Do Bananas Make you Poop? (GI Doctor Explains).

Our content is not intended nor recommended as a substitute for medical advice by your doctor. Use for informational purposes only.

What you Need to Know:

  • Bananas are rich in fibers which add bulk to your stool and can make you poop.
  • A healthy individual might poop a lot if he consumes too many bananas daily.
  • Bananas may also help people with constipation to poop by adding a stool bulk.
  • Bananas may trigger IBS symptoms such as diarrhea, gas, bloating, and abdominal pain (due to their high FODMAP content), So it is generally not recommended to consume with IBS.

Table of Contents

1. The Basics: Ripe V.S. unripe bananas.

Bananas can be eaten ripe or unripe (green). The two types of bananas affect your poop and bowel movement.

A. Ripe bananas:

A medium-sized ripe banana or 100 grams of edible portion contains (reference)

  • Water: 75%
  • Carbohydrates: 23%
    • Sugar: 16 gm
    • Fiber: 6% (6 gm).
  • Protein: 1%
  • Fat: trace amounts.
  • Calories: 98 Kcal.

https://www.oh-mygut.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Bananas-composition.jpg

B. Unripe (green) bananas.

The green unripe is different from the ripe in the following aspects:

  • First, it contains mainly resistant starch (soluble fiber), representing 70-80% of its dry weight.
  • It contains less sugar.

Unripe bananas are more suitable for treating or preventing diarrhea as it contains resistant starch (a soluble fiber that forms a gel inside the colon holding water and preventing watery diarrhea.

2. Do bananas make a healthy individual poop more?

The effect of bananas on a healthy individual depends on the type and the number of bananas you eat daily.

Bananas are rich in fibers (soluble and insoluble). Every 100 grams of bananas contains around 6 gm of fiber.

Dietary fiber in bananas is indigestible. As a result, high-fiber fruits remain inside the intestine and reach the colon.

The fiber in bananas can make you poop by adding a bulk of fibers that stimulate the motility of the colon, accelerating the poop passage through the colon (reference).

The bulking effect of dietary fibers in bananas works for healthy individuals and people with constipation.

So, Bananas can make you poop a lot if you eat enough amounts.

The downside of dietary fibers:

The intestinal and colonic bacteria act upon the undigestable fibers, leading to excess gas. So, eating more bananas will give you gas, flatulence, and bloating.

The side effects of fiber are more noticeable in patients with bowel diseases such as irritable bowel syndrome.

Conclusion:

Bananas can make you poop more due to their high content of fibers. Fibers add bulk to the stool and stimulate colon motility leading to more frequent bowel movements and larger stool volume.

3. Do bananas make a constipated person poop?

The data about bananas and constipation is contributing. Many people think bananas cause constipation. However, there is no scientific evidence that supports this claim.

UpToDate.com (one of the largest clinical practice sources for clinicians) states that bananas typically help people with constipation to poop more (relief constipation).

Bananas work for constipation by adding bulk to the stool and stimulating colon motility.

Increased dietary fiber intake to 25-35 gm per day is one of the first treatments, and dietary advice was given to people with constipation.

Cereals and fruits (including bananas) are good sources of dietary fiber that help people with chronic constipation.

The table below enlists the recommended high-fiber fruits that may help people with constipation poop more (reference).

4. Do bananas make you poop immediately?

Bananas typically take a few hours to make you poop by increasing your stool bulk. However, you may poop immediately after eating bananas due to triggering the gastrocolic reflex (reflex increases colon motility as soon as bananas reach your stomach).

The gastrocolic response is a physiological response to various types of food. The food distending the stomach triggers a neurological/hormonal response leading to an instant increase in colon motility.

Some people may have an exaggerated gastrocolic reflex. Those people typically complain of frequent pooping immediately after eating.

The cause of the exaggerated reflex in many people has yet to be completely understood. It may be related to certain foods, chemical triggers, or stress.

5. Banans and IBS poop.

Bananas are high in FODMAPs (fermentable Oligo-, Di, Monosaccharides, and Polyols).

FODMAPs are a group of short-chain carbohydrates easily digested by the intestinal and colon bacteria producing excess gas and leading to diarrhea.

Bananas (due to their high fiber content and the laxative effect of their FODMAP sugars) may improve IBS constipation. But they produce too much gas, causing bloating and triggering abdominal pain.

Also, bananas are unsuitable for people with diarrhea-predominant IBS as they may trigger diarrhea (due to their high FODMAP content), gas, and abdominal pain.

Generally, avoid bananas if you have IBS unless your doctor or dietitian recommends it.

6. Do bananas Make your poop green?

Bananas are not known to cause green poop. Bananas don’t contain chlorophyll or other green dyes that may turn your poop green. Instead, think of other causes of green poop, such as green leafy vegetables, green food colorings, etc.