THIS Common Fact About BANANAS is a MYTH

Full Episode: • Why Drinking a Banana ...
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Hi, I'm Matt Kaeberlein. I spent the first few decades of my career doing scientific research into the biology of aging, trying to understand the finer details of how humans age in order to facilitate translational interventions that promote healthspan and improve quality of life. Now I want to take some of that knowledge out of the lab and into the hands of people who can really use it.
On this channel I talk about all things aging and healthspan, from supplements and nutrition to the latest discoveries in longevity research. My goal is to lift the veil on the geroscience and longevity world and help you apply what we know to your own personal health trajectory. I care about quality science and will always be honest about what I don't know. I hope you'll find these videos helpful!

[@jakubchrobry3701]

Three important points about the polyphenol oxidase paper that were not mentioned (please correct me if I missed while listening at 3x speed): 1) In studies 1 & 2, the smoothies were drank within 5 minutes after mixing, not one hour. Blood samples were taken before drinking the smoothie, then 1 h, 2 h, 3 h, 4 h, 5 h and 6 h after test material ingestion. 2) In study 1, the half life of the polyphenol measured in the smoothie was approximately 10 min (9.8 +/- 2.1 min). 3) In study 2, two smoothies were drank separately (a. the polyphenol (cocoa) drink and b. the banana drink). There was no mixing except in the stomach. In study 2, the subjects had 37% less polyphenols in the blood as compared to the control (cocoa smoothie without the banana). You can decide how much you care about polyphenols, but waiting for an hour to drink a smoothie had nothing to do with this study. They were simply measuring the concentration of the polyphenol in the smoothie at 0, 5, 10, 15, 30 and 60 min after mixing. This had nothing to do with ingesting the smoothie and taking blood samples. It was to determine the half life.

[@jozefwoo8079]

Thanks for clarifying. It's surprising how Matt got this wrong. And as you rightly point out, it's still an open question if we should worry that much about it. Just curious how you listen at 3x speed when my KZbin only offers double the speed as the maximum.

[@v1kt0u5]

there's no 3x speed, jackass 🤣

[@IAMMANIFEST]

I got extremely sick following 'health influencers'...fasting, keto green, crazy low carb, no sugar etc. I basically ended up deficient in everything, malnourished, in a severe burnout, lost a lot of my hair, bedridden and still sick after 2 years. BUT, as part of my recovery, I recently introduced banana and kiwi fruit (I did a microbiome test and it told me I need fruit like banana and kiwi for gut health). I have found it life changing. Have we demonised the benefit of natural sugars and even a glucose spike, which I read recently in a Harvard Medicine report that the body needs sugar to survive and actually just avoid ADDED SUGARS? After 25 years of not eating banana or any fruit other than berries, I've been so confused but I wonder if we are overlooking other vital benefits...my heart sank when you said eating a banana is like eating a snickers bar but I also think of how you say health is a tailored approach and I do believe I need the banana:)

[@LLee0]

Not all fruits are created equal. Fruits with higher fiber contents, tend to block sugar absorption in the small intestine (less sugar going into the blood stream), and more sugar going into the big intestine to feed our friendly gut bacteria. As banana ripping, its fiber contents decrease, the higher glucose spike it will generate. In another words, raw bananas behave more like vegetable, ripen bananas behave more like sweet fruits...

[@aryangod2003]

Nonsense advice from Kaberline Bananas are ahealthy. If you eat one or two fruits a day (one apple, orange or banana) you are fine and healthy. I am not including berries and avocadoes in the mix. Non sense health advice. Also have the whole fruit not juice or ground up.. Juicing does cause insulin to spike. But having a whole banana, or apple or orange (1 or 2 a day) is on net benefit.

[@Seanonyoutube]

2:21 you’ve gotta be kidding me dude. You literally used the same flawed tiktok logic as the guy you are critiquing. Comparing a banana to a snickers bar is WILD. I thought you were joking but when I realized you weren’t I lost a lot of respect for you.

[@seban-jackedweeb5513]

I completely agree. That was so extreme, especially since literature shows it still significantly reduces mortality in humans, so it's still clearly healthy. Are blueberries and avocados likely healthier? Yes, without a doubt, but a, um, Snickers bar is high in saturated fat no fiber and few micronutrients, while bananas have fiber, micronutrients, are entirely carbs and sugar, etc, and we know sugar is perfectly healthy is isoenergetic conditions (calories stay the same). I've always been confused about his obsession over sugar,...when it's not inherently more harmful that carbs in isoenergetic conditions.

[@RealityCheck787]

Fruits are some of the healthiest foods out there, eat all of them in moderation and in variety. Anything else is just fad bs.

[@aryangod2003]

Nonsense advice from Kaberlin comparing bananas to Snicker bar. Bananas are a healthy on balance . If you eat one or two fruits a day (one apple, orange or banana) you are fine and healthy. I am not including berries and avocadoes in the mix in counting towards your two a day limit. Non sense health advice. Also have the whole fruit not juice or ground up or in a smoothie. Juicing does cause insulin to rise fast but whole fruits have fiber vitamins etc always better than making it to smoothies or juice.s

[@espinosalexis]

I heard this first from Rhonda Patrick. I gues you should also scold her publicly! Invite Rhonda and the authors to discuss the study. (And also the tiktoker)

[@aryangod2003]

Nonsense advice from Kaberlin as well, comparing bananas to Snicker bar. Bananas are a healthy on balance . If you eat one or two fruits a day (one apple, orange or banana) you are fine and healthy. I am not including berries and avocados in the mix in your 1-2 fruits a day suggestion. Also have the whole fruit not juiced or ground up or in a smoothie. Juicing does cause insulin to rise fast, but whole fruits have fiber vitamins etc. Whole fruits always better than making it to smoothies or juices.

[@espinosalexis]

@@aryangod2003 Agree!

[@TRUMP-2024-UK]

Have an avocado instead... one of the healthiest fruits

[@asprinklingofclouds]

I have read that proteins (e.g. whey and casein) also negatively affects protein bio availability, if this is true then bananas are a bit of a moot point for 'Distilled Science'

[@KasKade7]

Dr. Rhonda Patrick said in almost every recent podcast to never add bananas to smoothies. Alot of people trust her. This myth will stay now for a long time.

[@jakubchrobry3701]

Matt Kaeberlein did not accurately describe the study. The subjects drank the smoothie within 5 minutes of mixing, not one hour. If you don't care about polyphenols, that's okay; and this study is then irrelevant. If you do care about polyphenols, Rhonda is more closer to the truth than Matt. Beware of YT influencers that misrepresent studies (intentionally or unintentionally). Btw, I'm no fan of Rhonda and much of her advice.

[@jakubchrobry3701]

@@bob-ss4wx Please tell me what I got wrong. Also, see my separate comment about what Matt got wrong. I listed three things. Otherwise, your reply is useless.

[@jamesherried9269]

​@@jakubchrobry3701That doesn't seem accurate, because they wouldn't have been able to determine the effect that banana had on polyphenols, once the smoothie was inside the bodies of the subjects.

[@jakubchrobry3701]

@@jamesherried9269 Doesn't seem accurate? Why don't you look at the paper. It's available for free. Blood samples were taken before drinking the smoothie and then at 1 h, 2 h, 3 h, 4 h, 5 h and 6 h after test material ingestion. They tested the blood plasma for glucuronidated, sulfated and methylated structurally-related (−)-epicatechin metabolites (SREMs) from the flavan-3-ol intake. Wow, just guessing what's in the paper based on your gut feeling. That takes the cake.

[@jakubchrobry3701]

@@jamesherried9269 Doesn't seem accurate? Why don't you look at the paper. It's available for free. Blood samples were taken before drinking the smoothie and then at 1 h, 2 h, 3 h, 4 h, 5 h and 6 h after test material ingestion. They tested the blood plasma for glucuronidated, sulfated and methylated structurally-related (−)-epicatechin metabolites (SREMs) from the flavan-3-ol intake.

[@TaggeMD]

Dr Kaeberlin is winning in the nuance category 🏆

[@Seanonyoutube]

Calling Banana “essentially a snickers bar” is nuance to you?! I feel sorry for your patients if you agree with that stance.

[@timskolnik3819]

If fruit is too high in sugar for YOU, then YOU need to move your body A LOT more. Do you think fruit would have had a negative or positive impact on health for human beings evolving from 200,000 years ago, up until around 100 years ago? We know the answer. Those people moved WAY more than the average American today, and ate basically next to no other kinds of sugar. We need to go back to eating and moving more like we did for the majority of our existence, and we know this. Tell anyone that works out that a banana is an unhealthy choice and watch them look at you like you're crazy.

[@aryangod2003]

Nonsense advice from Kaberlin comparing bananas to Snicker bar. Bananas are a healthy on balance . If you eat one or two fruits a day (one apple, orange or banana) you are fine and healthy. I am not including berries and avocadoes in the mix in counting towards your two a day limit. Non sense health advice. Also have the whole fruit not juice or ground up or in a smoothie. Juicing does cause insulin to rise fast but whole fruits have fiber vitamins etc always better than making it to smoothies or juice.s

[@jpintero6330]

Rhonda Patrick said this. Yikes.

[@rfbead321]

Rhonda is easily distracted.

[@jimfife6255]

Ya but: to advocate for the appropriateness of a cold smoothie over a warm one is to dismiss whatever biology happens subsequently, when the Yellow Snickers Bar hits 98.6.

[@CraigHocker]

Your stomach will have low pH and proteases that will kill the enzymes in the banana that are a concern. So the rise in temperature isn't relevant at that point. That's what your stomach does, destroy the proteins in the food.

[@aryangod2003]

Nonsense advice from Kaberlin comparing bananas to Snicker bar. Bananas are a healthy on balance . If you eat one or two fruits a day (one apple, orange or banana) you are fine and healthy. I am not including berries and avocadoes in the mix in counting towards your two a day limit. Non sense health advice. Also have the whole fruit not juice or ground up or in a smoothie. Juicing does cause insulin to rise fast but whole fruits have fiber vitamins etc always better than making it to smoothies or juice. Note aside form one or two whole fruits I have NO other sugar in a day. No artificial sugar whatsover.

[@Seanonyoutube]

I am shocked by that comparison too. it’s sad because I subscribed with the excitement of finally finding another “serious scientist” who know the literature whom I can trust but now he has shaken that trust so I’ll have to take everything he says with a big grain of salt. And by the way, a smoothie that keeps the fiber is generally fine. it may not be quite as healthy as the whole fruit but it’s still better to get a fresh smoothie than no fruit. Even fresh squeezed juice in small amounts is fine. The problem is just that people tend to chug it.

[@andrewboss2018]

I am *shocked* to hear you find bananas unhealthy. It is very high in K and relatively high in Mag. Each is about 100 kcal, and cal-cal is hi fiber, especially before fully ripe. Your reference to simple sugars and metabolic disease is a slow nod to Ludwig's carbohydrate-insulin model, which has been robustly disproven by the controlled feedings that back the CICO model and pharmacological models like Semaglutide. Furthermore Hi-Gi foods have **no effect** on metabolic disease independent of a caloric surplus, and we have human studies showing hi-GI foods in a caloric deficit **improving** metabolic disease outcome. I strongly suggest you re-familiarize yourself with the bulk of the evidence currently in nutrition sciences. Please refer to scientists like Layne Norton who make a lot of great content on this topic. I agree with your interpretation of the study.

[@rfbead321]

Ripe bananas are carbohydrate bombs. Measure your glucose level before and after eating Nature's Snicker's Bar. lol.

[@jozefwoo8079]

Thanks for bringing this up. I feel Matt should do some more research or stay away from nutrition claims if he is not an expert on nutrition. It's not the first time I hear ungrounded claims even though generally he is very objective and nuanced.

[@jozefwoo8079]

@@rfbead321you clearly did not understand the original comment. Read it again, it's golden.

[@aryangod2003]

Nonsense advice from Kaberlin comparing bananas to Snicker bar. Bananas are a healthy on balance . If you eat one or two fruits a day (one apple, orange or banana) you are fine and healthy. I am not including berries and avocadoes in the mix in counting towards your two a day limit. Non sense health advice. Also have the whole fruit not juice or ground up or in a smoothie. Juicing does cause insulin to rise fast but whole fruits have fiber vitamins etc always better than making it to smoothies or juice.s

[@TRUMP-2024-UK]

Unripe bananas are fine but ripe... no...too much sugar...simple really

[@jozefwoo8079]

Unfortunately it's not that simple

[@TRUMP-2024-UK]

@@jozefwoo8079 Explain to me then if you could please so I can learn more. Thank you

[@jozefwoo8079]

@@TRUMP-2024-UK Search for "The Health Effect of Eating Fruit ("Is Fruit just sugar?")" by the amazingly neutral, objective and science-based channel called "Nutrition Made Simple". In a nutshell, it's all relative. If you don't eat an insane amount of fruit (so around 2 piece a day), then as good as all fruit is healthy. Just avoid a standard American diet, don't worry about a banana. That's wasting time on useless details. Just be active and that tiny bit of sugar extra is not going to do any harm. There is absolutely no evidence for that.

[@Seanonyoutube]

@@TRUMP-2024-UK the riper the banana gets the more available sugars are in there. But a sweet fruit is still MILES healthier than a snickers bar. The sugar is still bound in a fiber/water matrix, and it is still accompanied with lots of micro nutrients. So really a ripe bananas are only a problem when consumed in excess, without being physically active or for people with uncontrolled diabetes. Otherwise it’s still squarely in the healthy category.

[@gridwanderer]

@Seanonyoutube I think the criticisms of bananas simply revolve around the high glycemic load of bananas. (Now if you're discussing whether HbA1c has no effect on longevity, then that's an entirely separate conversation.) But, if we assume it does: Testing your postprandial blood glucose response eating bananas is comparable to other very glucose-spiking foods like white bread toast, is that not true? So I think that even with the watery-fiber matrix, the spike may sadly not be attenuated sufficiently to quell the concerns around including a banana-based smoothie in your daily morning routine. Have you tried frozen avocados? Helps to substitute the creamy texture imparted by ripe frozen bananas. Or if you have a CGM and can screenshot the 2-hr blood glucose response graphs of smoothies w/ & w/o bananas it would be great to see the comparison. I haven't tried this yet. But I too prefer the taste of frozen bananas and have not found anything other than frozen avocados that taste as good.

[@paulfiedler9128]

Bananas contain way too much sugar. Instead, have a tablespoon of organic beet powder. Fruit is very overrated as a healthy food. I have one cup of frozen organic strawberries in my smoothie each day. I also add organic six-blend mushroom powder and frozen spinach.

[@TRUMP-2024-UK]

Have a green banana... full of resistant starch...

[@TRUMP-2024-UK]

Strawberries are full of sugar .. no thanks.....raspberries are better

[@rfbead321]

Skip the spinach - it's an oxalate bomb. Better yet, eat meat and eggs for best outcome. Leave the plants to the Orangutans.

[@timskolnik3819]

If fruit are too high in sugar for YOU, then YOU need to move your body A LOT more. You think fruit would have had a negative or positive impact on health for human beings evolving from 200,000 years ago, up till about 100 years ago? We know the answer. They moved WAY more than the average American today, and ate basically next to no other kinds of sugar.

[@seban-jackedweeb5513]

Don't you think that banana claim is extreme though? Human literature shows it still significantly reduces mortality in humans, so it's still clearly healthy. Are blueberries and avocados likely healthier? Yes, without a doubt, but a, um, Snickers bar is high in saturated fat, no fiber and few micronutrients, while bananas have fiber, micronutrients, are entirely carbs and sugar, etc, and we know sugar is perfectly healthy is isoenergetic conditions (calories stay the same). I've always been confused about your obsession over sugar,...when it's not inherently more harmful that carbs in isoenergetic conditions, from what I've read in the human literature where calories are accounted for and from the vast majority of PhDs in the field, like Dr. Layne Norton, Dr. Mike Israetel, Dr. Eric Trexler, Dr. Eric Helms, Dr. Greg Knuckles, etc all (and I promise I can probably list several more, if not ten more PhDs in the field saying the same thing if I weren't just going off the top of my head (Jhought of Dr. Don Laymen too)) saying that sugar, when calories are equated, is not more or less healthy than carbs, espeically if you exercise leading to even faster fructose to glucose conversion. I love that you were still willing to debunk this quackery about smoothies though. It shows you truly care about being the truth using all the capabilities and knowledge you have rather than falling for person bias or message. You could've easily not looked into it and used it as arguments for your own beliefs against sugar, but instead you decided to evaluate the claim on it's own before falling for beliefs that already fit your world views, like most.