Are bananas good for constipation?

Nobody has tested it. We found no randomized trial of ripe bananas in people with constipation, and a 2024 meta-analysis of 23 food studies in 1714 adults with chronic constipation included no banana at all. Fruit did help in that review, raising stool frequency by 0.36 bowel movements a week more than the fiber supplement psyllium, mostly on the strength of kiwifruit. The one banana trial in constipation used green banana in 80 Brazilian children. Fewer of them had hard stools, but they did not go more often.

Unsettled. Ripe bananas have simply not been studied for this. The answer stays open because the trials that exist are about other fruits, about unripe banana, or about people who were not constipated.

What the trials found

Fruit for constipation, with no banana in it

The 2024 meta-analysis covered kiwifruit, prunes, figs, mango, rye bread and several other foods. Kiwifruit alone raised stool frequency by 0.36 bowel movements a week over psyllium, an interval from 0.24 to 0.48. Prunes did no better than psyllium. A 2026 network meta-analysis of 19 randomized trials in functional constipation found that fruit-based foods raised how often people went more than fiber supplements or placebo, with moderate certainty. Its abstract does not say which fruits were pooled, and we could not get the full text to check for banana.

Green banana in children

In a randomized study of 80 Brazilian children and adolescents with functional constipation, split into five groups of about 16 with no placebo, green banana biomass alone cut the share of children with hard stools, straining, painful defecation and stomach pain. It did not raise the share going more than three times a week, and it did not reduce soiling. This was unripe banana pulp, and not the ripe yellow fruit.

Ripe bananas in healthy women

In a 60-day randomized trial of 34 healthy women who were not constipated, one banana twice a day lowered bloating against water and had no adverse effect on bowel habits. It did not test bananas as a treatment.

Green banana in childhood diarrhea

A meta-analysis of 9 randomized trials in 3996 young children with diarrhea, aged 8 to 34 months and mostly in Bangladesh, found green banana foods roughly doubled the hazard of the diarrhea resolving, a hazard ratio of 1.96 with an interval from 1.62 to 2.37. That is a relative figure, and the card gives no absolute number of days. Seven of the nine trials were open-label. Getting over diarrhea is not the same as relieving constipation, so this review does not answer the question on this page.

Who should be careful

Not for everyone. Babies with food protein-induced enterocolitis syndrome, a food allergy that causes vomiting and diarrhea. In 74 US children with it at one hospital, banana was a trigger in 24 percent.

Wild bananas with seeds are a separate risk. In Laos, 46 of 48 people with bowel obstruction from wild banana seeds needed surgery in 2009, and all had eaten the seeds. The seedless banana sold in shops is a different fruit. One case report linked dried banana flakes, taken for diarrhea, to a three-day fall in the effect of warfarin in a man in his thirties. It is a single case, and the mechanism was proposed and not shown. In the trial in 80 children, green banana biomass alone or with laxatives caused no reported side effects.

What expert bodies say

The NIH digestive diseases institute, NIDDK, lists fiber-rich fruits for constipation as berries, apples with the skin on, oranges and pears. Bananas are not on the list. The page is patient advice without its own analysis and was last reviewed in May 2018. We found no other agency statement on bananas and constipation.

How we searched

What would change this answer

• A randomized trial of ripe or green banana against a control in adults with chronic constipation, reporting how often people go and stool form.
• The fruit list of the 2026 network meta-analysis, to see whether banana is inside the fruit result.
• A larger placebo-controlled repeat of the green banana trial in children.

More on the fruit itself is on the banana page, and on fiber in general in the fiber guide.

Sources

1. ev-bnco-01 · Meta-analysis or systematic review · systematic review and meta-analysis, RCT data synthesized · n = 1714
   We included 23 studies (17 RCTs, 6 uncontrolled; 1714 participants): kiwifruit (n = 7), high-mineral water (n = 4), prunes (n = 2), rye bread (n = 2), mango, fig, cereal, oat bran, yoghurt, water supplementation, prune juice, high-fibre diet, no-fibre diet (n = 1). Fruits resulted in higher stool frequency than psyllium (MD: +0.36 bowel movements [BM]/week, [0.25-0.48], n = 232), kiwifruits in particular (MD: +0.36 BM/week, [0.24-0.48], n = 192); there was no difference for prunes compared with psyllium.
   
   Who: adults with chronic constipation in RCTs and uncontrolled trials
   Effect: fruits vs psyllium MD +0.36 BM/week (0.25 to 0.48), n=232, mainly kiwifruit; foods studied: kiwifruit, prunes, rye bread, mango, fig and others, no banana
   Certainty: Absence of banana is shown by the list of included foods; the review searched to July 2023.
   Aliment Pharmacol Ther, 2024 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the abstract
2. ev-bnco-02 · Meta-analysis or systematic review · systematic review and Bayesian network meta-analysis of RCTs · n = 19 RCTs
   For defecation frequency, fruit-based foods (category 1) were better than fiber supplements (moderate certainty), mineral water (low certainty), and placebo (moderate certainty).
   
   Who: patients with functional constipation in RCTs to August 2025
   Effect: fruit-based foods better than fiber supplements (moderate certainty), mineral water (low) and placebo (moderate) for defecation frequency
   Certainty: Which fruits were pooled is not given in the abstract; full text not in PMC (no_pmc). Banana is not named.
   Am J Clin Nutr, 2026 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the abstract
3. ev-bnco-03 · Randomized controlled trial(s) · randomized study, five arms, no placebo · n = 80
   On consumption of green banana biomass alone, a statistically significant reduction was observed in the proportion of children with Bristol Stool Form Scale rating 1 or 2, straining on defecation, painful defecation, and abdominal pain. Conversely, no reduction was observed in fecal incontinence episodes/week, blood in stool, and no increase was observed in the proportion of children with >3 bowel movements/week.
   
   Who: children and adolescents with functional constipation by Rome IV criteria, five groups
   Effect: green banana biomass alone: fewer children with Bristol 1-2 stools, straining, painful defecation and abdominal pain; no change in frequency >3/week or fecal incontinence
   Certainty: Small arms (about 16 children each), open design; green (unripe) banana pulp, not ripe banana.
   Jornal de Pediatria (Rio J), 2019, 95(1):27-33 (Cassettari et al.) · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the abstract
4. ev-bnco-04 · Randomized controlled trial(s) · randomized study, five arms · n = 80
   Green banana biomass alone and associated with laxatives was well tolerated, and no adverse effects were reported.
   
   Who: children and adolescents with functional constipation
   Effect: well tolerated, no adverse effects reported
   Certainty: Small trial; tolerability self-reported.
   Jornal de Pediatria (Rio J), 2019, 95(1):27-33 (Cassettari et al.) · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the abstract
5. ev-bnco-05 · Randomized controlled trial(s) · randomized controlled trial, banana vs banana-flavored drink vs water · n = 34
   Analysis of the gastrointestinal symptoms records revealed significantly lower bloating levels in the banana group, compared to controls, at 26-35 days (p = 0.009) and 51-60 days (p = 0.010). Banana consumption had also no adverse effects on evacuation patterns.
   
   Who: healthy women aged 19-45, BMI 24-30, no gastrointestinal disease
   Effect: lower bloating at days 26-35 (p=0.009) and 51-60 (p=0.010); no adverse effect on evacuation patterns
   Certainty: Women were not constipated; stool frequency change not reported as a benefit.
   Anaerobe, 2011 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the abstract
6. ev-bnco-06 · Meta-analysis or systematic review · systematic review and meta-analysis of RCTs, GRADE assessed · n = 3996
   GB-based food consumption significantly increased the hazard of resolution of diarrhea compared to standard treatment (HR 1.96, 95% CI [1.62; 2.37], p < 0.01; I2 = 52%).
   
   Who: children aged 8 to 34 months with acute or persistent diarrhea
   Effect: HR for resolution 1.96 (95% CI 1.62 to 2.37), I2 52%; persistent diarrhea HR 2.34
   Certainty: Seven of nine trials open-label; mostly Bangladesh. Supports the idea that green banana firms stool.
   Eur J Pediatr, 2024 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the abstract
7. ev-bnco-07 · Position of an expert body · agency patient guidance · n = —
   fruits, such as berries, apples with the skin on, oranges, and pears
   
   Who: people with constipation (US patient guidance)
   Effect: fruit examples: berries, apples with the skin on, oranges, pears; add fiber gradually
   Certainty: Patient advice without its own analysis; page last reviewed May 2018.
   NIDDK, Eating, Diet, & Nutrition for Constipation (NIH) · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the section
8. ev-bnco-08 · Observational data · retrospective survey and case series · n = 227
   Countrywide, 46/48 patients with BOWB required laparotomy in 2009 (incidence 0.8/100,000). All consumed WB seeds.
   
   Who: patients and relatives in Laos; national hospital survey
   Effect: incidence 0.8 per 100,000; all patients had eaten wild banana seeds; constipation the complication most often known (37.9%)
   Certainty: Wild seeded bananas, not the seedless dessert banana sold in shops.
   Trop Doct, 2011 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the abstract
9. ev-bnco-09 · Observational data · retrospective cohort · n = 74
   Banana (24%) and avocado (16%) rates were also much higher than in other studied populations, likely a reflection of different dietary and weaning habits in our area.
   
   Who: children with FPIES at Texas Children's Hospital
   Effect: banana 24%, avocado 16%, rice 53% of patients
   Certainty: Single tertiary center; FPIES causes vomiting and diarrhea in infants, not constipation.
   Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol, 2019 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the abstract
10. ev-bnco-10 · Laboratory or animal data · case report · n = 1
    Concomitant use of warfarin and banana flakes supplements may result in a reduced rate and extent of diarrhea and may be associated with subtherapeutic INR and decreased warfarin efficacy.
    
    Who: a man in his 30s on warfarin with diarrhea
    Effect: subtherapeutic INR for 3 days after banana flakes; probable interaction score 5
    Certainty: Single case; mechanism proposed, not shown.
    Nutr Clin Pract, 2016 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the abstract