ExRx.net

Hey y'all.

Been hearing mixed messages about the humble banana. Some say pre-workout. Some say after. Some say both. Some say they aren't great 'cos they contain a lot of fructose. This can sit around your waist (that's bad for me.)

Should I just have a Mars bar or something like it straight after with my shake? I mean..is glucose better for this sort of thing?

this is one of my biggest nutritional pet hates, and a prime example of the internet doing more harm than good.

Fructose in fruit is nothing to worry about. Fruit is SO GOOD for you. Fructose is stored preferentially in the liver by the body, so in theory if you ate a lot of fruit it would make you fat due to the liver not being able to store than much, but you would have to eat a TON of fruit.

There is such a small amount of fructose in fruit it's not worth worrying about. The danger from fructose comes from High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS). It's used as a sweetener in the processed crap you shouldn't be eating anyway, and it will make you fat (although there's some debate as to whether it's really that much worse than normal sugar). In any case, it's only in the foods you shouldn't eat anyway.

So fruit = very very good
HFCS = very very bad (but if it makes you fat it's your own fault for eating those crappy foods in the first place)

After your workout, just have whatever you want, you'll be fine

A Mars bar is not food. Don't confuse that with a banana which is food. Any discussion going forward has to start with this. At any rate, the sugar in a Mars bar is a combination glucose and fructose, probably in similar ratios to a banana.

Fructose is processed directly by the liver without causing an insulin spike. It is very good at replenishing glycogen, which is important if you need to be able to efficiently use your muscles. Glucose will spike your insulin which, in the presence of protein, will help protect your muscle. The before or after depends on your training goals. Before gives you more endurance during the actual exercise, after, helps your recovery after the exercise. Like in most things, the right amount is just right and too much is too much. It's the too much that leads to fat gain. How much is too much varies for each person.

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Let thy food be thy medicine, and thy medicine be thy food.~Hippocrates
Strength is the adaptation that leads to all other adaptations that you really care about - Charles Staley
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Thanks TimD

Also, don't confuse a Mars bar with a Snickers, which is one of the essential food groups. It contains peanuts which are very good for you, and caramel, which is a vitamin. Snickers may be eaten either pre- or post-workout, either with or without bananas. In this case "pre-workout" is defined as the 48 hours before a bout of exercise, and "post-exercise" is the 72 hours following.

By the way, the best bananas in the world grow in my back yard.

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Our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter.--Francis Chan

Andy, my daughter just got back from El Salvador where coconuts and mangos fall off trees. No one eats them. The people exist in corn and beans with bottled fruit drinks and then wonder why they're fat. They have nutritional abundance all around them and don't know it.

_________________
Let thy food be thy medicine, and thy medicine be thy food.~Hippocrates
Strength is the adaptation that leads to all other adaptations that you really care about - Charles Staley
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Thanks TimD

That is sad.

That reminds me of an experience my wife and kids had. When we were on vacation on the coast of PNG, they caught a boat out to a small island to snorkel. While they were lolling on the beach, some little kids (who had gotten to this uninhabited island either by swimming or in a small dug out) brought them some fresh mangoes, and cut the mangoes up for them, then sat and talked to them. She still often mentions that day with great fondness.

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Our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter.--Francis Chan

I'm going to have to disagree with you on this, fructose is extremely poor at replenishing muscle glycogen and very good at replenishing liver glycogen.

You're right. I stand corrected.

_________________
Let thy food be thy medicine, and thy medicine be thy food.~Hippocrates
Strength is the adaptation that leads to all other adaptations that you really care about - Charles Staley
_________________
Thanks TimD

Bannanas are an excellent recovery/energy food- they contain certain minerals that restore and enhance muscle function. The natural sugars in ripe banannas are perfect for restoring optimal glycogen levels in the muscles, thereby restoring an anabolic state within the body (exercise initiates a catabolic response (muscle break- down) ) Also, the sugars will digest and cause a quick insulin response, providing the perfect "shuttle" for quickly assimilated proteins. Quick delivery is so vital because the body's ability to absorb glycogen and protein is elevated only for a short time post-workout. So banannas if taken within an hour following your workout will help you recover faster.