Do bananas help with cramp?

Bananas are rich in carbohydrates (22.84 g/100 g). They are also good sources of minerals. Eating a whole fresh banana will provide the body with potassium (approximately 467 mg), magnesium (34 mg) and calcium (37 mg). These three minerals, also known as electrolytes, are among the four (sodium is the other) involved in muscle contraction (Whitney and Rolfes). Bananas are considered a fast food among athletes for muscle cramp relief (Hallissey, 2014) and post-exercise recovery (Nieman et al., 2018). However, there are not a lot of scientific evidence to support consuming bananas to prevent muscle cramping. In 2014 Hallissey reported that even though bananas increased circulating plasma potassium concentrations, the threshold frequency of an electrically induced muscle cramp were not affected one hour of after ingestion. More research is needed with different study populations to determine whether exercise-associated muscle cramps could be prevented or treated by eating bananas.  Gentle stretching until cramping abates should be considered (Miller et al., 2021). Eating bananas are beneficial in general and recommended with other fruit and vegetables as part of a healthy balanced diet (Ranjha et al., 2022).