Banana equivalent dose

The banana equivalent dose (BED) is a mock unit of effective dose (E). It is equal to the committed effective dose due to the intake of the average amount of ⁴⁰K in a banana.

1 BED ≈ 0.1 μSv

Note that a banana does not contain pure radioactive ⁴⁰K, but natural potassium. Eating bananas, therefore, hardly affects the committed dose in reality because our metabolism ensures that any excess potassium in the body is almost immediately excreted in the urine.

Related unit

• banana equivalent activity