The entire level of getting a fruit smoothie is to infuse diet into your day in a drink that goes down simply. However whereas bananas and berries are a typical mixture, new analysis means that these bananas could also be secretly sabotaging a number of the well being advantages in your smoothie.
For the Meals and Operate examine, researchers had eight wholesome volunteers drink two totally different smoothies. One smoothie contained bananas and berries, whereas the opposite simply had blended berries. They have been additionally given a capsule that contained the pure antioxidant flavanol, which is frequent in berries. After having the smoothies or capsule, the contributors gave blood and urine samples that the researchers used to measure the degrees of flavanols of their physique.
The researchers found that individuals who drank the banana smoothie had 84% decrease flavanol ranges in comparison with once they simply took a flavanol capsule, suggesting that they absorbed much less of the antioxidant of their drink. Additionally they absorbed much less with the banana smoothie in comparison with the all-berry smoothie.
Whereas that seems like dangerous information for banana smoothies, dietitians say there are some things to bear in mind earlier than tossing the bunch sitting in your counter.
What’s the potential concern right here?
Earlier than we get into why this occurs, it’s vital to recap why you must care about flavanols within the first place. These antioxidants are present in sure meals like apples, pears, berries, grapes, and cocoa, Jessica Cording, RD, CDN, writer of The Little E-book of Sport-Changers, tells SELF.
They’re sturdy antioxidants, which implies they assist to guard your physique from injury from free radicals—unstable molecules that may injury cells and lift your threat of growing sure ailments, together with most cancers, Cording explains. Analysis additionally means that having a weight loss program wealthy in flavanols may also help assist good mind well being and decrease your threat of coronary heart illness. So, having flavanols in your weight loss program—and really absorbing them—is an effective factor.
Sure, bananas can scale back flavanol content material.
This isn’t distinctive to bananas, although. “There are a selection of meals which have particular enzymes or different compounds in them that affect the absorption of some vitamins,” Cording says.
Bananas comprise one thing known as polyphenol oxidase, which appears to affect the absorption of flavanols in your physique. (Polyphenol oxidase can be what makes bananas flip brown over time.)
“However bananas aren’t essentially the one meals you would possibly run into a problem like this,” Cording says. “Generally, sure vitamins and meals might intervene with the absorption of different vitamins.”
What’s the takeaway?
Dietitians need you to maintain a couple of issues in thoughts. For starters, this was a small examine that solely contained eight individuals. The examine additionally simply checked out males, making it exhausting to say if the findings would apply to girls as nicely.
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