Advertisement - Continue Reading Below breakfast recipes and present in every post-race goodie bag, bananas are somewhat of a running icon – and, it turns out, they really do deserve their icon status.
What makes bananas so good for runners?
A tasty and nutritional powerhouse, the humble banana is the UK’s most popular fruit. On average, people eat 10kg of the funny-shaped yellow fruit (about 100 bananas) each year.
Thanks to their nutritional value – they’re packed with carbs and potassium – bananas are loved by runners everywhere. But they also deserve some credit for being a generally fascinating piece of fruit. Their unique curved shape is a result of a scientific process called negative geotropism, where the banana reaches towards the sun to curve away from the earth’s gravitational pull.
Providing instant yet sustained energy, bananas are a pre-workout powerhouse. Since they have a low water content, they typically have more calories (a medium banana contains around 105 calories) and a higher carbohydrate content (27g) compared to other fruits, providing the all-important fuel you need to power you through your run. They are a great source of easy-to-digest carbs, and the sugar they contain is sucrose, fructose and glucose, which allows a sustained energy boost without digestive discomfort on the run.
One company was so passionate about bananas, they even made an edible, wearable race banana. Yep, you heard that right. In 2015, Dole Japan designed a device made from a banana to be worn by participants like a fitness watch. It displayed the time, measured heart rate, showed inspirational messages and could be eaten post-race. Watch out Garmin, the banana watch is here.
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Are bananas high in potassium?
Resting heart rate potassium, Fuelling for a marathon: How to get it right electrolyte levels in your body, helping to regulate your heartbeat and prevent muscles from cramping. There’s no denying that running is demanding on the heart. Therefore, as a runner, no matter the distance you’re covering, you should be prioritising your heart health. The high potassium in bananas is proven to help heart function and blood pressure regulation.
It's actually the bananas' potassium content which makes them ever so slightly radioactive. Don’t panic, though: it’s only trace amounts.
Can you eat too many bananas?
The short answer: no. While you might have heard rumours of it being possible to overdose on bananas due to the danger of high potassium levels, you’d have to eat *a lot* bananas to reach those dangerous levels.
The average banana, weighing 125g, contains 450mg of potassium – and An easy guide to refined carbohydrates for daily potassium intake for adults is 3500mg. That means, even if you ate six bananas, you still wouldn’t reach that level.
That said, don’t go overkill – even if bananas are your favourite fruit. A balanced diet is key, so bear that in mind when you’re eyeing up the fruit aisle.
Are bananas high in magnesium?
Running is a high-impact form of exercise, so strong bones are essential. It’s lucky, then, that bananas are also packed with magnesium, which helps your body use calcium and vitamin D, contributing to strong, healthy bones. The NHS recommends women aim for 300mg of magnesium a day for men and 270mg for women – and with the average banana containing around 32mg of magnesium, you’re on your way to that target.
Beyond benefitting the body, bananas can also make you happy. They contain tryptophan, which converts to serotonin – the mood-boosting hormone. Coupled with those post-run endorphins, this serotonin boost can really make you feel on top of the world – runner’s high and then some.
Ditch the sports drinks, grab the bananas
Fuelling for a marathon: How to get it right PLOS One found bananas to be a better choice than sports drinks for post-run recovery.
Researchers compared the effects of bananas and sports drinks and found that the fruit provided equal or greater anti-inflammatory benefits for exercisers. In the study, 20 male and female regular road-racing cyclists, aged between 22-50 years, completed several 47-mile bike rides. During one ride, they drank water. For the others, they were given water and 230ml of sports drink or half a banana every 30 minutes.
Cyclists who took in only water had relatively high levels of inflammation in their blood; this level was far lower if the cyclists had fruit or the sports drink. Interestingly though, the riders who ate bananas also produced less of a genetic precursor of the enzyme COX-2, which intensifies inflammation.
The study’s author and director of Appalachian State University’s Human Performance Lab, David Nieman, also found that bananas help you recover quicker after running. 'There’s no question that sports drinks work, but when you look at bananas, the sugar profile is almost the same. But bananas also have other nutrients – vitamin C and [vitamin] B6 and fibre and these unique metabolites – that you don’t get with a sports drink,' he said.
Wait, don't throw away the skin
Fun fact: the banana peel is fruitful too. There are several reasons why runners should be consuming the banana peel as well as the banana itself. In fact, the peel is believed to be more nutritious than the pulp. Packed with even more vitamin A, potassium, fibre and antioxidants, the banana skin protects your eyes, helps your heart, improves mood and can help with weight loss. What’s more, by eating the peel you’re doing your bit for the planet – considering it takes two years for a banana skin to biodegrade.
Granted, nibbling on the tough outer skin of a banana isn’t the most pleasant experience, so we recommend throwing it in a smoothie – although a high-powered blender will be needed.
All things considered, bananas make a great pre- or post-run snack, particularly for longer runs. And should you want to take your passion for bananas to another level, you could try and beat the world record for the fastest time to eat a banana with no hands. A speedy 8.57 seconds if you were wondering. Talking of hands, one last fun fact for you: a cluster of bananas is called a ‘hand’.
energy-dense foods for runners.
