For athletes who experience cramping, getting more dietary electrolytes can be key to alleviating that performance-hindering ailment.

Electrolytes like potassium and magnesium found in bananas are crucial for nerve response, muscle function and recovery. It has been shown that consuming foods with a combination of these sugars increases the gut’s ability to absorb more carbohydrates, providing more usable energy to fuel performance.Īthletes frequently turn to sports drinks to replenish electrolytes lost in sweat. The carbohydrates provided by bananas have an extra benefit fructose and glucose.

Since only 47% of athletes consume the recommended amount of carbohydrates, bananas are an easy dietary addition to meet these guidelines with natural, whole food. This macronutrient is also necessary to replenish muscle glycogen that becomes depleted during workouts. Carbohydrates are needed before and during exercise to provide a boost of energy that is easy for the body to pull from and use for explosive actions. The addition of a banana also provides a carbohydrate boost of roughly 27 grams which is roughly the same amount provided by most sport gels.

Banana calories myfitnesspal