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Among smoothie drinkers, the summation of bananas to the puree is simply a hotly debated topic.
Some consciousness the ingredient, which is precise commonly recovered successful the drink, wholly overwhelms the flavour.
“Banana takes implicit the full smoothie [for real],” TikTok idiosyncratic Fly Hi Chris said successful his viral video. In the clip, helium played a banana physically beating retired the different effect flavours – “they tin lone sensation me!” helium bragged aft knocking retired “strawberry”.
Personally, I similar the addition. But according to probe from Food and Function, the 60,000+ app users who agreed with Fly Hi Chris astir hating the constituent whitethorn accidentally beryllium making a healthier choice.
Why mightiness bananas marque your smoothie little healthy?
Per the study, which was led by the University of California, Davis, arsenic good arsenic the University of Reading, the summation whitethorn instrumentality distant your quality to sorb flavonols from the drink.
Flavonols are earthy compounds recovered successful things similar cocoa, cherries, strawberries, grapes, and teas. Because they tin marque fruits and veggies reddish oregon purple, nutrient with those colours tends to beryllium higher successful flavonols.
Scientists deliberation they mightiness be bully for our wellness due to the fact that they look to person antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, and antiviral properties.
But successful the 2023 Food and Function research, scientists recovered that polyphenol oxidase, an enzyme recovered successful tons of fruits and veggies, particularly those that person been chopped and bruised, seemed to inhibit participants’ absorption of flavonols.
This enzyme is recovered successful quite precocious levels successful bananas.
This, the scientists theorised, whitethorn beryllium wherefore adding a banana to a smoothie decreased flavanol absorption compared to those who took a flavanol capsule oregon drank a smoothie made lone with mixed berries.
After investigating participants’ humor and urine, the researchers enactment the fig astatine 84% little than the power (flavanol capsule) radical aft a banana was added.
Speaking to the University of Reading, Prof Gunter Kuhnle, Professor of Nutrition and Food Science astatine the institution, said: “If you don’t devour capable flavanols, it tin negatively impact cardiovascular health.
“In older adults, a deficiency of flavanols is besides linked to cognitive decline. So, it’s wide we request them, but the question is however champion to get flavanols from the nutrient and drinks we consume.”
Does that mean adding bananas to smoothies volition decidedly marque them little healthy?
In their paper, the researchers said the taxable needs much research.
Prof Kuhnle stated, “We inactive cognize precise small astir food-food and food-nutrient interactions, adjacent though they tin person a immense interaction connected the uptake of nutrients and bioactives similar flavanols.
“Here, we could amusement that the uptake of flavanols tin alteration by much than fivefold depending connected the operation of foods.”
He added, “Bananas are a large constituent successful smoothies to supply a nicer texture – but they tin impact flavanol uptake.
“If you privation to boost your flavanol intake with a smoothie, you should harvester flavanol-rich fruits similar berries with foods that person a debased polyphenol oxidase enactment similar pineapple, oranges, mango oregon yoghurt.”
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