Featured Image Credit: Anjana Sharma/Getty Images
Topics: Health, Social Media
Ella Scott
Redditors have unlocked a new, random fear for 2026, and it’s eating bananas, if you can believe it.
Not only are bananas a good source of potassium, but they’re packed with Vitamins C and B6, as well as antioxidants.
Some people swear by chowing down on one of the yellow wonder fruits per day, with EatingWell reporting they may increase energy, improve your fibre intake, and possibly reduce the risk of developing a chronic disease.
But, like all of nature’s produce, they can become compromised in the wild.
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Fruit flies are known to hitch a ride and lay eggs on their skins; quality can be impacted by fungal leaf spot diseases, and they may even be stunted in growth due to Banana Bunchy Top Virus (BBTV).
Apparently, the insides of them can be impacted too, as a Reddit user found out earlier this week.
Taking to the popular mildlyinteresting Reddit thread, the user, who goes by the moniker Nyosses, posted a picture of their banana.
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Running down the core of the half-eaten fruit was what appeared to be a flaky, brown sludge.
“Anybody knows what that is? I ate 3 bananas,” the original poster wrote.
Social media users have flocked to the post to have their say.
One commented: “All I know is: what the hell.”
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“Great, now I need to add bananas to my list of fears,” a second typed.
Someone else remarked: “Over how long of a period? Sounds like you ate 3 bananas back-to-back before seeing the brown centre.”
The original Redditor claimed that they had eaten the fruits over a three-day period, while another replied: “Idk but if you end up with superpowers let us know.”
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A fifth social media user may have the answer though.
They claimed that the bizarre growth was perhaps a fungus, most likely Mokillo.
“You should notify the place where you got the banana in case others are affected,” they added.
According to the Government of Canada, there are a variety of plant diseases that can cause the inside of bananas to take on a red discolouration.
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Firstly, it could be Mokillo, also known as Red Finger.
This bacterial disease can cause red discolouration in bananas, and, although unappealing to eat, it is not a threat to human health.
The flaky inside may also have been Nigrospora, a genus of fungi that often attacks the perishable product after harvest.
Infection does not usually spread to the banana peel, meaning you often don’t know your item is infected until it’s too late.
The Redditors’ theories have been backed up by Dr. Bryan Quoc Le, a food scientist and engineer from Puyallup, Washington.
In 2024, he spoke to Newsweek about a fungi-infected banana, which was also shared via social media.
“The dark brown and red lines that can form inside a banana are caused by plant pathogens that commonly infect the banana plant,” he began.
"They are caused either by a series of bacteria or fungi that often devastate banana plantations. However, these pathogens pose no threat to human health. If caused by the fungus nigrospora, consuming too much of the banana can cause gastrointestinal upset.”
If you come across a banana that looks like the ones shared by internet users and you’re not sure what to do, Angel Luk, a registered dietitian from British Columbia, Canada, has the answer.
“When in doubt, throw it out,” she told the publication.