Although spinach, lettuce and other leafy greens contain lutein, mixing them with certain things can greatly increase this lutein level, according to the Daily Mail.
Lutein is an antioxidant that helps keep your eyes healthy. Especially since our bodies cannot produce lutein on their own.
What did the study find?
To find a way to maximize the lutein content of spinach smoothies, researchers at Linköping University (Sweden) created a drink by blending spinach and water.
Scientists have found a trick that could make smoothies more nutritious.
They then tried different blends, like blending spinach with milk instead of water, including yogurt, cow's milk, coconut milk...
They added digestive enzymes to the smoothies to mimic human digestion and measured how much lutein was released in each smoothie. Spinach may be high in lutein, but it needs gastric juices — produced in the stomach — to break it down.
Results showed that only 4 of the 14 smoothie recipes produced high levels of lutein. The highest lutein content was achieved in the smoothie made with spinach and coconut milk, followed by cow's milk.
Specifically, pure coconut milk increased lutein release by 42%, while full-fat cow's milk increased lutein levels by 36%, according to the Daily Mail .
The highest lutein content was achieved in spinach smoothie with coconut milk.
The results also showed that low-fat cow's milk, Greek yogurt, and almond milk only increased lutein slightly. In particular, soy milk decreased lutein levels.
Nuts, beans, or oats did not increase lutein levels compared to water.
This means it's better to mix vegetable smoothies with water rather than with nut milk, as this has a "negative impact on lutein release," the researchers said.
High-fat cow's milk as well as coconut milk improved the release of lutein, said study author Rosanna Chung, associate professor of experimental cardiology and nutritional immunology at Linköping University, according to the Daily Mail .
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