If you like to eat bananas at home from time to time, be sure that your cat will notice it, and will try somehow to taste or at least smell those yellow and delicious fruits right away. Can cats eat bananas? Let’s see it.
If you don’t know for sure if your feline can eat this potassium rich food, by reading this article you will learn the following: why are bananas considered a healthy food today, what vitamins, minerals and other useful nutriens they contain, and how to feed bananas to your cat.
Banana Nutrition Facts
Bananas are considered very delicious and healthy foods due to the large number of essential nutrients contained that can improve heart health and the digestion.
These exotic fruits can also help in weight loss.
Each banana contains a good amount of fiber and antioxidants that can prevent atherosclerosis, and several deadly diseases.
Vitamins
Vitamin B6, about 33% of the RDI and Vitamin C, about 11% of the RDI.
RDI is refered as ‘Recommended Dietary Intake’ or as ‘Recommended Daily Intake’.
Minerals
Potassium, about 9% of the RDI, Magnesium, about 8% of the RDI, Copper, about 10% of the RDI and Manganese, about 14% of the RDI.
A medium-sized banana weighs about 118 grams, and contains 1.3 grams of protein, 24 grams of carbs, fiber 3.1 grams, 0.4 grams fat and 105 calories.
Facts About Bananas
Bananas are considered beneficial fruits for people if served several times a week, but for cats, these fruits should be served less often and in small quantities.
1. Nutrients Contained in Bananas Can Moderate Blood Sugar Levels
Bananas contain a rich fiber called pectin, that gives the flesh a spongy and structural form.
Resistant starch contained by unripe bananas, escape digestion due to the fact that acts like soluble fiber.
After meals, both resistant starch and pectin can moderate the blood sugar levels in the body, which reduces the appetite.
The GI value of ripe banans is about 60, however, unripe bananas have a GI value of only 30, which means that to avoid a major spike in your blood sugar level, you should consume mostly unripe bananas.
However, if bananas could be very beneficial for people, you need to know that the high levels of sugar in ripe bananas is an unnecessary element in a cats diet.
2. Bananas Can Improve Digestion
I mentioned above that a medium-sized banana (118 grams), contains about 3.1 grams of fiber, which makes it a pretty good source of fibers that can keep the digestive system healthy.
Resistant starch can be found mainly in unripe bananas, and pectin reduces its volume when the banana ripens, so if you want to benefit from these healthy and useful nutrients, you should always consume bananas that are not very ripe.
Resistant starch escapes digestion and ends in the large intestine where feeds the beneficial bacteria living in your gut.
Some studies consider that pectin can protect against a deadly disease called colon cancer.
Less ripe bananas are healthy both for people and cats.
3. Bananas Can Help in Weight Loss
Bananas can help you reduce your body weight by creating the full stomach feeling, and because they contain a reduced amount of calories.
Eating fruits with less calories that contain healthy nutrients and fiber, will make you eat less food (a reduced appetite), will help your digestive system, and will make you lose weight much quicker.
4. Bananas Are Essential For Heart Health
Bananas contain a good amount of Potassium, which is a mineral that controls blood pressure and is considered important for heart health.
Bananas also contain Magnessium (8% of the RDI), which along with potassium (9% of the RDI) will keep the heart in a good shape.
5. Bananas Contain Dietary Antioxidants
Dopamine and catechins are two powerful antioxidants that can be found (among others) in bananas.
These antioxidants are considered to have many health benefits including reduced risk of degenerative illnesses and heart disease.
Containing a good amount of healthy antioxidants, bananas can reduce the damage produced by free radicals, which will reduce the risk of several diseases.
6. Unripe Bananas Can Improve Insulin Sensitivity
Insulin resistance is known as the condition when cells stop responding to insulin, which is a major risk factor for developing some serious diseases.
Unripe bananas contain a good amount of resistant starch, which can help improve insulin sensitivity.
Studies have shown that 15 to 30 grams of resistant starch consumed daily can improve insulin sensitivity by 33 to 50% during a period of only four weeks.
However, other studies consider that more research is needed on this.
7. Bananas Can Improve Kidney Health
Bananas are rich in potassium, which is a mineral that controls blood pressure and promotes a healthy kidney function.
In-depth studies, shown that men and women eating one banana 2 to 3 times a weeek, have a reduced (by 33%) chance to develop kidney disease.
Other studies have shown that eating one banana 4 to 5 times a week, reduces the chance to develop kidney disease by 50%.
8. Bananas Are Considered Perfect Foods For Athletes
Bananas are often consumed by athletes due to the vitamins and minerals contained, and due to the amount of healthy carbs that are easy to digest.
Consuming bananas can reduce muscle cramps and soreness specific to people that exercise daily or weekly.
Some studies consider that dehydration and electrolyte imbalance could be the reason for the muscle cramps, so by consuming bananas at least in the days when we exercise, we can reduce the risk for these strong and painful contractions of the muscles.
Can You Feed Bananas To Cats?
Bananas are filled with nutrients, but they also contain sugars, which are not recommended for cats, so the answer to the question:
‘Can Cats Eat Bananas?‘
is …No!
Why?
Well, bananas are not harmful for cats, but they shouldn’t eat them because bananas are pretty high in sugar, which is an unwanted element in your cat’s diet.
If these sugars can be good for people, they can affect your cat on long term.
Too much sugar in your cat’s diet can lead to diabetes and feline obesity.
Cat tongues don’t have sweet receptors on their taste buds, and this is the reason why cat food has no artificial sweeteners.
People digest food in a way different manner compared to cats.
So, a food that ensures nutrients for you, may not be useful for your cat.
Cat’s body is not equipped to break down sugars like the human body, so a sugar buildup in your cat’s body due to a diet that includes bananas can lead to excess body fat and diabetes.
Conclusion
If you still want to feed your cat bananas, you can do it, but only occasionally and only if it likes it.
Banana sugars will not help your cat, however, the fiber content in these fruits may help them.
Avoid giving bulk foods containing bananas to your cat.
Frozen banana treats are a much better option for your feline.
