may raise blood sugars to a fairly high degree. According to the link which was the blood sugar levels measured using a continuous glucose monitor, after the ingestion of a single banana, blood glucose levels rapidly increased to 150mg/dL. In response to this, your body will have to release a higher amount of insulin to handle the blood sugar spike. On a ketogenic diet, the mechanism for allowing weight loss is to try to maintain lower insulin to minimize fat storage and maximize its utilization. Bananas may hamper this process and temporarily knock you out of a fat burning state.

Although bananas are high in potassium, which can help keep electrolyte balance. However, there are better choices for high potassium foods without the downsides of the high amount of sugar in bananas such as beet greens, avocados, kale or beef.

Since the ketogenic diet is defined as a diet which allows your body to generate ketones due to maintaining lower insulin levels, this can be achieved in the following ways while eating bananas and other carbohydrates. Low carb diets are generally under 100 grams of carbohydrates a day and so bananas are okay to consume, but the following tips can definitely help.

1. Eat bananas around your workout schedule. High intensity exercise increases the insulin sensitivity of your muscles and due to depleting the glycogen stored in them. Carbohydrates eaten around exercise will generally be used to replenish liver and muscle glycogen stores and will be quickly taken up by your muscles. This reduces the amount of insulin your body will have to produce since your muscles will quickly respond to it and take up the excess glucose.
2. Take a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar in a glass of water before eating the banana. Studies show that vinegar taken before the carbohydrate ingestion will reduce the blood sugar and insulin spike. (r, r)