Bananas = Melatonin?

[foo on patrol]

Here's the quandary with bananas. They have been a staple of cyclists on/in road rides/racing for as long as I can remember but and the is the big question. If they have melatonin in them, would that not be detrimental to your performance?

Foo

[Listy]

Here's the quandary with bananas. They have been a staple of cyclists on/in road rides/racing for as long as I can remember but and the is the big question. If they have melatonin in them, would that not be detrimental to your performance?

Foo

Hi Foo,
There is a very recent paper that has tackled this exact question. "Brandenberger et al (2017), Consumption of a 5 mg melatonin supplement does not affect 32.2 kilometer cycling time trial performance, Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research".

The final conclusion is quite unequivocal:
"To date, no studies have shown exogenous melatonin to have an effect on physical performance (2, 12). The results of the present study provide further evidence that exogenous melatonin has no measureable effect on performance, at least for endurance exercise. This study does not support the use of exogenous melatonin as an ergogenic aid, nor does it suggest there are any negative effects on performance from exogenous melatonin. There were no significant effects on cycling time trial performance from a 5 mg dose of exogenous melatonin within 90 min of administration."

Here's the abstract:
Some studies suggest that exogenous melatonin supplementation may improve athletic performance in hot humid environments because of its precooling effect. However, melatonin is also consumed as a sleep aid for its depressive effects on the central nervous system, which may hinder performance. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine whether consuming a 5 mg supplement of melatonin would affect performance in a laboratory-simulated 32.2 kilometer cycling time trial. The time trial was conducted in a thermoneutral environment to separate CNS depressive effects of the melatonin from the cooling effects. Trained male subjects (n = 10; VO2 max = 62.7 ± 6.3 ml/kg/min; age = 25.1 ± 4.0 yr; mass = 69.9 ± 9.1 kg; height = 176.0 ± 7.1 cm), performed three 32.2 kilometer time trials on an electronically braked cycle ergometer. The first trial was a familiarization. During the two experimental trials subjects received in a random order either a placebo or a 5 mg melatonin supplement 15 min prior to exercise in a double-blind, crossover design. Variables were measured before exercise and at 8 kilometer intervals. Mean 32.2 kilometer time trial completion times for the melatonin (64.94 ± 5.95 min) and placebo (65.26 ± 6.85 min) trials were not different (P = 0.682). Mean time trial power output for the melatonin (190.4 ± 40.4 watts) and placebo (190.0 ± 45.7 watts) trials were not different (P = 0.927). Rectal temperature was not significantly different for melatonin compared with placebo (P = 0.827). These results suggest that a 5 mg melatonin supplement administered 15 min prior to exercise does not measurably impact performance of a 32.2 kilometer cycling time trial in a thermoneutral environment.

In the methods section, the authors also very dryly note that a 5mg dose of melatonin is *vastly* in excess of the levels of melatonin obtainable via consumption of fruit (namely bananas, oranges or pineapples):
"While studies have shown that ingestion of fruits can increase endogenous melatonin levels, the quantity needed to achieve the equivalent of a 0.3mg dose of melatonin, e.g. 1000 kg of fruit, is much larger than what would normally be ingested (15). Therefore, it is unlikely that anyone ingested a large enough quantity of fruit to achieve the equivalent of a pharmacological dose of melatonin."

cheers, Listy

[foo on patrol]

Cool, it was doing my head in, when I discovered than they were a source of melatonin.

Foo

[Kronos]

Yes, bananas are the almost perfect whole food and that's why they were and are used by athlete for so long. It contains everything your body needs except protein and depending when you pick it, it even has differences in carbohydrate (green bananas) and sugar levels (over ripe bananas) when you eat it. It even has potassium in it to stop dehydration and cramping.

I will still eat a banana over an energy bar for most purposes except protein intake.