Bananas - The new sports drink?

Bananas are a nutritional powerhouse. We all know that fruit is packed full of so many nutrients, but there are some particular qualities in bananas that make them unique.

Bananas Jemma O'Hanlon Dietitian Nutritionist

I don’t know about you, but growing up I vividly recall the infamous bananas song. Ba na na na na na na na na. Make those bodies sing (make those bodies sing)! You couldn’t help but sing along to this ever so corny yet catchy tune. I was also the kid at school who had a banana in my lunchbox every day. It was an easy snack for my parents to pack for me, and Mum would even make a little slice in the top of the banana so I didn’t have any troubles breaking it open with my little hands.

As I grew up in sunny Queensland where it feels like summer 11 months out of 12, we often also had frozen bananas as a snack after school. Any bananas that were getting a little spotty or brown would be wrapped in glad wrap and frozen, and then come afternoon tea time my brother and I would get to eat them, wrapped in a bit of paper towel like ice blocks, and they were truly delicious. If you have kids I’d highly recommend giving this a go. It’s a great way to make the most of overripe bananas and you can’t get a snack much cleaner and more natural than that.

Now of course, back then I wasn’t a gym junkie like I am now (and rightly so, I was too busy jumping on trampolines and chasing my brother around the house) but nowadays bananas serve a different purpose for me. And they can for you too. You see, some research published in PLOS ONE found in a small-scale study of cyclists, consuming bananas reduced a special type of inflammatory enzyme known as COX-2 when compared to both sports drinks and water. The cyclists ate half a banana every 30 minutes in a gruelling 75 kilometre ride, compared to a similar carbohydrate-containing sports drink or just plain water. The authors concluded that less of this particular enzyme should mean less inflammation, and to be honest, this doesn’t surprise me. Here’s why.

Bananas are a nutritional powerhouse. We all know that fruit is packed full of so many nutrients, but there are some particular qualities in bananas that make them unique. For example, bananas are rich in vitamin B6, providing 15% of your daily intake. Vitamin B6 plays an important role in supporting our brain health and keeps us in a tip top mood, so they’re ones you don’t want to skimp on. We all know bananas are rich in potassium, but did you know that this plays an important role in recovery as potassium plays an important role in supporting the muscles? Bananas are also rich in dietary fibre (2.4g per banana), which is perfect for keeping us fuller for longer. This means for the small number of kilojoules they contain, they’re going to give you some high-quality carbs and fibre to keep you satisfied post workout.

Now what about sugar? Because this is one that comes up ALL THE TIME. I can’t tell you how many people tell me they don’t eat bananas because they’re high in sugar. This drives me a little crazy. In fact, some might say it drives me bananas!! Yet come Friday night it’s the same people I catch at the pub downing several glasses of fermented grape juice. Let’s get real here. Bananas are not high in sugar (containing just 20g carbs per serve) and the natural sugars present in bananas are nothing to be worried about. Especially if you’re an active person. You see, these sugars might actually aid your performance, and this is what this new science may have discovered. What we do know is that as bananas ripen, the sugars change and become more easily absorbable, meaning they will be more likely to assist your recovery. On the flip side, we also know that slightly underripe or green bananas contain higher levels of resistant starch (a type of dietary fibre) which helps to reduce the risk of some cancers and is awesome for our gut health. You might have heard of the gut microbiome and how it’s now known as the 2nd brain – well this resistant starch provides top notch food for the gut and encourages healthy bacteria to keep our digestive health in good shape!

Bananas also have a low Glycaemic Index (GI), not a high one. So, those so called sugars are not going to send you into la la land or go straight to the hips – in fact they’re going to be slowly released and even more so if you team one with some good quality protein. So, the moral of the story is that bananas provide so many nutritional benefits and at all stages of ripeness. And forget those rubbish myths about sugars please – you now know better!

So when should you eat bananas – pre, during or post exercise? The answer is potentially all three. You could grab a banana as a pre-workout snack around 1 hour before exercise, or you could enjoy it post-exercise with some good quality carbs and protein. For example, on top of a hearty bowl of porridge or sliced over some peanut butter on toast. Or if you’re on the run, why not throw one in a healthy smoothie or peel one while sipping on your skinny latte. The body is most effective at replacing carbs and promoting muscle growth and repair 1 – ½ hours after exercise, so aim for this window if you can. In terms of during exercise, for most people, water is all you need, and it’s only if you were doing a heavy workout for over 90 minutes that you might want to squeeze in a banana to top you up. Of course, in the study’s example, performance of athletes is another kettle of fish altogether, and if you’d like some individualised advice I’d suggest chatting to an Accredited Sports Dietitian (sportsdietitians.com.au).

This article was first published in Fitness First Magazine and has been reproduced with permission.