Written By: Tania Tarafdar | Published : November 8, 2017 1:33 PM IST
You visit the grocery shop just once a week to buy your weekly fruits and vegetables. And while you stock the food items in the fridge or in the pantry few fruits like bananas tend to ripen soon. While you may have no problem picking the overripe banana for breakfast, according to nutritionist Chandni Desai, the nutritional content of a banana changes as it becomes riper. Here s the complete breakdown of nutrients in an overripe banana.
Carbohydrates
As the fruit ripens, the starch in banana changes. An unripe banana is full of complex carbohydrates but the starch changes to simple sugars in an overripe banana. Diabetics should avoid overripe bananas as it may lead to a quick rise in blood sugar.
Calories
The calories in an overripe banana remain the same as an unripe banana. However, if you are concerned about the calorie count, you must remember that the calories in a banana are much higher than any other fruit. Here's how many calories bananas have.
Antioxidants
The brown spots in an overripe banana forms when the chlorophyll in the fruit begins to break down and converts into antioxidants. So you might just want to use an overripe banana in your smoothie as it will be high in antioxidants. In fact, you will not need to add any added sugar to a smoothie containing overripe banana as it is already going to be pretty sweet.
Vitamins and minerals
In an overripe banana, the micronutrients may decrease. Water-soluble vitamins such as folic acid, vitamin C and thiamin tend to decrease as the fruit ages. However, every banana contains very high levels of potassium regardless its ripeness.
So, while there is no harm in eating an overripe banana unless you are diabetic, you might just want to avoid it if you are eating fruits to get the daily dose of your vitamins and minerals.
Protip--You can store a fully ripe banana in a refrigerator to prevent further loss of micronutrients. Learn how to store fruits the right way.
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