Should You Really be Adding Bananas to Your Morning Smoothies?

Smoothies have long been celebrated as a convenient and delightful way to incorporate essential fruits and vegetables into your daily diet. However, recent research conducted at the University of California, Davis has shed light on how the combination of certain ingredients in smoothies can significantly impact the body’s ability to absorb beneficial nutrients, according to SciTechDaily. This new insight has the potential to reshape the way we approach crafting our beloved blended beverages.

Published in the Royal Society of Chemistry’s journal Food and Function, the study delves into the interaction between polyphenol oxidase (PPO), an enzyme commonly found in various fruits and vegetables, and flavanols – a group of bioactive compounds known for their heart-healthy and cognitive benefits. Flavanols are naturally present in a range of foods, including apples, pears, blueberries, blackberries, grapes, and cocoa – all common ingredients in smoothies.

Javier Ottaviani, the lead author of the study and director of the Core Laboratory of Mars Edge, a branch of Mars, Inc., along with being an adjunct researcher with the UC Davis Department of Nutrition, shared the motivation behind the research. He expressed, “We sought to understand, on a very practical level, how a common food and food preparation like a banana-based smoothie could affect the availability of flavanols to be absorbed after intake.”

Polyphenol oxidase, or PPO, is the enzyme responsible for the browning of fruits like apples and bananas when exposed to air, cut, or bruised. The researchers hypothesized that this enzyme’s presence could affect the absorption of flavonols in the body when consumed through freshly prepared smoothies.

To test their hypothesis, the researchers had participants consume two types of smoothies – one made with banana, a fruit with high natural PPO activity, and another with mixed berries, which exhibit low PPO activity. A flavanol capsule was also provided as a control. Blood and urine samples were analyzed to gauge the levels of flavonols in the body after ingesting the smoothies and capsule.

The results of the study were both surprising and insightful. Participants who consumed the banana smoothie experienced an astonishing 84% reduction in flavanol levels compared to the control. Ottaviani noted, “We were really surprised to see how quickly adding a single banana decreased the level of flavanols in the smoothie and the levels of flavanol absorbed in the body.”

Considering the growing emphasis on flavanol intake for optimal heart and cognitive health – with dietary recommendations suggesting a daily consumption of 400 to 600 milligrams – the implications of this research are substantial. Ottaviani advises individuals seeking to maximize their flavanol intake to opt for ingredient combinations that pair flavanol-rich fruits like berries with low-PPO activity ingredients such as pineapple, oranges, mango, or yogurt. This strategic approach can help ensure that the body effectively absorbs the bioactive compounds present in the smoothies.

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