Can this really be true?
Bananas are one of the worldÂ’s most popular fruits, stuffed with vitamins and minerals. On the face of it they are good for you, so why do some people think they could be fatal?
Â“It is a fact. Potassium levels are dangerously high if you have six bananas. So how dangerous is potassium? Actually, it is crucial for survival and can be found Â“within every single cell of the body,Â” Â“We use it to help generate an electrical charge which helps the cell function properly. It helps keep your heart rate steady, it helps trigger insulin release from the pancreas to help control
blood sugars, and more importantly keeps blood pressure in check.Â”
However, if the level of potassium in the body is too low or too high it can result in an irregular heartbeat, stomach pain, nausea and diarrhoea.
Potassium chloride is even one of the chemicals used in lethal injections in the US, as extremely high doses can cause cardiac arrest.
But for a healthy person, you would probably need around 400 bananas a day to build up the kind of potassium levels that would cause your heart to stop beating... Bananas are not dangerous - and in fact they are, and always have been, very good for you.Â”
Adults should consume about 3,500mg of potassium per day, according to the UKÂ’s National Health Service. The average banana, weighing 125g, contains 450mg of potassium, meaning a healthy person can consume at least seven-and-half bananas before reaching the recommended level.