Do bananas in smoothies diminish your nutrient intake?

Before you whip up your next protein smoothie, you might be wondering if you need to skip a popular fruit. A recent study raised concerns that blending bananas could diminish your smoothie's nutritional value.

It sounds surprising, but there's some basis for the claim: researchers found that mixing bananas with berries reduced the absorption of certain polyphenols. However, a deeper look reveals that the worry might be exaggerated.

The study was relatively small, involving only 8 participants in one trial and 11 in another. Importantly, the research didn't conclude that bananas strip away all nutrients. Instead, it focused on a single polyphenol, showing that its absorption was decreased, not eliminated. This means that while one specific polyphenol's absorption might be reduced, the overall nutritional benefits of bananas and berries remain intact.

Although the combination of bananas and berries might slightly lessen the absorption of one antioxidant, drinking a smoothie with both fruits still provides significant health benefits. More extensive research is needed to see if these findings hold true on a larger scale.

Considering that about 90 percent of people don't get enough fruits and vegetables, and knowing that consuming two servings of fruit per day can lower the risk of health issues like cardiovascular disease, our advice is to blend that banana if you enjoy it. The nutritional boost from your smoothie far outweighs the potential minor reduction in one polyphenol.