Hi, Thanks for your top-notch article. Actually, In most cases, diarrhea can be treated at home and it will resolve itself in a few days. Drink plenty of fluids, and follow the "BRAT" diet (bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast) to help ease symptoms. Take care to ensure infants and children stay hydrated. Electrolyte solutions such as Pedialyte can be helpful.

I have an ileostomy and since my latest surgery in Jan of 2022, am now battling Short Gut Syndrome. I am on lots of Lomotil to slooooow my output down and recently learned about green bananas. So tonight I got brave and ate half of one. We'll see what happens!

Good luck, Alisa.

Short bowel syndrome can be challenging, so I hope that you're working with your doctor to make sure that you're absorbing all the important nutrients from your meals.

Yes, I have a great team @ the University of Chicago that are helping me. It's definitely a challenge to manage!
BTW: the green banana did help soothe my stomach ache. And I'm now on a product to thicken my ostomy output. Main ingredient? Banana flakes. :)

Haha! That's funny! Thanks for the update and good luck with everything!

Ah, the magic of resistant starch, found in green, but not yellow, bananas. If green banana's are hard to stomach, try potatoes. Potatoes form resistant starch when they are cooked and then cooled. Reheating them won't affect the formed resistant starch.
Resistant starch works as a prebiotic and acts like isoluable fiber, increasing stool volume and giving it more... uhm... structure. Because of it's prebiotic properties, it can help heal your gut microbiome.

If you're into vegan baking, you might want to look up 'green banana biomass', which can replace oil and/or egg (yolks) in recipes. Use sparingly, because this stuff can have a laxative effect.

Yes! Resistant starch is A.M.A.Z.I.N.G! Refrigerated (cooked) potatoes or rice is considerably healthier than just cooked, simply because of the change in the starch!

I don't think I ever used green bananas as an egg replacement, though. That's an interesting one!

Posted by: @veganostomy

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I don't think I ever used green bananas as an egg replacement, though. That's an interesting one!

It's a bit of a hassle to make, and the bananas need to be absolutely unripe. But, once you've made it, it stores pretty well in the freezer. Honestly tho, I'm just as happy using flaxseed or chiaseed as egg replacers.

Have you tried green banana flour/powder? It's marketed towards low carb/keto/paleo baking, but I find it works for my diarrhea and is much easier than chewing green bananas all day. I just make sure then one I buy is raw organic green banana and that it is safe for smoothies (ie consuming uncooked). The resistant starch/prebiotic element is only true if consumed raw. So I mix in a few tsps a day into some water right before eating. Tastes pleasantly like banana and is great long term.

Hi Kim,

That's for sharing that tip about banana flour. I haven't tried it, but it sounds like a much more palatable idea! LOL I really appreciate that.

There is certainly a difference between Green and yellow bananas as all the above comments indicate.Something else I found that Green Bananas help with sleep much better than Yellow Bananas.This is truly a remarkable finding that has not been reported before.Green Bananas seem to have a very relaxing effect on the nervous system and may somehow release Serotonin and Dopamine more so than the Yellow ones.I now take 2-3 Green Bananas for a lovely night of sleep which is very soothing.This is a very exciting finding which has amazing impact on the health of the Human Body beyond anything anticipated.

Very interesting, Joseph!

I have seen research about bananas having a positive effect on sleep quality, so I'm glad that you find green bananas to have benefits!

Are you eating them straight, or do you process them in some way to make it more palatable?