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Shock diet tip: Why you should be eating green bananas over 'ripe' yellow ones
Health experts have revealed there are nutritional benefits to eating bananas that are still a bit green and under-ripe - and why you shouldn't throw away the skins.
Green bananas have been found to taste not as sweet, contain less sugar than the ripe fruits and have more healthy starches.
Sydney dietitian Susie Burrell told FEMAIL that green bananas have high-resistant starch which is beneficial to gut health.
'Green bananas in particular offer a significant dose of the powerful pre-biotic, resistant starch linked to a number of positive health outcomes,' she said.
'Then we have resistance starch which is a type of fibre that remains undigested until it reaches the large intestine where it assists in the production of good bacteria that helps to keep the gut healthy.
Sydney dietitian Susie Burrell (pictured) told FEMAIL that green bananas have added health benefits as they lose dietary fibres as they ripen
'Resistance starch is found only in a few specific foods including cooked, cooled potato and green bananas.'
Susie suggested those who prefer yellow ripe bananas utilise green banana flour which can be used in baking or added to smoothies.
According to Healthline, unripe bananas contain mostly resistant starch which breaks down as they become more yellow and brown.
As they ripen, the starch converts to simple sugars to the point yellow bananas only contain 1 per cent starch.
Green bananas are also a good source of pectin, a dietary fibre that helps fruits keep their structural form.
Resistant starch and pectin can improve blood sugar control and improve digestive health and have been linked to increased feeling of fullness after eating.
Susie, who co-hosts The Nutrition Couch podcast, said to keep banana peels and add them to smoothies, baked goods and curries to boost the fruit's nutritional intake significantly.
Green bananas have been found to taste not as sweet, contain less sugar than the ripe fruits and have more healthy starches
'Specifically, you will increase your overall fibre content by at least 10 per cent as a lot of dietary fibre can be found in the skin of the banana,' she said.
'You will get almost 20 per cent more Vitamin B6 and almost 20 per cent more Vitamin C and you will boost both your potassium and magnesium intake.'
She suggested cooking the skins to soften them, make them edible and increase their nutritional value.
'Rather cooking the skin to soften it will help to break down some of the cell walls within the skin helping to make the nutrients easily to absorb,' Susie explained.
'Next blending the skin into recipes or smoothies is the most practical way to use them. Here you will increase the volume and nutritional content of recipes with minimal change to taste and texture of the cooking.'
Susie recommended making smoothies with whole unpeeled bananas by removing each end and chopping them into small pieces.
'For recipes such as muffins or banana bread, cooking the skin first before mixing it into the recipe is an easy way to incorporate them,' she advised.
