TikTok loves banana smoothies. Scroll for a few minutes and you’ll see video after video of smoothie recipes, how to freeze bananas (after peeling them!), and people with visible abs throwing bananas and other fruits into their kitchen blender. wait a minute! A new genre of smoothie content is emerging, warning you: I never have Include bananas in your smoothie so as not to destroy the nutritional value.
Let’s debunk that smoothie advice I heard it on TikTok
Wait, since when does a banana ruin a smoothie? SApparently it’s from August.a study It was published in the magazineAl Food & Function We found that bananas can reduce the bioavailability of flavone-3-ols in smoothies.
This study is real, and several TikToks about it describe it more or less accurately. What they’re wrong about is coming to the conclusion that you shouldn’t put bananas in smoothies. That’s not what scientists have concluded, and you don’t need to give up bananas.
of Press release announcing the research This issue (calling putting bananas in smoothies as a “mistake”) is probably what started the controversy, but the study’s lead author, Javier Ottaviani, said, “It is said that it is the best fruit for.” So clearly the banana warnings are exaggerated.
What the research actually found
This study was not about the nutritional value of bananas or smoothies in general. It was considering a specific question in biochemistry: What does the banana enzyme react with? certain types of antioxidants Contained in cacao extract?
Antioxidants are a wide class of chemicals. Vitamin C is an antioxidant, but so are lycopene, resveratrol (a compound famously found in tomatoes and grapes), and anthocyanins, the red and blue pigments found in berries. The antioxidants studied this time are do not have Any of the above, but another found in tea and cocoa. It is called (-)-epicatechin and is a type of antioxidant called flavone-3-ol.
In this study, eight healthy men from around the University of California, Davis campus were given each of the following drugs on different days:
- A smoothie made with banana, almond milk, and cocoa extract containing epicatechin.
- A smoothie made with the same cocoa extract plus strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, almond milk, water, crushed ice, and yogurt (perhaps the yogurt and ice were needed for texture).
- A capsule with a glass of milk and cocoa extract.
Bananas contain an enzyme called polyphenol oxidase (PPO), and scientists believe that the PPO in bananas may be linked to (-)-epi, a type of flavone-3-ol in foods such as smoothies. We wanted to see if it could affect catechin levels.
Somewhat surprisingly, it happened! Because our bodies convert epicatechin into other chemicals in the same family, the researchers took blood samples from volunteers to look for these chemicals in each experiment. Blood levels of these chemicals increased after drinking a berry smoothie or taking capsules with milk. But that wasn’t the case after drinking the banana smoothie.
This strongly suggests that the PPO present in bananas destroyed much of the epicatechin present in cocoa extract. Further experiments described in the same paper suggest that this chemical activity occurs when the ingredients sit together in the smoothie glass. and It can even happen in our stomachs.
More importantly, what is that research? I didn’t search
the study I didn’t Try a berry smoothie with banana. There was no smoothie that combined berries and bananas.
the study I didn’t Test the levels of antioxidants and other nutrients in berries. They specifically looked at what happened to the antioxidants found in cocoa extracts.
This study also did not consider other aspects of nutrition beyond this very specific chemical reaction (PPO from bananas and (-)-epicatechin from cocoa extract).
Therefore, we Can not They conclude that bananas in mixed fruit smoothies “destroy” or “ruin” the nutrients and even antioxidants in the berries.
Why nutrition can’t actually be “destroyed” anyway
What does it matter if enzymes in bananas can reduce the bioavailability of certain types of antioxidants? Increased intake of flavone-3-ols Were you drinking a smoothie with a specific purpose? Perhaps you were trying to Incorporate fruit into your diet Or, if you’re hungry, grab a delicious breakfast or drink.
Regardless of PPO activity, bananas also provide healthy fiber and carbohydrates, which are macronutrients that our bodies can use in a variety of ways. A medium banana contains 20% of your daily vitamin B6 needs, 17% of your vitamin C needs, and 8% of your daily needs for magnesium.
Recent studies have shown no harm to it. No matter what happens to the flavone-3-ols in your smoothie, you will still get all the benefits listed above.
If you’re really concerned about flavone-3-ols, there’s a better solution than quitting bananas
○But what if that’s really the case? was Are you looking forward to lots of good antioxidants in your fruit smoothies? After all, flavone-3-ols like (-)-epicatechin are very good for us, so the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) issued guidelines for them even though flavone-3-ols are non-essential nutrients. Guidelines suggest that consuming at least 400 milligrams of flavone-3-ols per day provides health benefits.
If you want to get more flavone-3-ols, it is best to drink tea. Just 10 ounces of green tea (two small cups) or 12 ounces of black tea can achieve the recommended intake of 400 milligrams. Berries contain flavone-3-ols, but in low amounts. It takes 6 cups of blackberries or 40 cups of blueberries to provide the same amount as 2 cups of green tea.
By the way, the same AND paper that recommended 400 milligrams of flavone-3-ol says it’s the best do not have Get this nutrient from supplements. This is because the most common supplement that provides green tea extract is green tea extract, which can cause stomach upset and even be toxic to the liver if taken in large amounts.
