Yes, bananas are good for curing diarrhea as they are high in fiber, pectin, and potassium, which help harden stool and restore the nutrients the body loses during loose motion. Specifically, a diet containing ripe bananas, mashed raw bananas, rice, apples, and toast is a savior during diarrhea. However, consider visiting a doctor if diarrhea lasts more than 24 hours.
Also, you should consider taking lots of water, saltines, and food rich in soluble fibers, such as lentils, since your body might lose a considerable amount of electrolytes and water during diarrhea.
The dreadful disease, diarrhea, is very generic and can affect anyone, even if a person is a fitness freak himself. The disease can readily make its way through your body via the changing weather, usage of antibiotics, virus-infected stomach, seasonal virus fevers, or erotic intestine conditions.
Some of us are often shy to speak about it; that’s when you might want to seek help to cure it, and here we are!
We know how you would feel when you or your loved ones suffer from the rigorous pangs of diarrhea.
Hence we’ve come up with all the nooks and crannies to help you battle diarrhea that you loathe and how the magical fruit banana contributes to curing the disease, so keep reading the article to unleash all the facts and hacks to fight the daemon diarrhea!
Are green bananas good for diarrhea?
Yes, green bananas are indeed good for diarrhea! Cooked green bananas facilitate better bowel movement, making stool firm and bulky, and are a great source of oral rehydration solution since these unripe bananas contain a tremendous amount of pectin. They also make you feel full for longer and have high-resistance starch that produces gut-friendly bacteria that improve stomach health. However, if you’re allergic to it, you should only go for a small portion of the fruit.
Also, if you own a delicate gut condition, you should watch out for your intake of green bananas since they might contribute to forming gastric disorders and bloating. For an even better understanding, let’s look at the following nutrition chart of an unripe and ripe medium-sized banana, as per the data provided by MyFitnessPal.
| Nutritional Attribute | In Yellow Banana | In Green Banana |
| Calories | 105 cal | 89 cal |
| Carbs | 27g | 23g |
| Dietary Fiber | 3.1g | 3g |
| Sugars | 14.4g | 12g |
| Iron | 1.7% | 2% |
| Protein | 1.3g | 1g |
| Fat | 0.4g | 0g |
| Potassium | 422.4mg | 358mg |
| Vitamin C | 17.1% | 10% |
| Vitamin A | 5% | 0% |
As you can see from the data, raw bananas owe all the attributes and nutrients to do wonders, from the richness of fiber to the electrifying amount of potassium content. You can consume it with a rice meal or as it is with a hint of salt.
Are ripe bananas good for diarrhea?
Yes, ripe bananas are good for diarrhea since they are also packed with pectin and fibers, facilitate the production of body-beneficial bacteria, are easy to digest, and help to improve gut health as they can add bulk and hardness to stool. They can keep your body hydrated and compensate for the loss of nutrients during diarrhea.
The reason is the pectin content in bananas contributes as a prebiotic effect that can help your colon to absorb the extra liquid in the gut, reducing the frequency of watery stool.
They help your disturbed gut heal and energize you since it has a good amount of sugar and carbs, helping to overcome dizziness, weakness, and loss of hydration. However, the amount of pectin is richer in unripe green bananas.
As per the resources from Dr. Mahesh Gupta, senior spokesman and gastroenterologist of Dharamshila Narayana Superspeciality Hospital, bananas can quickly bring back your digestive system to normal condition as they contain a sufficient amount of sodium, sugar, potassium, and energy.
And as we know, salt helps in reducing the frequency of fluid loss, and sugar content help to gain strength.
What kind of banana is good for diarrhea?
Consumption of green bananas can tremendously help you combat diarrhea as they are enriched with oligofructose, vitamin C and B6, fibers, and potassium and are bland in taste and low in cholesterol and sugar content, promoting bulkiness to stool. Both bland food and low-sugar food ensure the improvement of gut health during diarrhea dysentery, and unripe bananas possess both attributes.
Consuming raw bananas with yogurt builds up a healthy surrounding in your gut and restores standard stomach properties, according to Indian nutritionist Lovneet Batra. So yes, if you had queries roaming your mind, like is yogurt good for diarrhea, we hope you got your answer by now!
You might owe a myth on your mind that raw bananas might be an enemy to patients who have gastric conditions due to their mildly acidic ph value range of 4.5-5.2, though it is not the case!
In reality, they facilitate maintaining a healthy microbiome in your gut and promote the build-up of mucus in the bowel and colon; it acts as a bridge between acidic gastric elements and gut lining, which helps in preventing triggers of stomach aches.
Also, the resistant starch content in raw bananas gets fermented in the large intestine. It converts to short-chain fatty acids, which soak up excess liquids, eventually forming a hardened and firm stool.
Ripe bananas are also an excellent meal to add during loosies, but they can promote blood sugar spikes, which isn’t the case with raw bananas. For an in-depth discussion, let’s look at the comparative study of green and yellow bananas based on the information of Plan My Surgery.
| Green Bananas | Yellow Bananas |
| 1. They absorb nutrients much better, such as they soak up calcium more readily. | 1. While they tend to lose micronutrients. |
| 2. Enriched in probiotic bacteria that escalates gut activity. | 2. Not so packed with probiotic effect. |
| 3. Sometimes hard to digest due to low glycemic index. | 3. They are easy to gulp, but the higher glycemic content might threaten diabetic patients. |
| 4. It consists of 40% starch approximately. | 4. It consists of 91% sugar and 8% starch approximately. |
| 5. Raw bananas taste bitter. | 5. They are delicious, like a treat to your taste buds. |
| 6. They are low in antioxidants. | 6. The more banana ripens, the higher it gets antioxidants. |
| 7. Good for high blood sugar level patients, but not recommended for those with bloating conditions. | 7. They are suitable for cancer patients as they contain anticancer substances, TNF (Tumor Necrosis Factor). |
Now you know which bananas are suitable for you during diarrhea. But our pro tip to you would be to consume bananas by keeping the moderation of intake in mind because excessive consumption of raw bananas may deteriorate stool condition as it can get more hardened than required.
But wait, now you might want to know how many bananas you should intake for your banana diarrhea treatment. For this, you have to head to our following section!
How many bananas can you eat to stop diarrhea?
You can include one regular-sized banana in your diet while you suffer from diarrhea. Consider consuming it twice a day. You can have it as a whole or even add it to yogurt. But remember, you shouldn’t combine it with dairy products because milk products can fuel diarrhea.
But surprisingly, curds are the only dairy products you can trust during diarrhea, thanks to their property of retaining a happy stomach environment.
Foods to consume along with bananas during diarrhea
Bananas alone can’t pull up all of it to give a tough fight to diarrhea; it requires a flock of armies that would complement them to win the diarrhea battle. And yes, the troops are the food you would like to include, along with bananas, to overcome the disease for real. Some of them are as follows.
1. Yoghurt
2. Scrambled egg (in minimum possible butter)
3. Rice porridge (non-flavored)
4. No sugar-syrup waffles
5. Oatmeals
6. Apple sauce
7. Coconut water
8. Clear chicken broth
9. Plenty of water
10. Baked potato (without skin)
Some worst foods for diarrhea: The ones to avoid
While encountering diarrhea, you should always go for a less spicy, light, and soluble fibrous meal. Meals that are greasy with oil and consist of insoluble fibers can speed up the movement of particles in your intestine, and you might end up worsening your diarrhea. Some of the foods you should beware of are as follows.
1. Carbonated soft drinks
2. Milk or dairy products (curd is an exception)
3. Tea
4. Coffee (any caffeinated drink)
5. Soda and sweetened drinks
6. Gas-forming vegetables, skins, or fruits (such as prune, cauliflower, broccoli).
7. Greasy, oily, fried junk
8. Alcohol
9. Any spicy meal
10. Nuts
Benefits of eating bananas for diarrhea
Since you’ve come so far on reading the article, you might be wondering what else bananas might have in store for you. A hurried glimpse of data might be the one you would need now! So look at the following data to know how bananas can sometimes be both a savior and a disaster.
| Benefits of eating bananas for diarrhea | Risks of eating bananas for diarrhea |
| 1. Rich in dietary fiber | 1. High in insoluble fibers and sugar |
| 2. Compensates for potassium loss | 2. Has a lack of protein |
| 3. High in antioxidants | 3. Can cause bloating |
| 4. Helps overcome dehydration | 4. Lacks fat content |
Let’s have a detailed view of each of the benefits.
1. Rich in dietary fiber
As we know, bananas store a significant amount of dietary fiber. Here’s how it slows down bowel movement and the frequency of watery feces, the dietary fiber gets swell-up when it comes in contact with water. Thus, it successfully absorbs the extra water in your gut, decreasing the likeliness and probability of diarrhea.
2. Compensates for potassium loss
During diarrhea, you lose a lot of potassium in the feces. Bananas have a vast potassium content, so they help compensate for the potassium deficiency in your body. It even helps foster energy. The resistant starch content in unripe bananas lessens the amount of diarrhea while maintaining colon health.
3. High in antioxidants
Do you know you’re getting a free facial with your banana-based diarrhea treatment? Did the offer excite you? Indeed, it did! And guess what! Yay, ripe bananas do ensure that you’re receiving this bumper offer since their high antioxidants not only polish your skin but also help combat the gut condition.
4. Helps overcome dehydration
Dry mouth and dry throat are dangerous signs of dehydration that you might face during diarrhea due to the drastic loss of liquids from the body. But don’t worry; you don’t need to put the painful canolas through your veins to compensate for the water loss as long as you’ve bananas beside you. It is because bananas are an excellent alternative for oral rehydration treatment.
Risks of eating bananas for diarrhea
The glittering part of the coin says bananas are a true friend in curing diarrhea, but the risks of eating them are as upsetting as the dusty part of the same coin. Let’s have a detailed discussion on its drawbacks.
1. High in insoluble fibers and sugar.
Do you even know you’re gulping three tablespoons of sugar at one go? Yes, this is the amount of sugar that you intake when you are gulping just a ripe banana. And as we know, sugary meal encourages diarrhea to get even worsen.
The same might happen to you if you overdose on sweet yellow bananas during your loosies. Also, bananas possess insoluble fibers, which might not help cure diarrhea because such fibers can’t absorb water resulting in food particles gaining speed, worsening diarrhea.
However, this insoluble fiber property of bananas might help you during constipation.
2. Has a lack of protein.
We know bananas are the powerhouse of nutrients, but do we know that bananas score zero in their protein course? Yes, you read it right!
Bananas do not have an appealing amount of protein in them. Thus when you are on a banana diet during diarrhea, your body won’t get the required amount of protein, and as a result, you might feel weak.
Therefore, we recommend getting back to your regular diet fixture steadily when you start recovering from diarrhea because bananas alone can’t quench all your body’s nutrition needs.
3. Can Cause Bloating.
Ripe bananas contain a high amount of FODMAP (fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols).
As per a recent study by Medical News Today, foods that have higher FODMAP content trigger the formation of gas, abdominal discomfort, and bloating if they’re consumed in an excessive amount.
And we hope you surely wouldn’t want to suffer from any other gut health conditions when you’re already suffering from diarrhea. Therefore, remember to intake a moderate amount of the fruit so that you can utilize it fully for your diarrhea treatment.
4. Lacks fat content
To ensure that your body functions accordingly, you should intake various food that will help you to get all types of nutrients. And in case of diarrhea, it is a necessity to fill up for the lost minerals and nutrients.
Fats are also an essential component of your body’s metabolism. Unfortunately, bananas lack in supplying fat to your body, so even if your body loses a significant amount of fat due to diarrhea, bananas won’t be able to compensate for it.
That’s why we recommend you have a balanced diet and do not depend on bananas only to cure diarrhea.
Are bananas good for diarrhea or constipation?
Yes, ripe yellow bananas are good for treating both diarrhea and constipation. They promote healthier digestion due to their soluble fiber property leading to the stoppage of watery poop. While raw bananas are a proven remedy for diarrhea, an overdose of unripe green bananas may lead to constipation and acidity problems.
It is because raw bananas contain a lot of resistant starches, which can contribute to escalating your pre-existing constipation condition; other than that, they provide an overall good impact in your gut. In contrast, the low resistant starch content in yellow bananas makes them easy to digest.
Are bananas good for diarrhea and vomiting?
Yes, bananas are effective in treating both diarrhea and vomiting. Since bananas have the binding factor, they are likely to reduce irritations caused by nausea or diarrhea; at the same time, they’ll give a chill pill to your intestine, soothing the irritated-intestine condition.
And since nutrients, potassium, fast-active carbs, and electrolytes fill in bananas, they are one of the best options to overcome weakness.
Are bananas good for diarrhea in babies?
Yes, bananas are good for diarrhea in babies. Intake of 1-2 bananas tends to firm poop, so you can give it to your little ones if they have loosies. They are also good sources of iron and minerals that’ll help babies to get energized. However, you should also include rice cereals, electrolyte drinks, and skinless potatoes in your kids’ diet for better results.
Remember to watch out for any pre-medical condition your baby might have before you feed them.
Are bananas good for diarrhea in toddlers?
No, a 3-month-old toddler would not benefit from eating bananas during diarrhea; 3-month ones shouldn’t feed on bananas. However, toddlers from 5 to 36 months can have it only if their pediatrician prescribes it.
Are bananas good for IBS diarrhea?
Yes, bananas are good for curing IBS diarrhea. The reason is bananas have low fructose content, which helps treat diarrhea. However, unripe bananas are a better option to heal diarrhea faster because they have a small amount of FODMAP than ripe ones.
Are bananas good for diarrhea in dogs?
Yes, bananas are good for diarrhea in dogs; you can add a few slices to their meal to help with diarrhea, along with plain rice, oatmeal, sweet potato, and pumpkins. But remember, excessive intake of bananas might cause your puppy’s diarrhea to increase since ripe bananas have high sugar content.
FAQ
How to cook green bananas for diarrhea?
If you’re having episodes of watery stool, you should go for the following green banana recipe. As per a recent article in The Daily Star, babies who ate the green banana meal had signs of improvement within 24 hours. An intake of 180 grams of the recipe a day might help fight the situation.
For the home remedy of cooked green bananas, you need to take up two medium-sized bananas and boil them along with the peel. Once boiled, take up the fleshy part of the banana in a bowl (and, of course, removing out the peel), add in a few drops of mustard oil, salt to taste, and give a nice mash to the mixture, and your cooked green bananas are ready to serve.
What foods stop diarrhea?
Foods that might instantly help to get rid of diarrhea are starchy meals like cooked rice salines, liquid saline solutions, mashed raw bananas, bland-boiled cereals, and plain rice. However, you should consider consulting with a doctor if you’ve any medical condition regarding the above-mentioned food.
What are the best foods for post diarrhea diet?
You must slowly return to your regular food routine once you recover from diarrhea; otherwise, your body will lack fat, protein, vitamin A, and other essential micro-particles. Some foods you should include in your post-diarrhea food chart are as follows.
1. Decaffeinated tea
2. Electrolyte drinks
3. Sauteed veggies in minimal oil
4. Less-fatty ground chicken
Final Words
Well, there you’ve it from our all-in-one guide of- Are Bananas Good For Diarrhea. Bananas are incredibly versatile; the fruit not only replenishes your skin or acts as a sweet tooth but is also a terrific, traditional, and proven home remedy to fight diarrhea and eradicate weakness.
But indeed, it is crucial to get back to your regular diet chart as soon as possible once you overcome diarrhea.
It is because diarrhea-specific bland-food diet BRAT (Bananas, Rice, Apple, Toast) alone can’t provide you with all the nutrients your body needs. Also, if you keep eating raw bananas daily or increase their intake on a large scale, you might face health issues like constipation.
And if you keep eating ripened bananas constantly, this might backfire and lead to diarrhea, nausea, and overconsumption of potassium. So even if you’re trying to treat diarrhea with the handy home remedy banana, consider the intake amount and remember that everything you include in your diet should be moderate and not in excess.
Also, the bare minimum criteria stand affirmed, such as keeping hands clean and drinking clean water to help you battle the loathing-diarrhea.
Apart from it, if diarrhea persists for 1 or 2 days, you should immediately reach out to your doctor or nearby clinics, as it wouldn’t be wise to delay in this case! Since the more you’ll wait, the more likely you’ll face dehydration and other critical health conditions.
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