Calories in Banana Milkshake

The recipe makes one tall glass from 180 ml of milk, 40 g of peeled banana and 1 tablespoon of sugar. The milk is the main ingredient and the banana is a modest amount, less than a whole fruit of ordinary size. Home shakes often use a full banana or two and sometimes skip the sugar; gym-style shakes add oats, peanut butter or a second glass of milk; juice shops add ice cream. Each of those is a different drink. The 226 kcal is for a plain, sweetened, milk-heavy shake with a little banana in it.

Carbohydrate supplies 56% of the energy, fat 33% and protein 11%. The 31.6 g of carbohydrate is a mix of the tablespoon of sugar, the banana's sugars and starch, and the milk's own sugar; the data counts 27.5 g of it as sugars. The 8.2 g of fat is all from the milk, as is nearly all of the 6.4 g of protein. The banana brings flavour, a little fibre, 0.9 g, and less of the energy than people assume: the milk and the sugar carry most of it.

One glass is about 11% of a sedentary man's daily energy requirement and 14% of a woman's, so it is a snack or a small breakfast and not a drink to have alongside one. Its 6.4 g of protein is useful but modest; two glasses give 12.8 g at a cost of 452 kcal. For someone trying to gain weight that is a convenient way to add energy. For someone trying to hold or lose weight, it works when it replaces a meal or snack, and works against them when it is added on top.

A banana milkshake is easy to drink quickly and in large glasses, and it rarely feels like the 226 kcal it is. The 27.5 g of sugars in a glass comes partly from added sugar that the fruit makes unnecessary. For gaining weight, the shake is helpful for exactly the reason it is unhelpful for losing it. People with diabetes should ask their doctor or dietitian how fruit shakes fit their plan.