You should eat bananas after workouts!
Thankfully, this is no myth. Eating bananas actually works to help you recover from your previous workout and makes you ready to conquer the next one.
Heres how a banana helps you after a workout
1) Bananas Help Regain Your Energy:
Your body stores some energy in the form of glycogen in your muscle cells. After every workout, these glycogen stores need to get replenished. Carb-rich bananas help do just that!
Bananas help increase the production of insulin the hormone in charge of moving sugar to form those glycogen reserves.
2) They Prevent Painful Cramps:
A tough workout session and painful cramps may go hand in hand if you dont know how to take care of them.
Muscle cramps are usually a sign of a lack of essential electrolytes in the body. Look out for nausea, lethargy, or irritability. If you experience these as well after your hardcore workouts, electrolyte imbalance is most likely the case.
3) They Help In Muscle Recovery:
By reducing inflammation:
Inflammation is the bodys response to the damage done to muscle tissues during your workout. But it may come with swelling and pain that reduces the speed of muscle recovery.
If you dont have enough time to rest before your next workout session, inflammation may end up ruining it. Fortunately for us, bananas are full of polyphenols that help reduce inflammation.
By helping absorb protein:
Protein plays a primary role in muscle formation. But carbohydrates can help stimulate muscle cells, thus increasing the rate of protein absorption in the body.
Which Is The Best Time To Eat Bananas Before Or After The Workout?
The benefits of bananas are too many to ignore.
From the fiber to the potassium content, the natural sugars to polyphenols, each element in a banana helps boost your muscle health in some or another way.
So, it should be no surprise when we tell you that any time is a fine time to eat a banana. Thats right! You can have a banana before or after a workout, as well.
But whats the best time? Both!
Before
Before a workout, a banana can act as a performance booster. It also helps minimize damage to the muscle cells, which is essential if you want to recover faster post-workout.
After
But after a workout, a banana is essential for muscle recovery. It helps replenish your glycogen reserves and reduce the inflammation and cramps that may hamper your next workout session.
So, its good to eat a banana at both times.
Conclusion
So, are bananas good after a workout? They are! In fact, you can have them before workouts as well.
Apart from that, you can even have a banana after a workout at night if you feel you need a quick dose of energy then.
