Banana diet plan, or a banana island, is an easy and sweet way to detox, start your weight loss journey and aid your body’s healing.
I’ve done several banana diets (or banana islands) myself and many of my clients enjoy eating an abundance of bananas each day.
Today, I am going to talk about all the ins and outs of this cleanse for balanced hormones, weight loss and increased energy levels.
Here is a video about it:
The benefits of bananas
Bananas are one of the world’s healthiest foods. One of the greatest things about bananas is that they are available year round anywhere you are and they are also cost effective, if you look at the calories that they provide.
Great for natural weight loss, bananas are rich in B vitamins and magnesium and they contain zero cholesterol. When ripe they are also packed full of simple sugars and a great way to give your body an energy boost.
Bananas are high in potassium – a mineral that allows you to maintain healthy blood pressure and heart function. A medium banana contains 400+mg of potassium.
Studies (1) show that a diet rich in potassium helps you prevent high blood pressure and protects against atherosclerosis (heart disease).
Bananas also improve your digestion due to them being high in fiber, which helps regulate the speed of digestion and allows for regular bowl movements.
Bananas contain fructooligosaccharides (FOS) – a unique type of carbohydrate that helps maintain “friendly” gut bacteria in your lower intestine.
There was a study done (2) where participants ate 2 bananas per day for 2 months and this led to a significant increase of bifidobacteria, leading to a much better digestion and nutrient absorption.
What is a banana diet?
The banana plan is very much what it sounds like – you eat bananas for a period of time.
I’ve personally done the banana diet myself several times, lasting from 3-12 days and I often get questions from people that ask: “Should I just drink bananas? Can I add milk to my smoothies? Can I drink coffee? Can I add sugar to my smoothies?”
The point of a banana island is that you eat bananas.
In saying that, I would now definitely recommend adding greens (like lettuce, celery, micro greens) and even coconut water to your banana meals.
In this way, you will be getting more minerals and other nutrients.
Other than that, you don’t eat any other foods or substances. No coffee, sugar, spices, or any other foods other than just bananas, greens and coconut water. That’s it — simple and sweet.
How long should a banana diet last?
If you wanted to give your system a quick re-boot, you can do a one day or a weekend banana cleanse, starting on Friday and finishing on Sunday evening.
One thing that I have to point out is that you shouldn’t do banana islands all the time. In fact, you need to receive a diversity of nutrients in your diet.
So 1-2 times per year, for example in the spring or in the autumn can be an idea, if you wanted to cleanse your body with the help of a banana island.
Also, be sure to rest enough during your cleanse as your body will be going through a deeper detox and restoration.
Your bananas need to be ripe, which means soft and spotty, as unripe bananas will upset your digestion.
Does the banana diet work?
I don’t believe in quick fixes or short term cleanses to fix long term health problems. If you have health issues – such as general hormonal imbalances, thyroid issues, blood sugar imbalances or Candida – you need to have the right plan to balance your health.
In fact, most of our clients come to us with hormonal imbalances, weight issues and Candida. I talk about restoring hormones naturally here, natural weight loss here and restoring Candida naturally here.
However, a short term banana cleanse, followed by a whole foods plant lifestyle plan can work wonders.
Here are some benefits that you can get from going on a banana cleanse:
- helps you detox
- can speed up healing and recovery
- can result in natural weight loss
- increases vitality, energy levels and mind clarity
- can boost your fitness level and sports performance
- one of the best ways to switch to a whole food, raw or high raw food diet
Banana diet for detox and weight loss
“Don’t eat bananas because they will make you fat!” “Bananas are loaded with sugar!”
These are two popular statements that you can often hear. However, they are not true.
Both Paul and I have been following a fruit-based raw food plan since 2009 and bananas are our staples.
We’ve had a healthy level of weight all these years and know plenty of raw foodists who are in great shape and eating bananas daily.
Bananas can only promote weight gain if you over eat on calories. The same is true for any other food – and not just bananas.
A banana island is a great way to help your body shift excess weight and help your body detox.
The main reason for this is that you won’t be consuming the kinds of foods that lead to weight gain, such as processed foods (even if they are vegan!).
A banana island is also a tool to help you transition to a much healthier diet that’s vegan and loaded with raw fruits and veggies.
If you want to create a beautiful body and stay lean long term, the secret is a whole-food, plant-based diet, including other lifestyle factors, such as exercise, sleep, stress management, etc.
My banana diet results
I’ve now done several banana cleanses and I enjoyed them all.
Here are some of the benefits that I personally experienced:
- Felt AMAZING throughout the whole “journey”
- Experienced very sharp clarity of mind, which allowed me to restructure tasks and activities in my life and set goals for new projects
- Felt balanced, in fact, discovered the kind of balance that I have never experienced before
- Been even more positive than ever
- My skin got even shiner and silkier
- Run 22km in one day during my 7-day banana island. Recovered in double quick time, did not have any leg soreness. Also set a new PB for my 5km running!
- Energy, energy and more energy! Did lots of fitness – cross-fit workouts, cycling, weight-training, dancing – didn’t want to stop!
- Body felt more flexible than ever
Here is a video about my 12-day banana only detox diet and what happened to me (millions of views!):
Banana diet plan
The great thing about a banana island is that it doesn’t require you to restrict your calories. So you won’t feel hungry!
All you need to do is replace your regular amount of calories with bananas. A typical medium banana contains about 100 calories.
Ready for your big health leap?
We’re excited to invite you to our FREE online masterclass.
During our training, we’ll walk you through the 5 steps our clients use to overcome hormonal imbalances and drop 10-50 pounds of extra weight … whilst never restricting themselves of carbohydrates and sugar.
Don’t miss out, claim your spot here!
P.S. If you want us to help you reverse your hormonal issues, reduce or get off medication and release weight naturally –schedule your Health Accelerator Call and let’s talk about your next steps.
Bibliography:
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Gylling H, Plat J, Turley S, et al. Plant sterols and plant stanols in the management of dyslipidaemia and prevention of cardiovascular disease. Atherosclerosis 2014;232:346-60.
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Mitsou EK, Kougia E, Nomikos T, et al. Effect of banana consumption on faecal microbiota: a randomized, controlled trial. Anaerobe 2011;17:384-7.
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https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/food-features/bananas/
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Count me in, great idea, I need to detox! Love the plan, will do mine for about 5 days initially. Funny ending on the video, keep ’em coming!
I will definitely try it for a day. Then will decide if I want to go for a longer period of time. Thanks!
I always wanted to do a banana island… and I have been buying bananas by the box this winter, but I seem to get bored of just bananas. I always use them for smoothies with another fruit. I will sometimes mono meal, but usually will have them with either dates or apples. I still would love to do a banana island! Maybe I should try just 3 days so that I know I will be able to do it. Thanks for the continued support and inspiration Rawsome Healthy!
Hi Yulia! I love how you guys call yourselves fruity mama and papa!! I have followed your videos quite a bit and just love everything you are doing. I also was so happy to see you and Paul and your baby and got so much inspiration to help my children eat vegan..they are really into it and I feel like I have a whole team now….maybe Paul could make a video for my husband to encourage him to join us! Not an easy situation but there may be hope! Anyway, this video comes just at the right moment because I have been curious about banana island and just could not figure out how I would do it exactly. I put on 20 lbs (and now weigh 145) about a year ago when I went high carb low fat and I am honestly struggling to get that weight off! I am eating super clean and simple vegan raw till 4 style and loving it…but really tired of the fat that has come with it. Help!
Aimee in Washington DC : )
Are you exercising? Eating more than your body needs? How’s your sleep? Any other factors that you can identify that can contribute towards your extra weight?
I have the same problem. If I work out my amount of calories needed, then subtract 400-500 for weight loss, I end up with only 1000 calories for the day. thats 10 bananas a day. :,( thats not going to keep me full
I’m going to try this…a weekend is a good time as you suggested. I’m currently trying to heal from Rheumatoid Arthritis. Luckily I have a milder case of RA but it’s still annoying and controlling my life. I’m trying my best to let go of old habits and have pretty much made the switch to a vegan diet and will then move on to transitioning to a majority raw diet. This could be the push to get me over the hump. Thanks for the great vid!
Thank you, let us know how it goes for you!
Yulia,
Could you please help me? Am I the only one who hates store bananas? They are so disgusting. I eat them spotted. I buy them by the case and throw many away. I don’t freeze them because I don’t want to eat frozen foods. I typically eat them plain. I tried smoothies. I don’t like the texture. All gooey. I have to force myself to eat them and try not to throw up. I pray everyday God will help me like bananas because they are cheap, healthy, and don’t require any prep time or clean up.
Does anyone else think they are gross? Any tips for eating them? I spent all this money on a blender, but my banana smoothies taste awful. Even just a sweet banana and water alone taste bitter. When I blend bananas they taste bitter to me! I tried dates, coconut water, raspberries in my smoothie. Still can’t hide that awful banana taste and texture
Please help me love bananas. I used to eat 12 a day, hating them still but loving the results. Now I might only eat 2 or 3 a day. I would love to do this cleanse if only I could enjoy my food
No problem, you can do it on any other fruit you like, for as longs as you can get your calories from it. Mangoes, grapes, persimmons – these are just some examples.
It’s ok to have times when you don’t want to eat a specific fruit, and then have times when all you want to do it keep eating it. Trust your body and don’t force yourself. Hope this helps!
I love bananas, but they give me a headache! I have lupus and histamine issues and just started on 80-10-10. Any advice? Thanks.
Please see my reply above re: bananas. All the best with this lifestyle, things improve the more you do it!
in order to heal your skin, you need essential oils. I understand you believe in diets, but the one you’ve chosen ain’t very helpful. Fish, avocado, olive or coconut, avocado oils, chia and other seeds and nuts are the key. Just thought to let you know, cos I’ve cured my lupus with nothing but healthy fat consumption.
Hi. I had done this kind of diet with grapes before a long time ago. The result was really amazing. I lost kilos and my skin was more shiny than ever. My question is the diet that you have to do after this one in order to avoid stomach problems.
I am waiting for your answer
Great question! You can use the banana island as a mean to transition to an all raw or high raw, plant-based plan.
I want to go on Banana Island diet but also want to gain some weight around 5 kg.. what are the suggestions .. I am ready
Hi .. Is the banana island diet safe for someone with diabetes?
Great article! Im thinking of trying banana island for 3 days to see how my body reacts. But I have a question, I normally workout (cardio and some strenght training) once or twice a day, during a 3 day detox do you think I should workout as normal or cut it down?
Thankful for an answer!
Hello, If I have candida in the mouth, it’s ok for me to do banana island? Also I want to gain some weight.
Hey, i`m on banana island…3-4 and in dinner i take boiled veggies… Am i doing it right ?? …plz answer ASAP
I have started this diet today…Can I add some fruits in my diet??
Thanks for your information! I’ve need a diet to detoxify my body and I’m happy when I read this post. But I have a question. As I know, in banana, there are a lot of “kali” material. Doctors in my country said that more than two bananas per day will make your body too much “kali” material and lead to your reins sick. Is this right?
I want to know how n what to follow after plan is over…. What should be the next diet after following banana diet plan for 4 days… So that the loss of wt is maintained… Thx plz reply soon
Good post….thanks for sharing.. very useful for me i will bookmark this for my future needs. Thanks.
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As I have tried various diet plans, I never thought that banana diet can be more easy to lose weight. Even I knew that banana makes us fat. After going through the article I am spellbound to know about its beneficial effects. Thanks for the healthy home remedies.
Great idea! Bananas always fun to eat. I’m definitely going to try this banana diet detox. Will start for 3-4 days, want to see how it works! I can say this is a very nutritious home remedy for weight loss. My body is craving already!