Is eating too many bananas dangerous?

[oselifer]

I read in another forum a theory that eating too many bananas can be dangerous due to its high content of potassium..

Here is what someone said:

"It is possible to get too much posassium from bananas, and it could throw off a person's saline (salt) level, since the two work together.

 

If the sodium gets to low and the potassium too high, it throws off the human electrolyte system, and can cause problems from mild gastrointestinal problems to kidney problems, to severe cardiac problems (cardiac arrest-death if) if the NA (sodium) gets too low (below 120 for too long) and the K+ (potassium) gets too high. (above 7-7.5)"

 

All this seems impossible to me because 1)you have to eat 10 bananas to reach the potassium's rda 2)the body will inform you when its enough..

 

Do you know anything more?

Edited March 28, 2009 by oselifer

[Zack]

I think you have little to worry about with whole foods. I'd be more worried about the big doses of fructose than potassium.

[MollyMormon]

I get tired of articles like that. People read them them start thinking they shouldn't eat bananas so they go eat a bag of cookies instead. It saddens me when I see commercials for high fructose corn syrup being fine in moderation (yet it is in practically every processed food) but then they tell us how dangerous playing the Wii is because you could over exert yourself and have a heart attack. And then at the gym all the machines tell us to see a Dr. Where is the medical warning on the 8000 calorie burger? Is our society so screwed up that we fear health?

[RawVgn]

I eat 80% of my calories from primarily fructose (entire diet of raw fruit and greens.) Raw fruit averages 70% water which buffers the sugar release into the blood. Since sugar is the ONLY source of energy to the body, and energy is by far the body's principal requirement, fruit based diets are highly beneficial. They also provide many other benefits like soluble fiber, antioxidants, lots of vitamins and minerals, etc.

 

I know people who eat 15 or more bananas a day. I used to routinely eat that many. I have a movement disorder-essential tremor-that recently gets a bit worse when I eat lots of bananas so I've cut back on them to no more than 4 a day. I suspect my potassium was getting out of balance and electrical conductivity does play a role in the neuro disorder I have. Many raw vegans use bananas as staples and have no problems whatsoever from eating 10 or more a day very long term.

 

One other thing to keep in mind when eating lots of fruit each day is to keep fat calories below 10% as much as possible. Fat gets into the blood and coats the insulin receptors which reduces the rate which sugar can be moved from the blood to fuel the cells (a principal cause of diabetes.) If the sugar does not leave the blood efficiently, yeast will bloom and you can develop thrush or other yeast problems. High fruit diets are extremely healthy, but you must limit fat consumption (which is also very beneficial.)

[apple]

I get tired of articles like that. People read them them start thinking they shouldn't eat bananas so they go eat a bag of cookies instead. It saddens me when I see commercials for high fructose corn syrup being fine in moderation (yet it is in practically every processed food) but then they tell us how dangerous playing the Wii is because you could over exert yourself and have a heart attack. And then at the gym all the machines tell us to see a Dr. Where is the medical warning on the 8000 calorie burger? Is our society so screwed up that we fear health?

 

I am completely with you on that one. Our society is definitely screwed up enough to think that 100 calorie packs of junk food is healthy simply because it's only 100 calories.

[tommybricks]

Last summer my girlfriend and I ate at least a whole watermelon a day, sometimes a whole watermelon each. My aunt and uncle were eating like Kraft Mac and Cheese and stuff, and warning us that watermelons have a lot of salt!

 

I love bananas, I say eat the f**k out of em.

[ChaserHUN]

Charlie Abel eats 40 bananas a day, and he is still alive

[Tommy-Jitsu]

It saddens me when I see commercials for high fructose corn syrup being fine in moderation

 

 

When I first saw that commercial it scared the crap out of me! It was basically set up exactly like anti-drug commercials only instead of being looked down upon its glorified. High fructose corn syrup is killing more people then all drugs combined! this government/FDA is getting outa control. By now its pretty easy to tell that they want death, not health.

[zinzen]

Apart from all the things said here, that actually dont answer the question, Yes you can eat too many bannanas, especially if you already have high potassium, and yes it can cause heart problems, along with the tremors that someone spoke about. Get away from the propaganda people spit and study anatomy and phys, itll tell you all you need to know.

But depending on who you are and all that jive stuffs we might be talking about blending 30 nanners at once and pounding it, but it can kill you.

Horrible example for us vegans but a few people have had heart attacks, and one I know of died by being in an egg eating contest, the fast intake of cholesterol killed em, same thing can happen with potassium, sodium, these things at a cellular level are extreamly importandt for all functions.

-Tom

[Richard]

I get tired of articles like that. People read them them start thinking they shouldn't eat bananas so they go eat a bag of cookies instead. It saddens me when I see commercials for high fructose corn syrup being fine in moderation (yet it is in practically every processed food) but then they tell us how dangerous playing the Wii is because you could over exert yourself and have a heart attack. And then at the gym all the machines tell us to see a Dr. Where is the medical warning on the 8000 calorie burger? Is our society so screwed up that we fear health?

Hah. Yeah you're completely correct! However, the reason for the warnings is not really for safety, it is covering their ass. If someone dies in a gym, the gym will get the shit for it. If someone keeps eating 8000 calorie burgers and junk food, then one day dies from a heart attack or cancer, then the fast food joints will not get any shit from that, so they don't need to have a "warning" or anything, they know they are safe from it.

[HawaiiDolphin]

The modern diet has such a freakish abundance of sodium, I highly doubt one could take in enough potassium to offset it to a dangerous level.

[zinzen]

Yeah thats actually not how it works at all, but its cool

[J-Roc]

I eat 80% of my calories from primarily fructose (entire diet of raw fruit and greens.) Raw fruit averages 70% water which buffers the sugar release into the blood. Since sugar is the ONLY source of energy to the body, and energy is by far the body's principal requirement, fruit based diets are highly beneficial. They also provide many other benefits like soluble fiber, antioxidants, lots of vitamins and minerals, etc.

 

High fruit diets are extremely healthy, but you must limit fat consumption (which is also very beneficial.)

 

How long have you been following that diet for? And is bodybuilding a goal of yours? If so how is working for you?

 

Charlie Abel eats 40 bananas a day, and he is still alive

 

Yeah but is he healthy?

[Im Your Man]

 

One other thing to keep in mind when eating lots of fruit each day is to keep fat calories below 10% as much as possible. Fat gets into the blood and coats the insulin receptors which reduces the rate which sugar can be moved from the blood to fuel the cells (a principal cause of diabetes.) If the sugar does not leave the blood efficiently, yeast will bloom and you can develop thrush or other yeast problems. High fruit diets are extremely healthy, but you must limit fat consumption (which is also very beneficial.)

True, and true also for all other diets, not only fruits based diet. Proof is that lots of people with diabetes are not on a fruit-based diet and even ate very little fruits before getting diabetes, but once they get diabete they are told to avoid fruits... But their fat consumptions are always too high.

[Odidnetne]

I remember reading that avocados have even more potassium than bananas. I now fear that my overeating of guacamole makes me suffer symptoms like smoother muscle contractions after a workout and a more normal, stable blood pressure. I should get some cookies to balance that out.

[vivalasvegans]

There's another thing to consider about eating so many bananas. The environmental effects of huge monoculture banana plantations are absolutely terrible for local ecosystems. The toll it takes on what could otherwise be local sustainable food producing farms is awful. Local farmers have a way harder time getting by with Dole and Chiquita around. The crap that nonorganic bananas get sprayed with and grown in for the mass market system is hella poisonous, so take into account the manufacture and transport of that stuff too. The pay for most banana workers isn't anywhere near enough to provide decent conditions for a worker or his/her family. The geopolitical consequences of it all have caused wars, bloodshed, and famine. That's not to mention the additional environmental effect of transporting bananas over such large distances of sea and land to mainly US, Canadian, and European consumers.

 

To answer the original question I would say,yeah, it's dangerous. If you're gonna eat a lot of food imported from far away tropical places, do it in moderation and at least make it organic... and otherwise consume as locally as possible.

[sinisterkungfu]

Of course, if these blights are as bad as they're made out to be, the banana that you know and love (the cavendish) will go the way of the Gros Michel which was all but extinct by the 60's.