How To Get the Most Out of Your Smoothie
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Going Bananas: Are you making your smoothie wrong? Turns out, one of the most common combos — bananas and berries — actually aren’t the best when they’re blended together. Why? Bananas can actually reduce the amount of flavonols in berries when they’re combined.
Bananas contain a chemical called polyphenol oxidase (PPO) that makes them turn brown when they’re exposed to air for a while. (Avocados have it, too.) PPO reduces the amount of flavonols from the berries. Blending speeds up the decline because it exposes the bananas to more air more quickly.
The Benefits: Flavonols are bioactive plant compounds found in fruit and veggies with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. They can protect the body from many illnesses — especially those tied to chronic inflammation, like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cognitive decline, and certain cancers.
How to Do It: You can keep your banana-berry beverage, as long as you drink it right away to prevent it from turning brown from the PPO. Or try one of these healthy swaps to give the smoothie the creaminess and body that bananas bring.
