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Why You Shouldn't Put a Banana in Your Smoothies: New Research on flavanol (www.theinnovativehorizon.com)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Is Your Smoothie Sabotaging Your Health? The Truth About PPO and Flavan-3-ols Do you know anything about flavan-3-ols? These bioactive substances, which may be found in a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, offer a wide range of health advantages. It turns out, however, that just combining fruits may not necessarily ensure that we obtain the full advantages of these substances. That's accurate! Just like a medical student's life involves more than just texts and anatomical illustrations, the

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[–] AFKBRBChocolate 18 points 1 year ago (2 children)

The TLDR: flavanols may have a slight benefit to cardiovascular health and a component of bananas significantly reduces their absorption. So if you're drinking smoothies to increase flavanols, or if that's the only source of them for you, you might not want to include bananas.

I'm personally safe because they're also in cocoa, of which I consume several hundred servings a day.

[–] Nouveau_Burnswick 12 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (3 children)

You seem to be an expert in this field. Can I ask one question?

~~How many chocolate chips do I need to eat to get my daily dose of flavonols?~~

What's the LD50 of chocolate chips?

[–] AFKBRBChocolate 20 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (3 children)

Okay, so I read up on it (I'm that kind of guy).

Apparently the thing in chocolate that would kill you is theobromine, and it has an LD50 (lethal dose) of 1000mg per kg of body weight. If we're talking milk chocolate chips, they have 2.4 mg per gram. If you weigh 75 kg (165 pounds) you'd need to eat 75,000 mg of theobromine, which is about 31.25 kg, or just under 69 pounds. A chocolate chip weighs about 0.25 grams, so that's about 125,000 chips.

However, lots of other things in chocolate are going to make you barf your brains out before you can get anywhere close to that, so the likelihood is you can't kill yourself eating chocolate.

The best reference I found was this one.

[–] xantoxis 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Sounds like I need to put a lot more chocolate chips in my banana smoothies.

[–] AFKBRBChocolate 3 points 1 year ago

Or go straight to the cocoa powder!

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Huh, I guess I’m gonna have to cut down a little then. Now can you do the same for the trace lead and cadmium?

[–] AFKBRBChocolate 2 points 1 year ago

The problem there is that there really are no safe levels of lead - it stays in your body and builds up. The safe level of cadmium is 1 x 10^-3 mg/kg/day, so infinitesimally small.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

so the likelihood is you can’t kill yourself eating chocolate.

that sounds like a challenge

[–] AFKBRBChocolate 2 points 1 year ago

It isn't for lack of trying. (See username).

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Theobromine is the main poisonous substance in chocolate. Theobromine is thought to have an LD50 of about 1,000 mg per kilogram of body weight in people.

On average, 100 grams of dark chocolate contain 150 mg of theobromine, however individual results may vary. Theoretically, an individual weighing roughly 70 kg (154 lbs) would have an LD50 of around 70,000 mg of theobromine. One would need to eat roughly 467 kg (1030 pounds) of dark chocolate to attain this amount. That is a huge sum that is nearly unattainable!

But long before consuming so much, one would experience various health problems brought on by consuming too many calories, sugars, and fats, as well as other possible toxins.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

The amount of flavonol in chocolate varies significantly depending on the chocolate's kind and processing. While milk chocolate and white chocolate also contain some flavonols, dark chocolate has the largest concentration. A high-quality dark chocolate will typically contain 50 to 170 mg of flavonols per 100 grams.

You may strive for a daily flavonol intake of 200 mg if you want to achieve a possible heart-healthy level. According on the flavonol content of the chocolate, this implies you would need to eat between 120 and 400 grams of dark chocolate.

Keep in mind that the amount of flavonols in chocolate chips varies. You'd need to know the precise flavonol content of the chocolate chips you're ingesting to get an accurate figure.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Haha, several hundred servings of cocoa a day? Sounds like you've got your flavanol source locked down! 😄 But in all seriousness, it's fascinating how different foods can interact and affect the absorption of beneficial compounds

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago

Oh get fucked