Three bananas in an hour aids elite athletes

EATING the equivalent of three bananas per hour during races could help top runners reach the finish line as quickly as possible and avoid hitting the wall.

Researchers at the University of Bath found consuming 60g carbohydrates per hour during exercise prevents a decline in liver glycogen stores.

This significant quantity of carbohydrates is equivalent to around three bananas, one large potato, 150 raisins or three energy gels. The researchers recommend fuelling up on carbohydrates such as potatoes, rice, pasta and fruit on the day before running events.

But they also urge runners to take on carbohydrates both before and during exercise to prevent a decline in liver glycogen, help maintain blood sugar control fatigue.

Dr Javier Gonzalez who was the lead author of the research, said: “In reviewing all the available evidence, we found that when exercising at race pace, people use up the glycogen stores in their liver relatively quickly but by ingesting carbohydrates during exercise at around 60 grams per hour, we can prevent this decline. We also found that people who had done a lot of endurance training are able to use their liver glycogen more sparingly.

“This is important because low liver glycogen stores are strongly linked to both early fatigue and low blood sugar levels. Therefore, ingesting carbohydrates during races can help delay fatigue and maintain adequate blood sugar availability.” and delay