# BANANAS



## Lookin'foraLife (Jan 2, 2009)

I'd appreciate it if anybody who knows could answer me this oneo bananas tend to lead to C or D?On the one hand, they contain fiber, on the other they seem to be recommended when someone suffers from D in the BRAT diet.I've also heard theoried on ripe/unripe bananas.Confused here....


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Bananas are on the BRAT diet because they are LOW in sorbitol and balanced in fructose/glucosehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fructose_malabsorption mentions the balance and it is the stone fruits and fruits like apples and pears that have a lot of sorbitolSo it is other fruits are more likely to cause diarrhea than bananas are directly constipating. They also have potassium and if you have a lot of watery diarrhea it isn't a bad idea to get some extra potassium.


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## Lookin'foraLife (Jan 2, 2009)

So if I have IBS-C it wouldn't make things worse to eat bananas?Any difference if it' s a ripe banana?


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

When they are green they have more starch than sugar, but how exactly that effects things I do not know. Although some people seem to think the extra starch may ease constipation (although those type of harder to digest starches may increase gas). The sugar in the ripe banana comes from the starch.However if you want to ease the constipation you may want to eat fruits with sorbitol or a higher fructose to glucose ratio as they will tend to loosen up the stools.


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