Unbalanced diets that overemphasize a single food are rarely desirable, but the concerns that may circulate online about such regimens may be unfounded. One such fuss is about eating bananas. Can you really overdose on bananas?
What Is the Real Story on Eating Bananas?
Q. My daughter eats several bananas a day. Can this be considered a deadly amount?
A. There is a persistent rumor that eating more than six bananas a day could be hazardous because of excess potassium.
While bananas indeed contain this essential mineral (about 450 mg per banana), it would be extremely difficult to eat enough bananas to cause potassium overload. The daily recommended intake of potassium is more than ten times that much.
While bananas are rich in potassium, other foods also supply this mineral. An avocado has more than 1000 mg.
Eating Bananas and Potassium Overload:
Most people won’t develop hyperkalemia (potassium overdose) from eating food, but there is one case report of a teenage girl with anorexia nervosa who developed high potassium by eating nothing but 20 bananas a day for about two years (Brain & Development, July, 2007). We hope that your daughter is not eating so many bananas, and that she includes other foods in her diet.
Salt Substitutes Could Cause Hyperkalemia:
Some people using salt substitutes made of potassium chloride have gotten into trouble (Clinical Kidney Journal, Feb., 2014). These can provide a great deal of potassium in a relatively small quantity of food, as can certain nutritional supplements promoted for building muscle (American Journal of Emergency Medicine, Nov., 2011).
Drugs and Potassium Problems:
People with kidney failure and those taking drugs that increase potassium levels might need to watch their intake. Such drugs include ACE inhibitor blood pressure pills like captopril or lisinopril and potassium-sparing diuretics such as triamterene and HCTZ (Dyazide). One 77-year-old woman taking enalapril and eating a potassium-rich diet died with hyperkalemia after taking rofecoxib (Vioxx) (Journal of Emergency Medicine, May, 2002). It is possible that the Vioxx alone could have killed her, as it contributed to so many other deaths.
