Friday, January 30, 2009

Question of the Day: Is there a problem with eating up to four bananas per day in my protein shakes if I work out?

In the vast majority of cases, four bananas per day are probably too many. One large banana contains about 18 grams of sugar and 125 calories. Four would contain about 72 grams of sugar and 500 calories. If a person ate about 2,000 calories per day, that person's diet would be approximately 14% sugar from the bananas alone, and about 25% of all calories would come from the bananas. From my perspective, that's too much daily sugar and too many daily calories from a single food.

I have no way of knowing, of course, whether or not four bananas per day are supportive of your personal health. That answer depends upon your individual health status, your daily diet, the amount and type of exercise you are doing, and your current nutritional needs. A healthcare practitioner who can take all of these factors into account would be the best person to help determine the number of bananas that would be best for you to consume to meet your nutrient and health needs.

But I can suggest a set of questions that you might ask yourself about your banana-plus-protein shakes. Does your diet have room for the calories that four bananas per day provide? Do you have to cut out any other nutrient-rich foods that provide other nutrients in which bananas may not be concentrated in order to make room for the bananas? Do you feel good when you eat the bananas? Do the bananas give you the energy and stamina that you desire?

In general, our website approach is to encourage consumption of whole, natural foods. We believe that the benefits of these foods are so unique and so overwhelming that major changes in lifestyle are worthwhile in order to make way for these foods. While you may be getting the nutrients you need from your protein shakes, you also might not be, and you will always increase your chances of getting the full spectrum of nutrients you need by eating a variety of whole, natural foods.

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