Confused by the title? Well don’t be! Every so often (weekly, fortnightly or monthly?) the experts here at proteinshake.org.uk will update the blog with a new food fact, we’re going to try and find some foods you wouldn’t usually try and foods you may eat every day and not even realise how important the nutrients from that food is to your body.

As the title suggests, our first food feature is about bananas, I’d put money on everyone reading this has eaten a banana at some point in their life! Probably because they taste nice right? Well, the banana can be classed as a super-food for any athlete.

The banana as a food

The banana is a great food for bodybuilders as it can be eaten both pre workout and post workout, depending on how you want those carbohydrates. Green bananas contain more complex sugars and the delivery is much slower, more yellow the banana the faster acting the sugar is inside. Nutritionally sound and versatile, the banana is the perfect fruit snack!

Interestingly the banana does not grow on trees, instead it is a giant herb of the same family as lilies, orchids and palms. The fruit is considered by scientists, to be a form of a berry!

The famous fruit is well known for the amount of potassium it contains, approximately 270mg per 100g. The yellow fruit also delivers 7g of vitamin C and 16 of carbohydrate per 100g. As well as this there’s a good dose of vitamin B6, essential for healthy production of red blood cells.

On a diet? Have a banana, they’re fat free after all! For every 100g of banana 49g is water which means it’s perfect to eat before, after or during prolonged exercise.