Bananas may be making your smoothies less…
Adding a banana to your berry smoothie may sound healthy, but new research suggests the favored combo might cancel out some of the fruit’s advantages.
Scientists at the University of California, Davis, discovered that including a banana to your smoothie might considerably cut back the absorption of the berries’ heart- and brain-boosting compounds by as a lot as 84%.
The research, printed this month in the journal Food & Function, factors to an enzyme called polyphenol oxidase (PPO), which is plentiful in bananas, as the explanation for the drop.
PPO reacts with helpful plant compounds recognized as flavanols — discovered in meals like berries, grapes, apples and cocoa — that are linked to a increase in coronary heart and mind health.
“We sought to understand, on a very practical level, how a common food preparation like a banana-based smoothie could affect the availability of flavanols to be absorbed after intake,” lead researcher Javier Ottaviani, an adjunct professor at UC Davis, told Fox News Digital.
In a small medical research, volunteers drank two smoothies — one made with banana and another with blended berries, that are low in PPO.
seen injury and urine samples confirmed that the banana smoothie had diminished flavanol absorption, in contrast to the berry model or a flavanol capsule.
The research discovered that including bananas can considerably cut back absorption of the berries’ heart- and brain-boosting compounds. Pixel-Shot – stock.adobe.com
“While we anticipated that PPO might influence the flavanol content and absorption from smoothies, we were surprised by how quickly and significantly the addition of just one banana reduced flavanol content in the smoothie and, consequently, the levels of flavanols in the body,” Ottaviani said.
“It was also surprising to find that even if bananas are consumed at the same time as flavanols, but not in the same smoothie, the PPO still reduced the levels of flavanols in the body,” he added.
“It is important to avoid combining flavanol-containing foods with ones that quickly turn brown after they are cut, like bananas, avocados and beet greens.”
When bananas are blended, PPO reacts with oxygen and begins breaking down flavanols, the same course of that causes fruit to brown after being cut.
This can continue during digestion, leaving fewer of those compounds for the physique to take in.
The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics advises getting between 400 and 600 milligrams of flavanols daily. To meet that objective, Ottaviani said it’s best to mix flavanol-rich fruits, like berries, with low-PPO ingredients such as pineapple, oranges, mangoes or yogurt.
The UC Davis researchers famous that the latest findings might spur more research into how food preparation impacts nutrient absorption. Tijana – stock.adobe.com
“Nevertheless, bananas remain a great fruit and a great option for smoothie preparation, but not if aiming to maintain the flavanols in your smoothie,” Ottaviani added.
Dr. Parth Bhavsar, a Georgia-based board-certified household medication doctor and founder of TeleDirectMD, said the key is variety and fine-tuning your diet.
“Moderation and rotation are much more relevant,” Bhavsar, who wasn’t concerned in the research, told Fox News Digital. “If you enjoy your bananas in a smoothie, go for it. But you could switch between making berry and banana smoothies.”
Other common food pairings can also intervene with nutrient absorption, Bhavsar famous.
For instance, tea or espresso can block iron uptake, calcium can compete with iron, uncooked cruciferous greens may hinder iodine absorption, and very high fiber consumption can restrict mineral absorption.
“Although small in each instance, they can add up in patterns over time,” he said.
The UC Davis researchers famous that the latest findings might spur more research into how food preparation impacts nutrient absorption.
The research, which was performed along with scientists from the University of Reading in England and King Saud University in Saudi Arabia, was funded by a research grant from Mars, Inc., a frequent collaborator in cocoa flavanol research. Ottaviani is the director of the Mars Edge Core Laboratory.
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