Banana intolerance

[Tunguska]

Every single time that I eat about 3-4 bananas cooked in a pan on medium for about 10 minutes, I get a kind of strong depression about 30 minutes later. A darkening comes over my frontal lobes, a strange flattening, which I've described as a "wall" (I'm not good at this). Of course it's not placebo because those things are delicious.

This has happened arbitrarily after consuming some other foods I can't identify a commonality. Bananas are the only one that have caused it every single time, at least 30 times (they're delicious). I'm wondering if anyone else has had this, part of an ongoing problem. I've rarely had crippling problems tolerating foods.

It hasn't happened with plantains or potatoes in similar amounts. Or other sugary fruits. Only organic and non-organic bananas. It's also happened after eating them raw but less consistently, can't remember if ripe or unripe. If cooked, ripe or unripe makes no difference.

It's not something I had in the past and I can't for the life of me figure out what is in these things causing it. I figure it shouldn't be the potassium since those other foods are high and I use a potassium supplement. Nor the B6 since it's a fraction of what you get in supplements. What's left? Chitinases (latex), but these are also in plantains. Serotonin, dopamine? Not supposed to cross the BBB. Quinine? Tyramine? Pesticides? What is in bananas that would trigger depression?

 

[eafw]

Might just be one of those things. Possibly the way you're metabolising the sugar - it's about 40g in three bananas, quite a lot to eat all in one go.

For some people they also act as a migraine trigger, so you might be getting a similar effect to that as well with the funny head you're describing.

 

[melamine]

Bananas are on some lists of possible allergy/mast cell disorder triggers. If you go down the list here you will see depression and conversely, mild eurphoria after eating:
http://mastcellblog.wordpress.com/symptoms/
Mast cell disorders are getting increasing attention these days as a potential problem involved in multi-system disorders.

 

[Valentijn]

I react to bananas sometimes. The worst reaction seemed to be swelling my airways a bit.

 

[Jonathan Edwards]

I wonder if it is tyramine. Bananas have tyramine and it increases if they are very ripe. It may also increase with cooking. There is something wicked about cooked bananas that smacks of tyramine to me. Tyramine produces insomnia and in big enough doses 'présentiment de mourire' - a sense of impending death. I had it once with two roasted onions in cheese sauce.

 

[melamine]

I react to bananas sometimes. The worst reaction seemed to be swelling my airways a bit.

Sounds to me like a mild anaphylactic/allergic reaction.

 

[optimist]

Bananas was the one food that I reacted the most to when I discovered something was utterly wrong with me. I used to be a "Banana-Man"

However, my problem was not depression, but what felt like getting litres of acid in the stomach...
It is interesting to see that others also react to bananas.

 

[Marco]

'présentiment de mourire'

Too many E's?

 

[melamine]

'présentiment de mourire'

Too many E's?

Oui. and not enough s?

 

[Gondwanaland]

@Tunguska if you are +/+ for MAO-A, this could be of relevance, as suggested by the reply by @Jonathan Edwards :
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/depression/expert-answers/maois/faq-20058035
That's a lot of bananas though!

 

[drob31]

Another thing I was thinking of is that they gas ripen fruits these days. So even though it's "ripe" it may have been sped up prematurely and still contains higher amounts of minerals/vitamins/amino acids/etc that a ripened banana might not have?

 

[Marco]

Oui. and not enough s?

Thanks. Missed that.

 

[Gondwanaland]

Another thing I was thinking of is that they gas ripen fruits these days. So even though it's "ripe" it may have been sped up prematurely and still contains higher amounts of minerals/vitamins/amino acids/etc that a ripened banana might not have?

I for instance am allergic to the high latex content of unripe bananas.

 

[JPV]

Bananas and Inflammation

High glycemic foods such as bananas tend to promote inflammatory reactions in the body. If you have a chronic inflammatory condition such as arthritis, you may want to limit your consumption of bananas and adopt a more anti-inflammatory diet by consuming other fruits.

 

[Jonathan Edwards]

↑
Oui. and not enough s?
Thanks. Missed that.

Actually this is wierd. The textbooks used to say 'présentiment de mort' but when I checked this on Google it only gave me the mourir first time, which I typoed. I Googled again and présentiment de mort was given but only in a German quote. I guess it should be présentiment de la mort so maybe this is an old English/German medical textbook wives tale. Maybe I added the accent when I reGoogled or something.

But now I am wondering where the extra s would go?

Anyway, I do recommend avoiding two roast onions with cheese sauce! Especially washed down with Chianti.

 

[Gondwanaland]

présentiment

préssentiment

 

[Jonathan Edwards]

préssentiment

Ah no! That is feeling I think - without the accent - pressentiment. I was talking of présentiment or, in English, premonition.

 

[optimist]

Je ne parle pas fracoais

 

[Seven7]

I am allergic to banana, by the time I had the test, I had figure it out since I develop bad sneezing and itchy throat and ears and nose. Also very runny nose (like a hose).

 

[Tunguska]

Thanks for all these replies. You're the seasoned veterans of intolerances, this is unusually strong for me.

I thought it could be carbs at first but I've done much worse with say orange juice without triggering. In fact I eat that much because otherwise I do better with them. For example cooked plantains feel food. I don't have migraines or not quite but who knows it could be another manifestation of the same thing.

Two days ago I had the flattening following some other mixed meal and was suggested to try zinc and copper, and along with methylfolate they managed to unblock it. But the day after I ate bananas and they don't work this time even in huge doses. The bananas are too powerful.

I wonder if it is tyramine. Bananas have tyramine and it increases if they are very ripe. It may also increase with cooking. There is something wicked about cooked bananas that smacks of tyramine to me. Tyramine produces insomnia and in big enough doses 'présentiment de mourire' - a sense of impending death. I had it once with two roasted onions in cheese sauce.

It could be. I've had similar issues with large amounts of cheese and dairy but less predictably and usually more along the lines of brain fog, delayed. Premonitions of death I've experienced in a different context, closer to anxiety? This is more like a flattening of emotions and dulled thought, and not quite what I'd described as brain fog either.

I'm normal for MAO A R297R (G), but my regular problems I figured have to do with low catecholamines. This feeling is particularly weird, it no doubt accompanies low catecholamines but it's not familiar in terms of those or serotonin. As if some circuits shut right off.

The only other compound I read about myself was quinine (sorry, I wrote quinone in the opening post) since bananas can allegedly contain dopamine quinine, but I have no idea if that's plausible.

Can't rule out mast cell disorder.