Banana Milkshake: Is it Unhealthy and Fattening?
In our previous article we have concluded that bananas are indeed weight-loss friendly food. However, related to the banana is another big debate – whether banana milkshake is unhealthy and fattening or good for health. Many people believe that if you have banana and milk together, it will make you gain weight! This is one of the biggest myths as banana milkshake does not make you fat. For a basic banana milkshake, you need a banana and a glass of low-fat milk. A banana by itself has negligible fat and low-fat milk also contains relatively low amounts of fat. So, we know it is not the fat content that is the problem.
Nutrition facts of banana milkshake
Both banana and milk have a low to medium GI so it is not the carbohydrate content that makes you fat. Besides, it provides you with protein, fibre, calcium, vitamins and minerals which, if anything, do not make you fat. As you see, there is nothing in banana and milk that makes you fat.
If you are worried about calories in banana and milk, then a banana is about 100 calories and a glass of low-fat milk is about 60-80 calories. So, a plain banana milkshake would be about 160-80 calories. The total calories from a banana milkshake are about one-fourth the calories of a bag of chips (about 600 calories).
When banana milkshake can really sabotage your weight loss?
The real culprit of weight gain is probably all the additives in a banana milkshake to make it taste better – sugar, ice cream, syrup (sugar and water) like chocolate syrup and extra flavouring. These additives are loaded with unhealthy ingredients, empty calories, low nutritive value and lots of calories, and are what make a banana milkshake unhealthy and fattening.
Top reason for misconception
The other reason why banana and milk are associated with being fattening and unhealthy is that, in general, people who are overweight consume more calories than they burn. If they added a banana milkshake to their diet, did they remove something from their diet to replace with a banana milkshake? We all know the basic rule of weight gain: if you eat more calories and still burn the same amount of calories through the day, then you will simply gain weight. As you can see, the healthy banana milkshake is just a scapegoat for over consumption of food.
Bottom line: Banana milkshake is weight loss friendly
If you have just a simple banana milkshake, it is loaded with benefits – healthy carbohydrates, protein, fibre, vitamins and minerals. All you need to do to make a banana milkshake is to throw in a banana with a glass of low-fat milk. You can also put some ice cubes in the mixer. Next time you have a banana milkshake, add a pinch of cinnamon to it or try some elaichi (green cardamom). It makes it delicious, and the spices are full of antioxidants and make it even healthier. Therefore, as well as the banana itself, banana milkshake does not make you fat and we consider it weight loss friendly food too.
