When, during the match at the Australian Open in January of this year, tennis player Coco Vandewey refused to continue playing unless someone provided her with a banana, many ridiculed her request. However, a new study showed that the athlete was right.
Just like sports energy drinks, bananas are loaded with sugar. A medium-sized banana contains about 15 grams of sugar, which supplies the muscles with energy during exercise, enabling longer and more intense training, and faster recovery of the body, writes the New York Times.
When consumed during physical activity, bananas replenish lost nutrients and prevent inflammation just like sports drinks, which are artificial and more expensive than this natural food.
Sports drinks also do not have numerous additional beneficial effects that bananas offer, such as the introduction of fiber and vitamins C and B6 into the body, scientists from Appalachian University point out.
They conducted a study during which the blood of 20 cyclists divided into two groups was analyzed.
One group was given water and half a banana every half hour during a 75-kilometer bike ride, while the other group took water combined with 235 milliliters of a sports energy drink.
The results showed that, unlike sports drinks, bananas contain unique substances that inhibit the gene responsible for pain and inflammation after exercise. It is the same gene that is affected by painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs, says study author David Nieman.
Bananas, therefore, act on us as a pain reliever, only without negative side effects, Niman adds.
Scientists, however, do not yet know exactly how that process works, reports B92.
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