New Research Reveals Why You Shouldn’t Add a Banana to Your Smoothies
New Research Reveals Why You Shouldn’t Add a Banana to Your Smoothies
New research helps maximize the health benefits of fruit smoothies. Smoothies offer a delicious and easy method to incorporate essential fruits and vegetables into your diet. But is a banana and blueberry smoothie the best combo? New research from the University of California, Davis, suggests that
Researchers have found that the enzyme polyphenol oxidase (PPO) in certain fruits like bananas can reduce the absorption of heart-healthy flavanols, especially when combined with flavanol-rich ingredients like berries. The study suggests choosing ingredients with low PPO activity, such as pineapple or oranges, when making smoothies to optimize flavanol absorption.
i'm gonna go out on a limb and wager that this is an utterly insignificant effect compared to how healthy it is to eat fruits.
Like obviously people have been healthy while consuming banana smoothies, you're probably going to suffer more from stressing out about minute stuff like this than any possible negative health effects consuming it could bring..
Yeah. I feel like somebody read enough to come up with a clickbait article but not enough to learn anything.
Sort of like when sci-fi writers have a very surface understanding of something, but it's forgivable because they're sort of close and it's good for the story. Except here it's just an article nobody really needed.
But has this research also factored in that I probably won't drink the smoothie unless there is a banana in there?
Reject science return to monke.
What if I don’t care about flavanols, but I like the texture a banana produces? What else can make a smoothie smooth like that?
Few ideas -
- Avocados (great texture, not very sweet so other flavors would still stand out)
- Greek yogurt (easy choice for any smoothie with or without bananas haha)
- Mangoes (some varieties are fiberless and blend smooth with a nice consistency)
- cooked sweet potatoes (let cool down to room temp before blending!)
- coconut cream (a small amount can add a creamy texture)
- peanutbutter (or other nut butters) can add thickness to a smoothie.
Frozen fruits that are high in pectin. Chia seeds.
Peanut butter... Banana.... Strawberry.... Dark chocolate...... Mm
The thing they are missing is that I don’t drink smoothies because they’re healthy, I drink them because they taste good
It’s what I have to remind people when they are trying to change their diet to get in shape and lose weight.
I tell them, your not eating for enjoyment, your eating to fuel your body.
I was very fit, but I was eating like canned tuna and Greek yogurt, not mixed but one after another. That’s not a delicious lunch, but it was just the nutrition that was needed.
your not eating for enjoyment, your eating to fuel your body
Yeah? Well, you know, that's just like uh, your opinion, man.
It isn't too hard to lose weight if that is your main goal, it just takes time. You don't have to give up food that tastes good or that you love. Just eat under your TDEE and you'll lose weight. Every meal can be a cheat meal. A food scale and counting calories are the only things you need. I've lost 30 pounds so far without doing any exercise and have lost 6 inches off my waist. There was a whole sub dedicated to it called r/CICO. I only need to lose 20 more pounds until my goal weight. I don't eat food I don't enjoy, that would be like torture to me.
Ugh can't even come to lemmy to escape real life - spent most of Monday morning denaturing/counteracting PPO in my uni food science lab!
Polyphenol oxidase is the enzyme responsible for browning in shit like apples and potatoes when cut and exposed to air.
I haven't read the study linked in the OP yet (and I'm far too sad and intoxicated for it right now) but in other fruits/vegetables it's pretty easy to deactivate PPO through application of some combination of Vitamin C (converts quinones back to their phenol form and reacts with oxygen before it can get to the PPO) and heat (which actually denatures the PPO enzymes).
When we were denaturing PPO in potatoes in a lab setting we simply blanched the sliced potatoes in 90°C water for 5 minutes before placing it in an ice bath until cool.
I'm far too sad and intoxicated
Yep, this man/woman is definitely a scientist working at a university.
Thanks for the information and I hope your next experiment goes well.
Right? Insert a little bit of lemon juice and the polyphenol oxidase shouldn't be a problem anymore. Also, banana wouldn't be the only problem (concerning high polyphenol oxidase activity), would it? Cut up an apple and it turns brown before you can push all pieces into a juicer. Literally, I've had a couple R&D projects at the juice company I used to work for and we had this small Angel Juicer and by the time all apple pieces were in, the juice was brown (provided I didn't spritz in lemon juice at the beginning).
So basically, just add a bit of lemon juice to your smoothie?
I'm not confident saying for sure without reading the actual paper - it really depends on how PPO interacts with the flavanols, but at the end of the day denaturing the PPO with heat should make it a non-issue. Keep in mind though that bananas are far from the only smoothie ingredient with PPO!
Or add cooked banana instead? Heat it up before freezing that over ripe banana.
This article assumes I am drinking smoothies purely for the flavanoids.
I drink 'em for the flava. Not the noids.
Avoid the Noid
I mean, the #1 reason is because it makes it taste like banana.
Handful of strawberries. Handful of blueberries. Half cup of pineapple juice. Cup of crushed ice. 1 whole banana. Blended well.
Super smooth dairy free smoothie and all you taste is the other fruit.