How Many Calories Are in Bananas?

Bananas are some of the most popular fruits around the world, available year long. Bananas come in various sizes, but they practically all share the same special aroma and fragrance.

Because of their popularity, availability, and their health benefits, they are often consumed, leading to the question, how many calories are actually in bananas?

Updated: October 29, 2021.

Macronutrient Content of Bananas

Bananas feature many health benefits and may help with blood pressure, heart conditions, diabetes, can help regulate digestion, help with kidney issues, etc.

But bananas, being so tasty and easy to enjoy, are hard to eat just one, occasionally - that is why it is so important to know how many macronutrients and calories bananas have.

Nutrition Facts of 100g of Banana:

- Fats: 0.3g,

- Carbohydrates: 23g, of which there are 2.6g of dietary fibers and 12g of sugar,

- Protein: 1.1g

100g of calories contain 89 calories.

Macro- and micronutrient content of all foods vary, but these are general values.

As one can see, 100g of bananas contain 89 calories, which is not much, but 100g of bananas equals 1 small banana.

Nutrition Facts of 130g of Banana:

The following chart lists the macro- and micronutrient values of the medium-size banana (130 g):

Calories: 116 Protein: 1.2 g Carbohydrates: ~30 g Total Fat: 0.39 g Dietary Fiber: 3.4 g Vitamin A: 75.52 IU Vitamin B1: 0.04 mg Vitamin B2: 0.09 mg Vitamin B3: 0.78 mg Vitamin B6: 0.43 mg Biotin: 3.07 mcg Choline: 11.56 mg Folate: 23.6 mcg Pantothenic Acid: 0.39 mg Vitamin C: 10.27 mg

Vitamin E: 0.12 mg Vitamin K: 0.59 mcg Boron: 122.14 Calcium: 5.3 mg Chromium: 0.93 mcg Copper: 0.09 mg Iodine: 9.44 mcg Iron: 0.31 mg Magnesium: 31.86 mg Manganese: 0.32 mg Phosphorus: 25.96 mg Potassium: 422.44 mg Selenium: 1.18 mcg Sodium: 1.18 mg Zinc: 0.18 mg

Again, these values may differ depending on the banana variety, season, and similar.

How Much Sugar Does a Banana Have

According to this chart, a single, medium-size banana (130g) contains ~30g of carbs, of which, there are ~16g of naturally occurring sugars.

This doesn't seem much, but, many people (author of this article included) can't stop themselves and eat only one banana :)

That is why it is perhaps very important to know the Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load of bananas.

Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load of Bananas

Glycemic Index is a numerical value between 0 and 100 that describes how eating one food raises the blood sugar levels.

GI 100 is the GI of the pure glucose. Foods with GI below 55 are considered to have a low glycemic index, those with GI between 55 and 70 are considered to have medium GI, and those with GI above 70, are considered to have a high and very high glycemic index.

The Glycemic Index of bananas is 55, so basically, bananas have GI right between low and medium value - surprised, right?

Well, GI may be very helpful, but it doesn't take into account the amount of consumed food - that is where Glycemic Load comes to play.

In order to calculate the Glycemic Load (GL) of the portion of food, divide food's Glycemic Index by 100 and multiply it by the grams of digestible carbohydrates (that means excluding fibers) in a served portion.

Generally, a GL of below 10 is considered low GL, 11 - 19 GL is considered average and GL above 20 is considered high GL.

For example, one medium-size banana (130 grams), has GI of 55, but the GL is:

GL (130g of banana) = (55 / 100) * 26.6g  = ~14.6

As one can see, the Glycemic Load of a single medium-size banana is ~14.6, and that is medium GL - if You eat another banana, that is already GL of almost 30 and that is already HIGH GLYCEMIC LOAD!

If You are a physically active person, a single banana here and there can keep the blood sugar levels moderately high and provide plenty of energy for various physical activities.

However, people that are not physically active, should consider eating bananas in moderation and mixed with other fruits (fruits salads, for example) or other foods in general.

Bananas are great, but they should be enjoyed in moderation - keeping the portions under control is the key...

And yes, it is much easier said than done :)