# Do bananas have the same vitamin content before and after ripening?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-bananas-have-the-same-vitamin-content-before-and-after-ripening/157408>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [February 25, 2003, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-bananas-have-the-same-vitamin-content-before-and-after-ripening/157408 "2003-02-25T15:47:28Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Diletante](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/848f3c/32.png) [@Diletante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diletante)\
**Post date:** [February 25, 2003, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-bananas-have-the-same-vitamin-content-before-and-after-ripening/157408/1 "2003-02-25T15:47:28Z")

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Do bananas (or other fruit) have the same vitamin content when they are green as when they are ripe? What about after they’ve gotten a little overripe? Is an unripened banana just as “healthy” as a ripe one? Assuming that they were both cut down at the same point.

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**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\
**Post date:** [February 25, 2003, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-bananas-have-the-same-vitamin-content-before-and-after-ripening/157408/2 "2003-02-25T17:09:29Z")

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Ripe fruit is just fruit that started to rot, so if anything, ripe fruit might be losing a little vitamin content to deteriation.

Just before ‘ripe’ was what I always understood to be the best for the true content of the fruit or veggie. No fruit was lost to rot.

A frim banana with no rot might not be human ripe, but it is the freshest banana.

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**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\
**Post date:** [February 25, 2003, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-bananas-have-the-same-vitamin-content-before-and-after-ripening/157408/3 "2003-02-25T17:12:05Z")

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‘deterioration’. I know.

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**Author:** ![UncleBill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d26b3c/32.png) [@UncleBill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBill)\
**Post date:** [February 25, 2003, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-bananas-have-the-same-vitamin-content-before-and-after-ripening/157408/4 "2003-02-25T21:54:33Z")

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In ripening, starches convert to sugars, declining from 20-23% to 1-2% in fully ripe fruit. Soluble sugars increase from less than 1% to 20%. The sugars are comprised of approximately 20% glucose, 15% fructose, and 68% sucrose. No data on vitamin changes. Cite: _Bananas_,3rd Ed., R.H. Stover and N.W. Simmonds,