The FDA announces that bananas cause 300,000 deaths yearly. Do you stop eating them?

If I believed that bananas carried the same health risks as cigarettes, then " hell yes" I would stop eating them! I have seen too many of my relative's lives cut short for smoking. Besides ripe Plantains taste very similar to bananas, so what's the big sacrifice?

hubpages.com/hub/Plantain-Casserole.

I have been eating these critters all my life and have never had a problem with them and I am still around to share this news. Bananas are one of my favorite fruits, so unless I get bitten by a poisonous spider, I don't fear eating them.

Well, I damn sure would give it a closer look. I think it would be prudent to know the details on how these people are dying. What a shame it would be to give up eating bananas cold turkey and then find out that the majority of these folks didn't die from eating them but slipped on the peel on the way to the trash container.

One thing is for sure, Elvis would have never backed down and left them out of his fried nanner sandwich...no sireee! WB.

I don't trust governments to make decisions about my health. Nasty additives that have been proven to cause hyperactivity in children are permitted in foods. Medications they approve kill people.

Some people are allergic to foods and insects.

A better comparison would be an equally addictive legal substance, like alcohol. I never heard of anyone with a " banana addiction ". My parents smoked and then they quit.

They both have high blood pressure and other aliments. Bananas have no life threatening affects unless their's a preexisting condition like diabetes. Eating bananas have many benefits, where as consuming tobacco products don't.....other then calming the nerves of people addicted to it.It should be the choice of the consumer to become addicted to cigarette or bananas.

Free will for everyone when making an informed decision.

I find if you dip the unpeeled banana in a pint of whiskey and then light up the end of the banana and smoke it until it gets to within an inch of your lips it gives you a real health kick.

No, I will not stop eating bananas; actually I drink them. I use them in making smoothies. :-)I have been doing some research on alternative cancer treatments or cures and just came across an interesting claim.

Someone said the 4th leading cause of death is doctor induced (by pharmaceutical drugs approved by the FDA). I haven't checked out that claim yet, but it would not surprise me much if it is the case. I wouldn't blindly accept anything the FDA has to say.

Oh, I see it is a hypothetical question. No, I would not necessarily stop eating them. The FDA is not a trustworthy government agency.(But which ones are?) I would look to other sources for information.

The FDA is under the control of pharmaceutical companies that promote expensive drugs that often cause harm. As part of the deal, the FDA allows those while also trying to ban cheaper alternatives.

YES! The reason that tobacco has not been and never will be banned is quite simple.It is because tobacco has been a solid, reliable tax source in America since way back in Colonial times. Because of this, I foresee the government backing off of tobacco and beginning to promote it once again.

The Federal government and the states are broke! Ditto for alcohol. Prohibition was tried and failed.

It was repealed primarily because Uncle Sam needed tax revenue during the Great Depression. Many people drink and the various levels of government are going to get their take of the pot. Obviously, bananas do not fall into the exact category of alcohol and tobacco.

It would, however, astonish all of us as to how much tax revenue this one item of produce can produce. Besides, if your hypothesis could ever be proven about the number of deaths attributed, the Feds still wouldn't ban bananas from the market because practically all of them come from Latin America. We already have a big enough problem with illegal aliens. Besides, bananas are very versatile in the diet.

An ideal source of potash. One of my favorite berries!

There is always something that some total idiot working for the FDA wants to either ban or promote. Just this morning some FDA idiot was trying to say that we are now overdoing it with Vitamin D and Calcium yet doctors don't tell us this. I'd like to know how bananas are doing this killing of 300,000 and what the side effects and symptoms are fro eating bananas cuz I think the FDA person reporting this is smoking or shooting up some really good top grade dope.

I really love bananas and if that announcement was true,i should have been dead years ago.......maybe he meant the peel of the banana..........i'm an african and we survive on fruits like this........never killed anyone before.

I'd need more information. I don't react simply because the government releases information. I research it myself and come to my own logical conclusion.

I wish more people did that, frankly. Bananas and the FDA, notwithstanding...

Well.. first I would want to know why and/or how they cause deaths. I love bananas and have never known of anyone getting sick from eating them much less dying. I guess I would be a pretty hard sell on stopping eating bananas.

I'd probably forego the thirty or so bananas I eat each year. Just don't ask me to give up my mac and cheese. Bananas are probably not a good analogy to tobacco products.

Maybe coffee would be better? Any addictive food/drink would work because the addiction is what keeps people smoking despite the dangers. Denis Leary did a bit in the early- or mid-Nineties about tobacco warnings.

He said, "The FDA could change the warnings so that they took up the whole cover of the pack and we'd still smoke 'em. They could make a cigarette called Tumors, with a black pack and a skull and crossbones on the cover, and we'd line up around the block.

I'll never stop eating them I was brought up to believe they're good for you and I'm sticking with that theory.

No, I still eat them. And then toss them. They are biodegradable!

Two words: Banana Split. Stop eating bananas? Never.

Perhaps if they announced that beets or head cheese caused 300,000 deaths a year I could abstain, but not bananas. Why are you picking on banana's anyway? They already get enough flak for being shaped like a...well, you know.

Sorry about that, but I felt that enough people had given a sufficiently serious answer to this one. Though I would like to add that as long as something feels good, people will do it, hence the usage of alcohol and tobacco despite their considerable health detriments in some circumstances.

No. First, I don't believe something, just because the FDA says it, and second, there's plenty of contradicting information out there. Reality does not change in a moment, so either the FDA is just plain wrong, or else someone, somewhere, made a terrible mistake.

I would want to see the scientific evidence for myself, understand the methodology of the study, and how the raw data was used to derive the conclusion. By the time I got to the last one, I'm sure I'd be well enough informed to make my own decisions about whatever the study is.

Maybe they're choking themselves to death by eating the banana too quickly. Just a thought...

No, becuase I never started eating them. Bananas are the most disgusting fruit in the world! Lol.

Holy crap! Well, I don't eat that many bananas anyways...

The FDA is one source of opinions, amongst many. They are in litigation right now for failing to regulate toxins in antibacterial soap. thyroid.about.com/b/2010/08/19/fda-sued-... they've been too busy with this banana crisis.

I'd figure monkeys would be more at risk than humans.

Edit, Ah, got it, Hyperkalemia. Whether it works or not, I don't know, but, it is said that bananas are good to maintain healthy blood pressure, drug companies don't want that, they want you to take their tablets.

Well I know that they are the best source for potassium and I don't know why the FDA is even considering pulling them. But they are replacing the initial source for vitamins and minerals with synthetic forms. So I see why it idea even crossed their minds.

But stop eating them....no way.

The problem with bananas may be chemicals they have because of fertilizers and government should try to isolate the reason why Bananas are killing people instead of just putting in the category of alcohol and cigarettes and close their eyes. Anyway nice question and kind a eye opener for banana lovers.

Only if you eat the peel you can die! Otherwise bananas are one of the most healthful fruits packed with vitamin B's and potassium!

Interesting debate. I also question the FDA, the US is one of the few countries to pass through all these genetically modified crops. We are told they are safe for human consumption, but how can we possibly know the long-term impact on the human body when we can't test that until we have all eaten these foods for a few decades?

Concerning your question....with the way trans fats and salt have been treated lately...I am sure the media and internet hype would play a big role in the fate of the hypothetical banana conundrum.

Its the attack of the bananas!....I personally eat bananas on a regular basis, I'm currently 20 so I guess that should mean I shouldnt be alive right now. Recent Banana Injuries- John Doe - slipped on a banana peel and flipped 5 times in the air before landing directly on his nose. - 2003 August 5th- Jane Doe - ate to many bananas and heard a joke and laughed causing the banana mush to shoot our her nose.

Had to go to the emergency room to remove the excess. - Bkob(with a K) Jobber - ate a banana peel. 2010 January 28th.....Bananas are dangerous people... :).

I will think about and after research about it I will make my decision.

Nope, never! If I die at least I will be happy. Besides there are so many things that are making our life shorter that I really hard to keep up.

:).

By Patty Inglish, MS published 12 months ago.

Well yeah, I'd stop eating them. I like bananas, but not so much that I'd eat them if I knew they were bad for me. There are plenty of things that I would keep indulging in even though they might hurt me.

I don't smoke, but I've tried it, and I can see why people continue to smoke even knowing the risks. It alters your nerves in a way bananas can't.

People die in road accidents. Do you stop driving? People have stomach upset and diarrhea.Do they stop eating?

Reading all this too much will lead to mental stress , nothing else.

Population of the United States is alitlle over 300 million. Not counting smoking related deaths,cancer we should be down to about 30 million in ten years.

I stop eating them and if I have one - I give it to one of my smoker friends.

I won't stop eating bananas because they are nutrient rich. Potassium in banana is good for the heart. However, I will lobby for strict requirements to ensure safe levels of chemicals used in the growing stage and transport of bananas.

The plan to pull bananas off the market must have stemmed from the fear of unsafe levels of chemicals in banana.

Other than bananas, I've read that there have been over 1300 negative reports filed to the FDA against DePuy's Pinnacle hip implants. Patients who have had the hip replacement device are said to be suffering from pain and other symptoms of metallosis. More concrete information can be found on this site: depuypinnaclelawsuit.com/recall.

If eating bananas was proven to be dangerous by several sources, not just one (no matter how big a company) , I would stop eating them for sure. They aren't my favorite fruit, but I love to use them in baking.

Your hypothetical idea of 300,000 deaths could be quite close to reality. There is a very real health risk to the CHILDREN and adults who work in the large banana plantations because of the toxic chemicals the plantations use. So even though you peel your bananas, you may still want to purchase organic bananas, more for the worker's sake than your own.

I tell my causin im rostifarian and scarfe em down. I guess you could call me a chiller.

The difference between poisonous (bad for you) and not poisonous (not bad for you) is the dose. Sounds like another government agency justifying their existence.

Personally I like bananas, eat them regularly and find many healthful benefits. As long as they are available I plan to continue eating them. I just dispose of the peels carefully.

I have little confidence in the FDA these days; they've become a gang of politicians.

Looking at the long list of what the fda does suggest, I would more gladly take my choice from things the fda has nothing to do with. The fda is just another example of government tool gone wrong for the people. Gimme two bananas and a banana shake plz.

In my hypothetical scenario, I imagined that they contained a hitherto unrecognized toxin. I guess I should have been more clear; I was fishing for an analogy with cigarettes.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.