Adding bananas to a smoothie sounds like a great way to give the drink some extra sweetener without having to indulge in unhealthy added sugar. But although bananas can be a healthy snack, there may be a downside to using this type of fruit in your smoothie.
Researchers at the University of California, Davis have found that adding a banana to a smoothie can decrease the level of flavanols in the beverage. Flavanols are bioactive compounds found in a variety of fruits and vegetables that have been linked to positive benefits for heart and cognitive health.
The study was published in Food and Function, a scientific journal of the Royal Society of Chemistry.
The researchers wanted to find out how smoothies that contain polyphenol oxidase (PPO), an enzyme found in many fruits and vegetables, could impact the level of flavanols that the body absorbs.
In the study, participants drank smoothies containing banana, which is naturally high in PPO, and smoothies made with mixed berries, which are low in PPO. Participants also took flavanol capsules as a control.
Blood and urine samples were then used to pinpoint the levels of flavanols that were present in the body after the participants consumed the drinks.
Those who drank a banana smoothie had flavanol levels that were 84% lower than participants in the control group.
In a summary of the study findings, lead author Javier Ottaviani — director of the Core Laboratory of Mars Edge and an adjunct researcher with the UC Davis Department of Nutrition — says:
“We were really surprised to see how quickly adding a single banana decreased the level of flavanols in the smoothie and the levels of flavonol absorbed in the body. This highlights how food preparation and combinations can affect the absorption of dietary compounds in foods.”
The researchers note that the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics recommend that people consume between 400 and 600 milligrams of flavanols each day.
So, to get to that level, if you drink smoothies, you might want to shift away from preparing them with bananas and instead choose flavanol-rich berries and combine them with ingredients that have a low PPO activity, such as:
- Pineapple
- Orange
- Mango
- Yogurt
Ottaviani emphasized that bananas can still be a great fruit to add to some smoothies as long as you don’t combine them with flavanol-rich fruits such as berries and grapes, as well as cocoa.
For more on maintaining brain and heart health through diet, check out “Researchers Find 3 Diets That May Ward Off Dementia — and 1 That Hastens It.”
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