When it comes to something as life and death important as to what to feed ourselves and our families,

we should rely not on anecdotes, but on facts.

Welcome to the Nutrition Facts podcast.

I'm your host, Dr. Michael Greger.

Today we feature the strangely complex art of smoothie making.

As it turns out, if you make your smoothies

the wrong way, you can partially destroy valuable phytonutrients. Here's our first story.

There are recommended daily intakes of essential nutrients like vitamins to prevent deficiencies,

but recently the first dietary recommendation for a bioactive food compound was published.

Bioactives are food compounds that are not necessary for basic human needs, but may have health

benefits.

For example, plant metabolites called flavonoids.

Flavinoids are a type of polyphenol, of which the most commonly consumed are flavinthriols,

also known as just flaminols.

A review of the literature suggested that the intake of 400 to 600 milligrams a day of flavanols

would be beneficial for cardiometabolic protection, potentially helping to improve

blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugars.

Note it's specified that these are food guidelines, not supplement guidelines,

though really they're more like beverage guidelines, as tea, green or black,

would be by far the easiest way to reach those levels, though there are also certainly

some in a variety of berries and cocoa. However,

there is an enzyme called polyphenol oxidase that can break down polyphenols like flavanols.

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