Carbs
Bananas are almost exclusively composed of water and carbs. This fruit is a rich source of carbs, usually occurring as starch in unripe bananas and sugars in ripe bananas.
Many people seem to avoid carbs like the plague considering that too many carbs potentially lead to weight gain, poor metabolic or gut health, and an increased risk of heart disease. [2] But it is important to note that Bananas are the right kind of carbs for your body.
The carb composition of bananas changes drastically during ripening, and the main component of unripe bananas is starch. Green bananas contain up to 80% starch measured in dry weight.
During ripening, the starch is converted into sugars and the most common types of sugar in ripe bananas are sucrose, fructose, and glucose. In ripe bananas, the total sugar content can reach more than 16% of the fresh weight.
Bananas have a low glycemic index (GI) of 42-58 and this is highly dependent on the ripeness of the fruit. The GI is a measure of how far carbs in food enter into the bloodstream and that of bananas cause a slower and steadier rise in blood glucose, which results in blood sugar stability that is of great benefit if you’re managing type 2 diabetes or type 1 diabetes.