September 12, 2023 – A each day smoothie modified Lindsey Seegers' life. After doctors said her debilitating long-COVID was the brand new normal, she sought out another medicine expert, a naturopath. Among her recommendations: a smoothie for breakfast, filled with berries, banana, cashew milk, MCT coconut oil and other ingredients.
“As a foodie, I resented the idea of drinking a meal. I prefer to chew and enjoy avocado toast. But it really helped me feel so good,” said Seegers, a nonprofit director in San Diego. Although there's no evidence that smoothies can cure long COVID (so far as we all know, nothing helps), she began feeling higher after just a number of weeks.
But latest research suggests that combining some fruits may backfire in the event you're drinking a smoothie for certain health reasons.
Focus on flavanols
The study, within the journal Food & Function, specifically examined the flavanol content of certain fruits. It has been found that a banana berry smoothie may not have as many health advantages as you think that. When you combine fruits wealthy within the enzyme that turns fruits brown when exposed to oxygen, like bananas, with fruits wealthy in helpful plant compounds often called flavanols, like berries, the flavanol content decreases quickly away. After half-hour, the quantity of a flavanol fell by 80%.
Flavanols, also called flavan-3-ols, are a typical kind of flavonoids – plant compounds which have been shown to advertise health. Last 12 months, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics issued guidelines for the consumption of flavanols for the primary time after evaluating available research. The group found that these compounds, present in tea, apples, berries, grapes, red wine and cocoa, promote cardiometabolic health.
“If you want to increase your flavanol intake through smoothies, you should avoid combining flavanol-rich ingredients such as berries with fruits that brown easily when cut,” said the study's lead creator, Dr. Javier Ottaviani. Director of the Mars Edge Core Laboratory, a part of Mars Inc., and Associate Researcher on the University of California, Davis, Department of Nutrition. “That could destroy the flavanol.”
This effect doesn't just occur with smoothies, he said. “Anytime you pulverize or destroy the structure of the fruit, allowing contact between the enzyme and the flavanols, it results in this loss.” Avocados, for instance, also contain the enzyme, so you possibly can expect reduced flavanol content in guacamole.
The larger picture
This may sound like a recipe for disaster, but don't quit your regular smoothie (or guacamole) just yet.
“The last thing we want is for people to think, 'Oh, if I make a smoothie, it's not going to be healthy,'” said Mary Ann Lila, PhD, director of the Plants for Human Health Institute at North Carolina State University. A smoothie is a particularly healthy method to get the entire fruit's bioactive ingredients, she said—so long as you drink it instantly. “If the integrity of the bioactive compounds is destroyed, you will see it. If I left my smoothie there and it turned brown, I wouldn’t drink it.”
In addition, Ottaviani's advice only applies in the event you specifically wish to increase your flavanol intake through smoothies. Most people don't have to do this. A varied food plan—especially including a each day cup of green or black tea, which provides greater than half the advisable flavanols—can offset the flavanol-killing effects of a banana. And bananas offer some impressive advantages.
“When you put the banana in your smoothie, you get potassium and phosphorus. Maybe not as many flavanols,” said Wintana Kiros, a clinical nutritionist in the Washington, D.C. area. “But if you eat other foods for lunch or dinner, eat them throughout the day. The all-or-nothing mindset is the problem.”
The study's lead creator agrees. “Bananas remain a great fruit,” Ottaviani said. “You can still use them for smoothies. A balanced diet is important.”
Just get your flavanols elsewhere.
Where smoothies go unsuitable
While you most likely don't have to worry concerning the flavanol content of your smoothie, it's Is It's possible to drink a smoothie that backfires.
For example, an excessive amount of fruit may cause problems. “A big problem with smoothies is the total amount of calories and sugar. We definitely want you to eat fruit, but not too much,” said Joanne Slavin, PhD, a professor of food science and nutrition on the University of Minnesota. “For most people, when they start mixing it, it creates a lot of calories.”
A related mistake: omitting necessary nutrients. “Especially for people on a low-calorie diet, a smoothie needs to contain protein to replace a meal,” Slavin said. She has researched the facility of proteins in smoothies. Along with the fiber in fruits, protein can allow you to feel fuller for longer.
Store-bought smoothies can even pose an issue. For one thing, you've got no control over how much sugar is added. Additionally, “nutrients and bioactive compounds are not affected by processing at home,” Lila said. “But they can be affected by commercial processing if they use heat or add additives there.”
Secrets to a nutritious – and delicious – smoothie
So you possibly can get out the blender. What should go in? Aim for a nutrient mix. “I recommend a cup of berries, a cup of spinach, and Greek yogurt or protein powder,” Kiros said. “You need a source of fiber, a source of fat and a source of protein.”
Also, don't be afraid to get slightly creative. Here are some ideas:
- Fruit after all. Frozen fruit tastes particularly good here. It helps thicken the smoothie and will contain more bioactive compounds than fresh fruit since it is frozen at peak freshness. Lila chooses blueberries in her own morning smoothie. Their research has found that each day consumption can reverse declines in considering ability in older people. But don't limit yourself to the standard bananas and berries – give it something tropical by adding pineapple and mango, or try peach, melon or kiwi.
- Surprise: vegetables. When you add vegetables to your smoothie, you get more bioactive compounds with less sugar. Avocado, for instance, provides a creamy texture, a gentle taste and healthy fat. Lila recommends mixing kale with yogurt or a splash of juice before adding the remainder of the ingredients – the herbal flavor blends in perfectly. Kiros has spinach. And Seegers, the foodie who was so reluctant to drink her breakfast, adds frozen carrots.
- Protein, definitely: If you're uninterested in the standard yogurt and milk, try adding kefir, cottage or ricotta cheese, tofu, peanut powder, your favorite nut butter, edamame, canned white beans, or seeds like chia, flax, and pumpkin.
- Delicious extras: “To be healthy, it has to be something you want to consume,” Lila said. “I believe in making things tasty.” This might be a drizzle of honey or maple syrup, spices like cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom, cocoa powder or vanilla extract. Seegers is an enormous fan of frozen cubes of crushed ginger.
In fact, Seegers has turn out to be an enormous fan of smoothies on the whole. “I can’t leave out the smoothies,” she said. “You’re my thing now, this is my life.”