Why do athletes need to eat bananas? Tennis players eat five of them a match

Bananas are the main love of tennis players. And so strong that sometimes players don’t start a match without them. Such a case was in 2018, when the athlete Coco Vandeway refused to go on the court until she was brought this berry. What is the secret of the product?

Nutritional coach

One medium banana contains the necessary amount of potassium to restore water-alkaline balance. And this is not insignificant for athletes who sweat profusely.

The product has a low glycemic index (51). That is, it is quickly digested and instantly “energizes”. Plus, there are 75g of water per 100g of product, so it helps with dehydration. Another reason tennis players love bananas is that they are easy to eat. This is convenient considering that players are given no more than 120 seconds of break time between games, and no more than 90 seconds when changing sides.

In addition, bananas help you cope with stress – they contain tryptophan, which increases levels of serotonin, the happiness hormone. Another element that promotes good health is gamma-aminobutyric acid, which is also found in the fruit.

Olga: The thing is that bananas are fast carbohydrates, which means that the feeling of hunger will also return very quickly. The optimal variant is when the diet consists of 80% complex carbohydrates. In the remaining 20% just can include 1-3 bananas. And do not forget that bananas are quite caloric (on average about 120 kcal per 100 g) – you can easily get carried away and eat several pieces at once.