Morning Banana Diet? It’s No Fad Diet For Cyclists

I’ve never met Joe Lindsey, at least I don’t think I have. But I’ve read his work for years, and he’s among my favorite cycling writers. Who else could reference Eddy Merckx, Andy Hampsten, Elvis Presley and the Japan-based Morning Banana Diet fad all in the same article?

The Morning Banana Diet part is a coincidence. But Lindsey, a freelance writer in Colorado who contributes a column and other articles to Bicycling Magazine, wrote a piece awhile back on the benefit of bananas in cyclists’ diets.

I found the piece while searching for information on the newest fad diet in Japan – eating a banana for breakfast.

Anyone who’s been around endurance sports knows bananas are the near-perfect food. They’re easy to digest, a great source of potassium, vitamins B&C and low in fat and protein. The skin is biodegradable.

Lindsey wrote, “The lowly banana is the Eddy Merckx of energy food.”

Lindsey then detailed how European cyclists didn’t understand why Andy Hampsten ate bananas, but that the reasons were obvious to former Tour of Italy winner.

Wrote Lindsey:

“The glycemic index ranks foods on a scale of 0-100, based on how quickly they’re converted to usable energy (with 100 representing pure glucose). A banana has a glycemic index rating of 55–a quicker energy boost than other common fruits. For example, an apple has a rating of 38 and an orange is 44. The banana beats the peanuts out of a Snickers bar, which is ranked at 41, and is close to a chocolate PowerBar Performance bar at 58.

“Bananas are famous for containing potassium, an essential electrolyte that helps regulate blood chemistry (particularly Ph) and improves carbohydrate metabolism by helping the muscles act efficiently. Without potassium (and sodium), your muscles stop firing correctly.”

Lindsey brought Elvis into the subject by noting his favorite food was peanut butter-and-banana sandwiches.

Now it seems, Japanese grocery stores can’t keep bananas on the shelves, simply because the tale of Japanese citizens losing weight while eating a fruit often called the world’s most perfect food.

According to the diet formula, practitioners eat a raw, unfrozen banana for breakfast, eat whatever they wish at lunch and dinner, with the last meal of the day before 8 p.m. A mid-day snack is allowed. Small amounts of room temperature water are allowed, as is alcohol.

So the Morning Banana Diet? Great. Eat a banana. Eat two. Then go ride your bike. You’ll probably lose weight.