Since bananas are a nutritious fruit rich in vitamins and minerals, such as potassium, you may wonder if there is an upper limit on how much banana your baby can eat in a day.
Overall, bananas are rich in potassium which should not be consumed in excess in babies. Therefore, stick to no more than one medium banana per day to limit potassium intake. This also depends on whether your baby is also eating food rich in potassium.
In this article, we will cover more information about the upper limit of potassium, possible substitutes for a banana to avoid feeding your baby too much, and more. Read on!
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Can Babies Eat Bananas Daily?
It is safe for babies to eat a small amount of bananas every day. The main concern of bananas is their high potassium content. Too much potassium can harm the kidneys and more (source: National Institutes of Health [NIH]).
However, potassium has many benefits in the body, including regulating the heartbeat, blood pressure, and nerve functioning (source: Harvard Health).
On the other hand, it is preferred that your baby get their potassium needs from a wide variety of sources, including potatoes, beans, lentils, spinach, and more, rather than just bananas.
Therefore, it is not unsafe for your baby to have a banana every day. However, it is best to provide a variety of nutritious potassium-rich foods.
If your baby’s diet already contains a lot of other foods that are high in potassium, it may be best to substitute bananas for a different low-potassium fruit instead. For example, your baby can safely have pureed apples, blueberries, peaches, and more.
You could also replace bananas with low-potassium vegetables, like mashed carrots or peas.
How Many Bananas Can My Baby Eat?
Babies between seven and 12 months of age have an adequate intake (AI) of 860 milligrams of potassium each day (source: NIH). For reference, an entire medium banana contains 422 milligrams of potassium.
Therefore, in terms of potassium content, your baby can have a medium banana each day without exceeding the potassium recommendation. However, keep in mind that this may differ for babies who already consume many other high-potassium foods.
Additionally, based on the age of your baby, only certain serving sizes are appropriate per feeding. For instance, around six months of age, your baby can have one or two tablespoons of food per feeding (source: Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia).
For an older baby, they can begin to have larger and larger serving sizes of foods.
Let’s summarize this information in the chart below (source: Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia):
| Age in Months | How Much Banana Can Your Baby Eat? |
| 6 | 1 to 2 tablespoons pureed banana |
| 7 | 2 to 4 tablespoons mashed banana |
| 8 | 2 to 4 tablespoons mashed banana |
| 9 | 2 to 4 tablespoons mashed banana |
| 10 | Up to a medium banana cut into bite-sized pieces |
| 11 | Up to a medium banana cut into bite-sized pieces |
| 12 | Up to a medium banana cut into bite-sized pieces |
It is best to avoid sweetening your baby’s bananas with anything since the banana is already sweet, and too much sugar is not healthy for your baby.
However, feel free to add a small dash of cinnamon to your baby’s bananas to increase the flavor and help introduce them to variety in their diet.
Also, make sure that the bananas you are feeding your baby are not sweetened with honey because babies under 12 months old are at an increased risk of infant botulism from the spores present in honey.
Is a Whole Banana Too Much for a Baby?
Once your baby reaches ten months old, you can gradually increase the amounts of bananas you are feeding them each day.
In terms of potassium content, it is safe to feed an entire medium-sized banana to your older baby. Just make sure it is soft and cut into small bite-sized pieces.
I hope this article helped break down the safety of bananas in your baby’s diet and how many bananas they can have daily.
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