A Study Found Adding Bananas to Your Smoothie Makes It Less Healthy

Bananas are a great source of fiber, potassium, and other nutrients. But a new study found adding them to your morning smoothie might actually make it LESS healthy. (???)

A study in the journal “Food & Function” found adding a banana can decrease your smoothie’s nutritional value, because it prevents your body from absorbing a type of antioxidant called flavanols.

There’s a specific enzyme in bananas called PPO. (Short for polyphenol oxidase.) It’s the enzyme in fruits that causes them to turn brown, and it breaks down the flavanols so fast, they don’t hit your bloodstream.

The difference was drastic. They found adding a banana to your smoothie reduces the amount of flavanols you absorb by 84%. So you’re only getting 16% of what you would get without it.

The effects were most drastic when adding one to a smoothie with lots of berries in it. So if it’s loaded with raspberries, blueberries, or blackberries, leave the banana out.

That doesn’t mean you should stop eating bananas altogether. They say it’s just better to have one as a snack on its own later on.

(Good Housekeeping)

Photo by Tara Evans on Unsplash