Do bananas make you fat or do they build muscle

Do bananas make you fat or do they build muscle? Thanks to their carbohydrates, bananas are considered the ultimate sports snack because they provide you with energy quickly. But are they also suitable for building muscle?

No other fruit is as popular among athletes as the banana. There is a good reason for this: it provides quick energy and is therefore an ideal snack shortly before or after training.

But is this only the case for endurance sports or do strength athletes also benefit from it? Do bananas promote muscle building or could they even hinder it? And is it OK to eat bananas if you want to lose weight?

We’ll tell you what the “fattening image” of bananas is all about, what nutrients are hidden under the yellow peel and whether they’re also good for building muscle.

Do you want to achieve quick results in building muscle? Then you not only have to train hard, but also tailor your diet to your goal. This is what the perfect post-workout meal looks like

Nutritional values* of bananas: This is what they contain

A medium-sized banana (weighs an average of 110 grams) provides around 105 calories and a relatively high amount of carbohydrates (24 grams). This makes it one of the most nutritious fruits and is relatively high in calories compared to many other fruits.

Nutritional values for 1 banana (around 110 g per fruit)

calories	105 kilocalories
carbohydrates	24 grams
of which fructose	about 4 grams
fiber	2 grams
proteins	1 gram
fats	0 grams
magnesium	40 milligrams
potassium	432 milligrams
calcium	10 milligrams
iron	0.4 milligrams
vitamin C	13 milligrams
folic acid	22 micrograms
vitamin A	42 micrograms
vitamin E	0.3 milligrams

However, that shouldn’t be a reason to cut bananas from your diet. It’s precisely the short-chain carbohydrates they contain that provide a quick energy boost when exercising. And if you compare the calorie content with other snacks, such as bars or nuts, it’s quite low.

Another plus point: The high magnesium and potassium content makes bananas particularly interesting for athletes: With 40 milligrams of magnesium and 432 milligrams of potassium, which a medium-sized banana provides on average, they are an optimal muscle protector. Studies have shown that both minerals are important components of energy metabolism, reduce fatigue and improve regeneration . They are also responsible for communication between muscles and nerves. This has to work smoothly so that you can give your all during training. But a banana cannot prevent or cure muscle cramps, that’s a myth. 10 snacks that give you extra power just before training

Do bananas make you fat?

The sweet fruits have to fight against this prejudice again and again. With the high calorie and sugar content, that’s no surprise, is it? Not really. If you just look at the relative proportion of nutrients (and don’t take the water content into account!), carbohydrates stand out in terms of quantity, with a proportion of over 90 percent, yes.

But don’t let that fool you: If you look at all the components of bananas together – including the high water content of over 70 percent – the carbs only make up a small part. This makes it clear: bananas are not the calorie bombs that many people think they are.

And what about the high (fruit) sugar in bananas? Yes, bananas contain a lot of sugar, both glucose and fructose. Too much fruit sugar, especially in the form of syrup in processed foods, can actually make you sick and, according to studies , promote insulin resistance, obesity (especially excess belly fat), fatty liver and other metabolic diseases.

Natural fructose in fruit (and vegetables) is absolutely fine, however, because fruit is good for your health due to its ingredients, as proven by numerous studies . The German Nutrition Society (DGE) recommends 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day (3x vegetables: 2x fruit) – no matter what kind.

Eat a varied diet and choose other fruits besides bananas

Bananas also have a relatively low glycemic load (GL). This factor indicates how much 100 grams of a carbohydrate-containing food affects your blood sugar level. Foods with a high GL send it on a rollercoaster ride and cause cravings. Bananas have a GL in the middle range due to their high fructose content. In other words: your blood sugar level rises after eating a banana, but does not immediately fall again. A clear plus point for the yellow exotic fruit.

In summary, bananas can only make you fat if you eat them in excess, i.e. if you regularly give your body more calories than it uses. As long as you enjoy bananas in moderation, i.e. eat about one banana a day, you will definitely benefit from this quick source of energy. And bananas are definitely better than chocolate. How to Find the Best Time for Muscle Building Training

Are bananas good for building muscle?

Classic muscle-building foods are usually high in protein , such as eggs or wings. Studies have shown that increased protein intake in combination with strength training is the best way to build muscle effectively.

However, bananas do not score highly in terms of protein content, as they only provide a meager 1 gram per 100 grams. Nevertheless, they are recommended for strength athletes – as a healthy source of energy before or after training.

As a pre-workout snack, the simple carbohydrates in bananas (glucose and fructose) give you a quick energy boost without putting too much strain on your stomach before exercise. That’s because bananas are easy to digest. (Exception: green banana!). Snacked on after exercise, the carbs (especially glucose) help you replenish your empty glycogen stores (energy stores). Endurance athletes can also grab a banana during training. A study with cyclists showed that bananas are just as effective as a carbohydrate drink.

Bananas before or after training?

Bananas provide you with new energy quickly, mainly due to the two sugar components glucose and fructose. The simple sugar glucose goes straight into the blood, causes the blood sugar and insulin levels to rise and thus supplies the body with energy. The fructose takes a metabolic detour via the liver, where it is converted into glucose, among other things, and thus has no effect on your insulin level – but still provides your body with energy with a slight delay.

A banana before or after your workout provides quick energy

Whether you need the energy boost before or after training is up to you. If you are an endurance athlete, you can also grab a banana during exercise if you notice that your strength is waning. Bananas are ideal as a last little snack before a run or workout in the gym because:

bananas before exercise

• are easily digestible
• provide you with quick energy for training
• contain magnesium as potassium for your muscles

Directly after exercise, a banana will also refill your empty glycogen stores (glycogen is the stored form of sugar/energy in the body). However, you should eat a post-workout meal one to two hours after training.

Ripe or unripe bananas – which is healthier?

Whether you prefer your banana yellow, a little brown or bright green is of course a question of taste. But the degree of ripeness also affects your digestion.

As mentioned above, bananas are generally easy to digest – except for green bananas, which can be heavy on your stomach and lead to constipation. The reason: unripe, very green bananas contain a lot of starch (complex carbohydrates that are difficult to digest). The riper the banana, the more starch is converted into simple carbohydrates and thus becomes easier to digest. However, this does not mean that green bananas are unhealthy, as studies show that unripe bananas have health benefits.

Fitness Recipes with Bananas

You can snack on bananas straight from the peel, you can also bake with them or use them in a smoothie. Combined with whey, oatmeal and peanut butter, you can make a quick mass gainer shake for hardgainers that provides plenty of calories. Or how about these delicious protein pancakes with banana?

Ingredients for 1 serving:

• 1 banana
• 2 eggs
• 15 g whey protein powder
• 1 pinch of cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon coconut oil

Preparation: Mix the banana, eggs, whey and cinnamon in a blender to form a smooth dough. If you don’t have a blender, mash the banana with a fork in a bowl, stir in the eggs and protein powder and beat everything by hand until fluffy. Heat some coconut oil in a pan and fry small banana pancakes in it. You can top these with low-fat quark, honey, fresh banana pieces and nuts, for example.

Healthy athlete’s breakfast: banana pancakes with an extra portion of protein

How to store bananas properly: How to keep them yellow for a long time

To ensure that bananas end up in the supermarket nice and ripe, they are harvested unripe, which is why they can sometimes still be a little green. Ripening usually only takes a few days. To ensure that these healthy nutrient bombs remain edible for a long time, they should definitely not be kept in the fridge. The cold causes black discoloration – which is not a bad thing, by the way. The same applies to brown bruises, because overripe bananas are still delicious to eat and can be used as a natural sweetener in a smoothie or protein shake, for example.

When storing them, however, you should be aware that bananas do not “get along” with every fruit in the fruit bowl: some varieties, such as apples, give off ethylene. This is a ripening gas that causes bananas to ripen faster – and therefore also turn brown faster.

Conclusion: Bananas are the perfect source of energy before and after strength training

A banana is more than just a quick snack to recharge your energy levels. With its numerous health benefits, it has truly earned the title of “athletes’ favorite fruit.”