Eating bananas to gain muscle, right or wrong?

Bananas are the perfect post-workout snack because of their muscle-building effects. Bananas are easy to eat, easy to digest and contain many essential nutrients, which work to promote faster body recovery after exercise.

Banana is a fruit that is appreciated for its nutritional value. It is a source of several essential nutrients such as potassium, manganese, vitamin B6 and vitamin C. 1 fresh banana about 118g contains: 105 calories, 75g carbs, 3g fiber, 1g protein, 0.3g fat along with vitamin C, vitamin B6, potassium, manganese, magnesium, etc. At the same time, bananas also contain various plant compounds that can reduce stress, inflammation and the risk of chronic diseases.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that each person eat fruits and vegetables. Adding bananas to your daily routine is a great choice to promote overall health.
MORE: What to eat to gain muscle?

Bananas are a healthy addition to any diet, even one focused on building muscle. In addition to providing energy for the body, the nutrients in bananas have the effect of increasing muscle mass. Specifically:
2.1 Contains muscle-strengthening vitamins and minerals Manganese is a trace mineral that aids many chemical processes in the body, including protein metabolism; Vitamin B6 is a water-soluble vitamin that humans need to consume on a daily basis, as it participates in protein metabolism and aids in energy generation and storage in muscles; Potassium in banana helps prevent muscle cramps caused by electrolyte imbalance due to lack of potassium. 2.2 Rich in water and carbs - helps improve training performance and recovery Bananas are nutritious, especially rich in water and carbs. These are 2 ingredients proven to help improve training performance and post-workout recovery. Specifically:
Helps replenish muscle glycogen: Eating carb-rich foods after a workout will promote the release of the hormone insulin that moves sugar from the bloodstream into muscle cells - where the sugar is stored as glycogen. Foods rich in carbs like bananas also make muscle cells more sensitive to insulin, making it easier for them to replenish their glycogen stores after a workout; Helps the body use protein more efficiently: Eating carb-rich foods like bananas along with a source of protein right after a workout will help your muscles recover more efficiently after exercise. Carbs help stimulate muscles to absorb or use protein, thereby increasing muscle building; Helps reduce inflammation: In addition to being rich in carbs, bananas also contain large amounts of beneficial compounds like dopamine and polyphenols. This combination of carbs and compounds helps prevent inflammation that occurs after exercise, helping the body recover faster. Thus, eating bananas to gain muscle is an accurate opinion.

Among the foods to gain muscle and lose fat, banana is a good choice. So how is the diet to gain muscle with bananas?
3.1 Eat a banana before, during or after a workout? Although eating bananas after exercise can help restore health, eating bananas before or during exercise also has many benefits. Specifically:
To maximize performance during training, it is recommended to eat bananas 30 - 60 minutes before training; Eat 1-2 bananas in combination with other carb sources for post-workout recovery. Those who aim to minimize inflammation and speed up recovery should eat bananas after a workout; Eating bananas during exercise can cause feelings of fullness or bloating. If this is the case, users should try other carb-rich foods such as dried fruit, fruit juices or sports drinks. Note: It is not mandatory to eat bananas in place of other carb- or antioxidant-rich foods, so if you don't like bananas, you can choose another fruit that you like.
3.2 Ways to combine bananas with other foods Bananas are one of the easiest foods to incorporate into the diet. Practitioners can only eat bananas or combine with other foods such as: Oatmeal, yogurt or make frozen bananas, banana ice cream, banana cake,...

3.3 How many bananas is enough? Although there are many health benefits, eating too many bananas can be harmful. Specifically:
Bananas are not in the high-calorie food group. However, if you eat more bananas than your body needs, it can lead to weight gain; More than 90% of the calories in bananas come from carbs. With ripe bananas, a large portion of the calories can come from sugar. Consuming too many carbs that aren't balanced with protein and healthy fats can make blood sugar control more difficult for people with diabetes or prediabetes; Eating too many bananas can lead to nutrient deficiencies, especially if users do not eat foods containing other nutrients such as protein, fat, vitamin D, calcium and iron. Most of the calories in a banana come from carbs. Bananas provide only negligible amounts of protein and fat. Protein is a major structural component of the body, playing an important role in immune function, tissue repair, muscle building, and more. Meanwhile, fats provide energy and support. absorption of fat-soluble nutrients. It plays an important role in hormone production and brain health.

Because bananas provide little protein and fat, eating only bananas does not guarantee a complete nutritional meal. Therefore, users need to combine bananas with a source of healthy fats and proteins such as peanut butter, walnuts or a boiled egg for a more balanced nutrition.
So how many bananas is enough? A healthy diet needs to be balanced and varied. The best way is to eat a variety of foods from each food group. There is no specific amount of bananas to eat, it depends on each person's calorie and nutrient needs. Generally, eating 1-2 bananas/day is reasonable for most healthy people. In addition, it is necessary to add more fruits, vegetables, lean protein and healthy fats to the diet.
Banana is a fruit that contains many important nutrients, making it ideal to eat after a workout. However, practitioners need to eat bananas in a reasonable amount and combine with other foods to have a nutritionally balanced diet.

Reference sources: healthline.com, livestrong.com,