Eat a banana but  licking a toad will make you go 'bananas'

Why is it that some athletes suffer from muscle cramps more than others? Many athletes, from  focused professionals to "weekend warriors" would love to know the answer to that question. There are a  few possible reasons why eating a banana a day helps to alleviate exercise-induced muscle cramps. 

About a year ago I met a young man who was making an impressive start to a career as a professional cyclist. He told me that he very nearly had to give up his preferred vocation before it had even started because of the severe leg cramps that he suffered from during his races.

He had tried all the well known preventive modalities like adjusting his electrolyte intake and taking magnesium and calcium supplements.  The advice and treatment given to him by several sport medicine specialists and a nutritionist had also failed to improve the cramps.

Just as he was about to give up cycling someone told him that if he ate one banana a day for at least a month his cramps would disappear. In desperation he followed this advice and after a few weeks he no longer experienced cramps and he has never even had a twinge since.

Most people attribute the cramp preventing property of bananas to their high potassium content. That may be so up to a point; but why should eating a banana for such a long period of time help to prevent exercise induced leg cramps when potassium supplements had failed to do the trick?

There are several possible answers to this question.

1. There could be a number of compounds in bananas that reduce the hyper-excitability of either the motor nerve or neuromuscular junction that are usually responsible for causing muscle cramps. Interestingly, bananas contain a chemical called bufotenin, that is hallucinogenic when taken in quantities far exceeding those found in bananas. It occurs in high doses in some plants and is particularly concentrated in the secretions of certain species of toad! Bufotenin has a chemical structure similar to that of the brain neurotransmitter, serotonin. (anti-depressant drugs like Prozac work by maintaining high levels of seretonin which is known as the "pleasure" neurotransmitter). In the low doses found in bananas, bufotenin is thought to have a calming rather than a hallucinogenic effect and perhaps it reduces muscle cramps too.
2. GABA is a neurotransmitter that occurs naturally in bananas that, amongst its other properties, has a relaxing effect on muscles. However, further research needs to be done to see whether a dietary source of GABA can have any effect on the nervous system.
3. There is evidence to show that free radicals can interfere with the metabolism of the neurotransmitter, acetylcholine at the neuromuscular junction. Experiments have shown that antioxidants can reduce muscle cramps associated with increased excitability of the neuromuscular junction that occur in certain diseases and poisonings.
4. Competitive prolonged cycling produces large quantities of free radicals that build up towards the end of a long race. High levels of free radicals probably interfere with the normal action of acetylcholine at the neuromuscular junction resulting in the muscle cramps experienced during the later stages of the event. Like most fruit, bananas provide several important antioxidants such as kaempferol, quercetin and rutin. It is possible that these and other antioxidants in bananas help to reduce exercise-induced muscle cramps.

Since hearing about the professional cyclist and his cure I have heard of several other athletes who have derived similar benefits from the banana-a-day cure for cramps and have recommended it to several of my cycling acquaintances who have also reported excellent results.

 This anecdote adds to the growing body of evidence that shows how important phytochemicals are to our health and general well being.

For more information on the health benefits of phytochemicals go to www.medspice.com