Aside from healthy breakfast and dessert, bananas are considered the perfect post-workout food by athletes, runners, and bodybuilders. This tropical fruit is affordable, can be digested easily, and contains essential micro and macronutrients indispensable for restoring worn-out muscles during the workout period. Bananas can provide the much-needed carbohydrates that can regain your energy quickly.
Carbohydrates found in bananas are known to provide the essential energy source to prevent your body from burning out your body fat. As soon as your body lacks sufficient carbohydrates to burn, it will begin grabbing your body fat which is harder to digest. This will result in dizziness, weakness and can lead to massive body fatigue.
Bananas can also satiate hunger, which is essential during your post-workout. If your body doesn’t feel desire, it will minimize the release of fatigue—providing you enough energy to move for your daily workout. It also contains compounds that can reduce your body’s inflammation related to the overusing of your muscles and joints.
This tropical, curvy fruit also contains potassium and magnesium—essential elements for your body that can relieve muscle cramps. It also has enough moisture to replenish your lost water without the fear of bloating your stomach area. Eating two pieces of banana after your workout routine is enough to fill your tired muscles.
Can I Eat Banana After Workout?
It is recommended to eat bananas one hour after your training. Studies reveal that eating bananas after a workout provides carbohydrates and water. These compounds are scientifically known to improve the recovery of one’s body during the post-workout period. As mentioned earlier, bananas are an excellent source of carbohydrates. Consuming foods rich in carbohydrates after a workout can help release the natural insulin in your body.
Bananas replenish glycogen to your muscles
Insulin is essential to release glycogen to your body, stored on the body’s muscle cells. Glycogen is a by-product of burning carbohydrates, which provide energy all over the body. Once the body becomes more sensitive to insulin, it will give the glycogen way to replenish your body’s muscles.
For people who are working out daily, eating bananas after a workout will create a glycogen deposit in your body. This will prevent your body from outsourcing fat which can stagger your body further. Studies also suggested that having a carb-rich diet is essential for athletes, runners, and bodybuilders for the body to replenish in less than 24 hours.
Bananas aid in utilizing protein efficiently
Combining bananas with protein-rich fruits like red meats and fish can help your body to utilize protein at a higher rate. Since the bananas contain components that can heal your body faster, it provides speedy recovery for your muscles to withstand resistance-based workout. This process is done through the help of the carbohydrates found in bananas. Carbohydrates stimulate the muscle’s activity, creating a gap for the protein to absorb faster.
Eating protein-rich foods with ripe bananas can increase the condensation of your muscle, thus limiting the breakage of your worn-out body. This fantastic combination can improve your muscles’ overall health and strength, increasing your overall strength essential for muscle-straining workouts like running, weights, and cardio exercises.
Bananas reduce inflammation of your body
Aside from being a great source of carbohydrates, bananas contain other beneficial compounds such as dopamine and polyphenols. Dopamine is a form of neurotransmitter created when you consume foods that can stimulate its production. Once produced, it sends messages to your brain that can further improve your body’s stimulation.
For people under extreme physical and mental stress, dopamine acts as the mind’s switch for you to feel lighter. This is because dopamine stimulates your body’s motivation, pain processing, and movement. That is why eating bananas will instantly reduce pain in your muscles—and you will feel lighter than ever. It also provides enough mental stability for you to work through mentally draining workout routines.
On the other hand, polyphenols are naturally produced compounds available on specific plants. Consuming fruits that are packed with polyphenols can boost the body’s digestion and brain health. Further studies also reveal that it can protect the body against type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and cancer-causing radicals.
Eating bananas release polyphenols in the form of antioxidants—that can neutralize your body from damaging itself. It can also reduce your muscles’ inflammation, leading to several chronic illnesses such as heart disease and cancer. It also prevents your blood from clotting inside your bloodstream that can lead to stroke, pulmonary embolism, and deep vein thrombosis.
Should You Eat Banana Before Exercise?
Eating banana after the workout is proven to help your body to replenish your tired muscles and bones. Consuming bananas before your exercise, however, can provide a different aid for your body. Bananas can be substituted for pasta during the carb-loading method. Runners, athletes, and bodybuilders use the carb-loading way to supply glycogen to their bodies before their main event.
While pasta and potatoes are the staple choice by some, eating bananas can also give the same carbohydrates needed for your body to store glycogen. Bananas are ideal carb-enriched fruit compared to apples, peaches, and pears—thanks to their low fiber content. A high dose of fiber can cause stomach issues while in the middle of the race.
Fiber improves digestion, but too much of it can act as a form of laxative. This gives discomfort to any athlete—decelerating their overall performance. While pasta can recharge the body’s glycogen levels, the oils, butter, and cheese mixture on the pasta can disrupt the digestive tract.
People with lactose intolerance replace their pasta with banana slices. The suggested period to start eating bananas is two to three days before the big day. Eating a day before the race is not enough time for your body to process the carbohydrates found in bananas. Carbohydrates need 24 hours to convert in the form of glycogen slowly. This will also prevent you from having an interrupted moment due to lower bowel movements.
To improve your body’s performance, eating a banana 30-60 minutes before a workout is suggested. Eating two banana pieces before a workout will provide enough glycogen for your body to digest while doing your workout routines. You can include other carbohydrates like oats, bread, and rice to increase your carbohydrate content.
Allow the bananas and other carbohydrates to be processed further before your workout. Eating a banana while working out is not recommended, so you must take your time digesting those carbohydrates before doing your routine. If you continue your workout right after eating, it will cause a feeling of bloating and fullness.
Also, the stomach acid may begin reaching your esophageal tract—which can irritate. The inflamed esophagus can lead to acid reflux, belching, and even vomiting. It will also speed up your metabolism—which can give you a quick bathroom time while you’re in the middle of your session. This is time-consuming and depletes the flow of your workout.
To prevent turbulence on your workout, you may consider the following recommendations:
- If you eat bananas before your workout, you can return to the field after 30-60 minutes. It will allow your body to digest the banana fully—transforming these carbohydrates into glycogen. This is essential for you to prevent staggering while you are in the middle of the workout.
- Suppose you have less than 24 hours recovery period. In that case, it is suggested to eat your bananas right after you’ve finished your workout. This period is when your body will quickly reconstitute your stomach’s content to transform it into your energy. However, if you didn’t work out within a day—the processed point will be redeposited to your stomach. This will be transformed in the form of fat or gases that can bring discomfort to your body.
- If you have more than 24 hours to recover, you can eat your bananas 30-60 minutes after the workout. This allows your stomach to use the remaining carbohydrate storage of your body. The consumed banana will be stored and saved for the next day’s workout routine. It will also allow your body to process the nutrients to replenish your worn-out muscles and tissues.
Is It OK to Work out on an Empty Stomach?
Working out with an empty stomach sounds like a fantastic deal. Since your body doesn’t have excess calories to work on, it will diminish your calories. While several overweight people use fast exercise methods, this could be a case-to-case basis for some people. During the fasted state, you will begin doing your exercise routine just before you eat your breakfast.
Many believed the fasted state routine could significantly improve weight loss. This method, also known as fasted cardio—runs with the theory that the body will feed on its stored fat and carbohydrates rather than those recently consumed. Due to the lack of in-depth research, it cannot be confirmed whether the fasted cardio routine is a better alternative than those eating before and after the workout.
As mentioned earlier, working without carbohydrates may lead to the staggering of your body. A body without stored carbohydrates cannot reproduce glycogens essential for repairing your body’s worn-out muscle and tissue. If your body doesn’t have enough glycogen, it doesn’t have enough protein to fix it. This will result in extreme soreness that can hinder your workout routine.
Due to the lack of carbohydrates, your body will try to draw out your body fat to burn out energy. Fat burning during the workout is not recommended since it takes a more extended period to be utilized as a form of energy. Other than that, the fat collected will not resonate with the reduction of your body’s overall fat percentage.
Several dieticians recommend eating bananas before and/or after the workout period. Whether you eat once or twice the recommended periods, it will give you more benefits than losses. Eating carbohydrate-rich foods like bananas before a workout will provide the energy for you to complete the routine. Eating after the exercise will help you repair worn-out muscles to prevent severe soring on your tights, legs, shoulders, and back.
Are Bananas Good for Muscle Building?
Fruits are considered superfoods—it provides essential nutrients and minerals to maintain your body’s well-being. These delicious foods are healthy options for you to rebuild your muscles. For people who want to improve their muscle build-up, eating fruits will provide room for your body to accommodate protein coming from other food sources like meat, fish, and shellfish.
Bananas are a sweet, affordable, and reliable tropical fruit available in global stores inside and outside the United States. This nutritious, dense, yellow fruit is jam-packed with vital micro and macronutrients with several benefits. It includes improved digestion, support on heart health, and reestablish muscles to take up protein. Including bananas in your muscle-building diet is vital since it can reduce post-workout sores and pains.
After spending straining hours inside the gym, eating bananas can help you replenish your muscles quickly compared to rest for a long time. Bananas produce compounds that allow your body to consume protein faster. Once the protein is created, it will begin repairing your muscles and tissues to be prepared for the next day’s workout.
Building up your muscles is an anabolic process. That means that it requires an endless supply of energy from your body, which can be derived from your intaking food. Consuming nutritious foods with lower calorie count will help your body burn fat faster than those with higher calories. In the case of bananas, they can provide the primary source of carbohydrates for your body to have sufficient energy. Mixing it with protein and healthy fats will create a shield against muscle cramps, injuries, and body soring.
A medium-sized ripe banana can contain the following nutrients:
- 105 calories
- 3 grams of protein
- 27 grams of carbs
- 3 grams of fiber
- 9 percent of the daily intake for potassium
- 10 percent of the daily intake for copper
- 14 percent of the daily intake for manganese
- 11 percent of the daily intake for vitamin C
- 25 percent of the daily intake for vitamin B6
