{"id":43234,"date":"2023-08-31T08:20:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-31T12:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.healthygreenkitchen.com\/?p=43234"},"modified":"2023-08-30T15:38:42","modified_gmt":"2023-08-30T19:38:42","slug":"bananas-ingredient-in-smoothies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.healthygreenkitchen.com\/bananas-ingredient-in-smoothies\/","title":{"rendered":"The Surprising Reason Bananas Might Not Be the Best Smoothie Ingredient\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you enjoy the occasional breakfast smoothie, or maybe if you\u2019re an everyday smoothie drinker, then you likely are accustomed to throwing a banana or two into your blender alongside your other favorite smoothie ingredients. Not only does a banana help you achieve a thicker smoothie texture, but it also provides a bevy of health benefits \u2026 right?<\/p>\n\n\n

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Dmitrii Ivanov\/Shutterstock<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Well, some surprising research has recently been released that indicates you might actually want to hold off on the bananas in your smoothies moving forward. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The research, courtesy of the University of California, Davis<\/a>, sought to understand the relationship between polyphenol oxidase and flavanols. Polyphenol oxidase<\/a> is an enzyme found in many fruits and veggies, and it\u2019s what causes certain fruits and vegetables to brown under certain conditions (like when you cut an apple and expose the interior flesh to oxygen). Flavanols<\/a> are healthful compounds that have been found to offer antioxidative and anti-inflammatory properties. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The research discovered that, when you eat fruits like bananas that are high in polyphenol oxidase activity, it significantly lowers the amount of flavanols your body can absorb. In other words, if you\u2019re blending a smoothie with multiple ingredients, including bananas, you likely won\u2019t be getting all the health benefits you could from those other ingredients (high-flavanol ingredients that often find their way into smoothies include berries and cocoa). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And it\u2019s not just bananas you have to watch out for! While the research specifically studied bananas, researchers said that other foods high in polyphenol oxidase activity, like some greens, can have the same result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics<\/a> advises consuming 400\u2013600 milligrams of flavanols daily for your cardiometabolic health; so, if you\u2019re always combining your flavanol-rich foods with bananas or greens, you could be severely decreasing the amount of flavanols you\u2019re actually absorbing. To absorb the most flavanols possible, the researchers on this study recommended making a smoothie with those high-flavanol foods you\u2019re already using (like berries), but then combining them with only low-polyphenol oxidase foods, like pineapples, mangoes, oranges or yogurt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Build a Better Smoothie<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you want to reap the myriad health benefits of bananas, enjoy your banana on its own. If you want to build a better, banana-free smoothie, though, consider one of the following options:<\/p>\n\n\n\n