Health
Should Colon Cancer Screening Start at 40?
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By Alvin Powell | Harvard Staff Writer | Harvard Gazette
Medical and public health professionals are seeing a worrisome trend of rising early onset rates for certain cancers and wrestling with what the most appropriate response might be.
In April, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force lowered the recommended age to start breast cancer screening to 40 from 50, citing high mortality and a rising incidence among U.S. women age 40 to 49 for the change. Data showed a 2 percent annual increase in diagnoses from 2015 to 2019.
Colorectal cancer has tracked a similar, perhaps even more worrisome, trajectory in recent years. It has seen an even steeper rise of early onset cases, up 15 percent among those age 40 to 49 between 2000 and 2016. The second deadliest after lung cancer, it kills more people than breast cancer — an estimated 52,550 in 2023.
The Gazette asked colorectal cancer experts at Harvard Medical School-affiliated hospitals whether the colorectal cancer screening age should be lowered to 40 from the current 45.
Many of the younger patients are being diagnosed in their late 20s to 30s
Ted Hong, professor of radiation oncology, HMS; director of the Gastrointestinal Service, Radiation Oncology Department, Mass General Cancer Center
This is a complicated issue. While there is clearly a dramatic rise in colorectal cancer in young patients, it’s not clear that 40 is the correct age. Many of the younger patients are being diagnosed in their late 20s to 30s and moving the screening to 40 may not capture this group of patients, while dramatically increasing cost and utilization. Ultimately, other tests, be it blood-based or stool-based, to direct younger patients at risk to earlier colonoscopy are needed.
Early screening involves risks and additional upfront costs
Tyler Berzin, associate professor of medicine, HMS; director of the Advanced Endoscopy Fellowship program, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
It would be a “not yet” for me right now. In the last couple of decades there has been a nearly 50 percent increase in colorectal cancer diagnoses in individuals under the age of 50. An increase like this can’t be due to genetic factors, which don’t change in the population over that period of time, so the rise in early onset colon cancer is likely related to various environmental and lifestyle risk factors: the types of foods we consume, alcohol use, and obesity, among many other considerations.
Colorectal cancer is now the top cause of cancer death in men under 50 and the second-leading cause in women under 50. Compared to most other types of cancer screening, where the aim is to catch cancers at an early stage, we have a unique advantage in colon cancer screening because we can identify and remove theprecursor lesions — colon polyps — many years before they actually turn cancerous. For this reason, it does make sense to ask the question of whether to recommend earlier screening to identify and remove precancerous polyps before the currently recommended screening age of 45 (for average risk individuals).
There is no doubt that moving the colon cancer screening age to 40 would catch and prevent a few more cancers. But early screening involves risks and additional upfront costs and may shift how we allocate resources. For instance, in some areas of the country with relatively few gastroenterologists, there are already long waits to get in for colonoscopy screening.
The reality is we’re still not doing nearly a good enough job getting most 45-year-olds or even 50-year-olds, screened for colon cancer, and we do a particularly poor job for disadvantaged and vulnerable groups — including the uninsured and underinsured. So changing the colon cancer screening age to 40 can’t be considered in isolation. We have to balance a variety of health care access and cost considerations to determine if it’s the right move for average risk individuals in the U.S.
If there was a biomarker to identify risk, this would help us understand who to screen early
Aparna Parikh, associate professor of medicine, HMS; medical director, Center for Young Adult Colorectal Cancer at Mass General Cancer Center
As an oncologist who sees largely young patients, my bias is to screen earlier. But we have to be mindful of the population-level implications of continuing to lower the screening age. Ideally, we start to understand the drivers and which younger individuals may be prone to develop CRC in order to offer early screening to the right patients. If there was a biomarker to identify risk, this would help us understand who to screen early. Many of my patients are in their 20s and 30s. Expanding the screening eligible age may be a good space for stool- and blood-based screening and risk stratification to get the right people to colonoscopies efficiently.
Adherence to screening remains low in the U.S.
Marios Giannakis, associate professor of medicine, HMS; gastrointestinal oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Early onset colorectal cancer, defined as colorectal cancer diagnosed in individuals younger than 50 years old, is a rising epidemic. In recognition of this, several major organizations and societies have adjusted the recommended screening age for colorectal cancer. For example, the [Preventative Services Task Force] now gives a Grade B recommendation for screening individuals ages 45 to 50 versus a Grade A recommendation for those ages 50-75, and the American Cancer Society (ACS) a qualified recommendation versus a strong recommendation for older individuals. These guidelines instruct physicians to recommend screening to their eligible patients.
It is also true that early onset colorectal cancer affects numerous individuals younger — and sometimes much younger — than age 45. Whether to further reduce the screening age for the general population is a complex decision that these bodies and societies think carefully over, examining not only the incidence of early onset colorectal cancer, but the available resources and cost to society and patients of a more expanded screening program.
It would be a little presumptuous for one — including an expert — physician to assume this role. What has become as clear as the rise in early onset colorectal cancer is that adherence to screening remains low in the U.S. and that underserved populations are particularly vulnerable. Thus, thinking about equitable access to the currently recommended care and advancing the scientific mission of understanding the etiology of early onset colorectal cancer in order to identify those at the highest risk and tailor prevention and screening may well be a more sustainable long-term solution.
Only those with the means to afford it would take part
Shuji Ogino, professor of pathology, HMS; professor of epidemiology, chief of molecular pathological epidemiology in the Department of Pathology, Brigham & Women’s Hospital
It depends. First, we need to have and evaluate more data on comparative effectiveness analyses of costs and benefits of setting universal screening start age at 40 versus 45 years. It is unlikely that a universal colonoscopy start age of 40 years will be cost-effective. Fecal occult blood testing may be more cost-effective, but it has some degree of false-positive findings, which necessitates additional tests (that may be unnecessary to begin with). Thus, we need more research in this area.
It can be possible that, based on genetic and life-course risk factor profiles, screening start age could/should be tailored. However, we lack comprehensive information on effects of various genetic, life-course risk factors and their interactions at this time. Ideally, one can start colonoscopy screening at age 40 years or even younger. However, such a practice will increase health disparities and inequities, as only those with the means to afford it would take part. We could not rely on financially unsustainable universal insurance coverage for universal screening starting at a young age.
Focus more on identifying the underlying causes
Andrew Chan, Daniel K. Podolsky Professor of Medicine, HMS; professor of immunology and infectious diseases, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health; director of cancer epidemiology, Mass General Cancer Center
To address the unprecedented increase in incidence in colorectal cancer diagnosed before the age of 50, it would be tempting to simply lower the age at which we begin screening to 40 years. However, we must also consider the tremendous resources that would need to be devoted to such an effort. Such a major broadening of the eligibility for screening would likely be an insurmountable cost to the healthcare system and divert attention from other important needs. Instead, I would argue that we should focus more on identifying the underlying causes of this rise in early onset cases so that we can focus on efforts to eliminate or reverse them.
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This story is reprinted with permission from The Harvard Gazette.
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Health
Is It Safe to Exercise in Extreme Heat and Smoky Skies?
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By Brett Goldhawk
UBC professor Dr. Michael Koehle explains why it’s important to adapt your exercise routine to the weather conditions
For many people, summer is an opportunity to bring their exercise routine out of the gym and into the great outdoors.
But as heat waves, wildfires and smoke-choked skies become commonplace for more communities, it’s important to safely adjust your outdoor exercise to the new realities of climate change.
Dr. Michael Koehle, a professor of sport and exercise medicine at the UBC faculty of medicine, discusses how to tell if it’s safe to exercise outside and what to do when conditions become extreme.
What are the health risks of exercising in extreme heat or forest fire smoke?
Exercising in hot conditions can put us at risk of exertional heat illnesses, including heat exhaustion at the mild end of the spectrum, or the more severe variant, heatstroke, which can be life-threatening.
By contrast, living in areas affected by wildfire smoke—whether we’re resting or exercising—exposes us to long periods of very high levels of particulate matter in the air. This can lead to long-term consequences such as heart and lung disease, as well as diabetes and dementia. The harmful effects of air pollution may be compounded during exercise, because the rate and depth of our breathing increases.
Some people are more at risk than others, and this includes older adults, pregnant people, young children, and people with pre-existing health concerns like lung or heart conditions, cancer, diabetes and mental illness.
How do you know if it’s safe to exercise outdoors?
In Canada, we have helpful tools that give us an indication of the environmental conditions outdoors. For temperature, it’s important to consider the humidex, since we have more difficulty managing our body temperature on hot days that are also humid. People will experience discomfort with a humidex above 30 and should be particularly careful with a humidex above 40.
For air pollution, in Canada we use a scale called the Air Quality Health Index (AQHI), which gives an estimate of the air quality health risk on a one-to-10 scale, and can be checked on apps like Plume Labs and AQHI Canada. Environment Canada has reasonable guidance on when it is safe to exercise, but generally speaking, people should consider modifying outdoor activities when the AQHI is above four for at-risk populations, seven for the general population, or if you experience symptoms such as coughing or throat irritation.
What precautions can people take to stay safe when exercising outdoors in these conditions?
The most important strategy is to monitor current conditions and forecasts for both weather and air quality. This allows us to choose the better times of day and locations for physical activity and exercise. Often early morning can be lower-risk for both heat and smoke, and locations like parks that benefit from optimal wind, shade and distance from smoke sources can lead to lower heat and air quality risk.
For more detailed guidance, the Canadian Academy of Sport and Exercise Medicine has helpful recommendations on exercising in air pollution. The Government of Canada also has information and advice for heat and humidity.
Why is it important to continue exercising, even during environmental extremes?
We know that in the long term, a physically active lifestyle is important in preventing and treating many chronic diseases, including those that make people more susceptible to the effects of extreme heat and smoke, so avoiding activity altogether is not a solution.
Instead, using strategies like exercising in the early morning or indoors depending on the weather conditions, can help us to stay active, even when the AQHI or humidex are particularly high.
Although we can acclimate somewhat to high heat and humidity over a period of days to weeks, there is no indication that we can acclimate to the air pollution that comes from wildfires. So repeated exposure to wildfire smoke—during rest and exercise—only leads to increased risk of long-term health consequences. Everyone needs to assess the conditions and adapt our activities accordingly.
Interview language(s): English
Featured Researcher
Professor, Department of Family Practice, Division of Sport & Exercise Medicine
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Previously Published on ubc.ca with Creative Commons License
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Health
Before Michigan Legalized Surrogacy, Families Found Ways Around the Ban
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By Kate Wells, Michigan Public
The first time Tammy and Jordan Myers held their twins, the premature babies were so fragile that their tiny faces were mostly covered by oxygen masks and tubing. Their little hands rested gently on Tammy’s chest as the machines keeping them alive in a neonatal intensive care unit in Grand Rapids, Michigan, beeped and hummed around them.
It was an incredible moment, but also a terrifying one. A court had just denied the Myers’ parental rights to the twins, who were born via surrogate using embryos made from Jordan’s sperm and Tammy’s eggs. (Tammy’s eggs had been frozen before she underwent treatment for breast cancer.)
“In the early hours of their lives, we had no lifesaving medical decision-making power for their care,” Tammy Myers told lawmakers at a Michigan Senate committee hearing in March.
Instead, the state’s surrogacy restrictions required the Myers to legally adopt their biological twins, Eames and Ellison.
“Despite finally being granted legal parenthood of our twins almost two years after they were born, our wounds from this situation remain raw, casting a long shadow over the cherished memories that we missed,” Myers told lawmakers, her voice catching.
Until this spring, Michigan was the only state that had a broad criminal ban on surrogacy. Many families say that ban left them in legal limbo: They were compelled to leave the state to have children; find strangers on Facebook who would carry their child; or, like the Myers, be forced to legally adopt their own biological children.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan signed legislation in April repealing the 1988 criminal ban, legalizing surrogacy contracts and compensated surrogacy after more than three decades. But the legalization is raising fears among conservatives and religious groups, who echo Pope Francis’ concerns that surrogacy exploits women and makes children “the basis of a commercial contract.”
As reproductive technology advanced in recent decades, most states passed laws permitting and regulating surrogacy. But Michigan did not, said Courtney Joslin, a professor at the University of California-Davis School of Law who specializes in family law. Still, those restrictions didn’t prevent Michiganders from having children via surrogacy.
“Criminal bans, or even civil bans, don’t end the practice,” Joslin said. “People are still engaged in surrogacy, and it’s becoming more clear that the effect of a ban is just to leave the parties without any protection. And that includes the person acting as a surrogate.”
In 2009, a couple in western Michigan had to surrender custody of twins after their surrogate decided to keep the babies. The surrogate claimed that she hadn’t been aware of an arrest and a mental health issue in the intended mother’s past. In 2013, a surrogate from Connecticut fled to Michigan to give birth, knowing state law would give her parental rights. She and the intended parents had disagreed over whether to terminate the pregnancy following the discovery of major fetal abnormalities.
The Myers family, however, thought they would be able to avoid any protracted legal fights. They had the full support of their surrogate, Lauren Vermilye, a stranger who’d volunteered to be their surrogate after seeing Tammy’s posts on Facebook. Yet even with Vermilye and her husband, Jonathan, saying that the twins belonged to the Myers, Michigan judges denied the Myers’ request for a prebirth order giving them parental rights.
“As a devoted family already raising our kind, inclusive and gentle-hearted 8-year-old daughter, Corryn, we were forced to prove our worthiness through invasive psychological testing, home visits, and endless meetings to discuss our parenting plan to prove that we were fit to raise our twins, Eames and Ellison,” Tammy Myers told lawmakers in March.
Opponents of Michigan’s repeal of its surrogacy ban distinguish altruistic surrogacy — in which the surrogate mother does not receive any compensation, including for her medical and legal expenses — from a contract for a child.
Legislators in Michigan’s House of Representatives passed bills late last year to allow courts to recognize and enforce surrogacy contracts. These bills allowed parents to compensate surrogates, including for medical and legal expenses. But as the legislation moved forward early this year, religious and conservative groups, and some Republican lawmakers, continued voicing their opposition.
Michigan’s surrogacy laws were not preventing altruistic surrogacy in the state, argued Genevieve Marnon, the legislative director of Right to Life of Michigan, at a state Senate committee hearing in March.
“However, current law does require a legal adoption of a child who is born of one woman and then given to another person,” Marnon said. “That practice is child-protective, to prevent the buying and selling of children, and to ensure children are going to a safe home.”
Michigan’s ban on surrogacy is “in keeping with much of the rest of the world,” Marnon said in March. Several European countries ban or restrict surrogacy, including Italy, which is cracking down on international surrogacy, an arrangement involving a surrogate mother who lives in a different country than the biological parents.
“India, Thailand, and Cambodia had laws similar to those contemplated in these bills, but due to exploitation of their women caused by surrogacy tourism, they changed their laws to stop that,” Marnon told the senators in March.
In January, Pope Francis called for a universal ban on surrogacy, “which represents a grave violation of the dignity of the woman and the child, based on the exploitation of situations of the mother’s material needs,” he said.
Rebecca Mastee, a policy advocate with the Michigan Catholic Conference, told lawmakers that while she acknowledged the suffering of people with infertility, surrogacy can exploit women and treat babies like commodities.
“At the core of such agreements is a contract for a human being,” she said.
“That made my blood boil, hearing that,” said Eric Portenga. He and his husband, Kevin O’Neill, had traveled from their home in Ann Arbor to the Capitol in Lansing to attend the hearings in March.
If you’ve been through the surrogacy process “you know there’s no commodification at all,” Portenga said. “You want a family because you have love to give. And you want to build the love that you have, with your family.”
When Portenga and O’Neill were trying to become fathers, they reached out to surrogacy agencies in other states but were told the process would cost $200,000. “We would have had to have sold the house,” O’Neill said.
Like the Myers, the couple turned to Facebook and social media, “just putting our story out there that we wanted to become dads,” O’Neill said. A friend of a friend, Maureen Farris, reached out to the couple: She’d been wanting to help a family through surrogacy for years, she said. And Farris lived just a few hours south in Ohio, where surrogacy contracts and compensation are legal.
Farris’ contract with Portenga and O’Neill was fairly standard. Both sides had to undergo psychological background checks and have legal representation. The contract also set compensation for Farris, which covered medical and legal fees. The contract stipulated Farris couldn’t travel to Michigan beyond a certain point in her pregnancy because if she’d gone into labor and given birth in the state, she would be considered the legal parent of the child.
That contract, Portenga and O’Neill said, gave Farris more protection and agency than she would have had in Michigan at the time. “They’re carrying a human life inside of them,” O’Neill said of surrogates. “They’re not able to work. Their bodies will be changed forever. They’re getting compensated for the amazing gift they’re giving people.”
After the embryo transfer was successful, Portenga and O’Neill learned Farris was pregnant — with identical triplet girls.
“They came out and just unraveled this huge string of ultrasound photographs and, and that’s when we knew our life had changed,” Portenga said, sitting at home in the family’s kitchen. The girls were born in Ohio — where the dads could be legally named their parents — and then the family of five returned to Michigan.
Today, Sylvie, Parker, and Robin O’Neill are 2 years old, and very busy. Parker is the “leader of the pack,” while Robin is the “brains of the operation” — she can count to 10 but likes to skip the number five. Sylvie is “the most affectionate, the most sensitive, of the three of them,” O’Neill said. “But their bond is so amazing to watch. And we’re so lucky to be their dads.”
This article is from a partnership that includes Michigan Public, NPR, and KFF Health News.
KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF.
Subscribe to KFF Health News’ free Morning Briefing.
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Previously Published on kffhealthnews.org
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Health
Broccoli Smoothie With Banana And Mango
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Packed with hidden veggies and sweetened with banana and mango, my rich and creamy broccoli smoothie is the perfect nutritious and delicious way to kickstart your day! Made with just a handful of basic ingredients, it takes just 5 minutes to make, and it also happens to be super kid-friendly too!
![Healthy broccoli smoothie with banana in a glass on a white countertop.](https://pickyeaterblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/broccoli-smoothie.jpg)
If you’re looking for a quick and easy pick-me-up for a healthy breakfast or post-workout snack, my broccoli smoothie with banana and mango is just what you need. It’s one of my favorite ways to sneak in some extra greens!
Now, I know what you’re thinking – a smoothie with broccoli and banana!? It sounds unusual, but trust me, you’ll be pleasantly surprised. While broccoli might not be as common in smoothies as kale or spinach, it blends beautifully with the other ingredients, creating a creamy, thick, and rich treat.
(And if you’re looking for different ways to mix things up in the morning, be sure to also try some of my other smoothie recipes! Some favorites are my arugula smoothie, tomato smoothie, and apple carrot smoothie!)
My broccoli banana mango smoothie is so good that you will barely even notice the broccoli aside from the beautiful green color. It’s a great way to add more greens to your diet as well as get picky eaters to eat more veggies.
And while broccoli does have a slightly bitter taste, I promise, it’s completely masked by the sweeter fruits in this recipe. This smoothie has sweet, tropical fruit notes from the banana and mango, and is creamy and slightly tangy thanks to the yogurt!
I love making this green smoothie when I need to use up some leftover broccoli before it goes to waste. All you need is a blender and a few minutes.
What’s even better is that it’s just as easy to customize as it is to make. My recipe is already naturally gluten free but you can make it vegan too. It’s also easy to switch up the fruits, add a handful of spinach or kale, or toss in some chia seeds or flaxseeds – see my notes below on how to do this!
But what I love most are all the broccoli smoothie benefits! It is packed with powerful antioxidants like sulforaphane, which may protect against cancer (source). Broccoli is also known to help lower blood pressure, stabilize blood sugar, and is rich in vitamins C and K, folate, potassium, iron, and fiber (source).
And to top it all off, my recipe is high in protein! Between the protein in the broccoli, milk, and Greek yogurt, each serving has 9 grams of plant-based protein. A smoothie packed with vitamins, minerals, fiber, protein and that’s healthy, low-calorie and tastes great too? That’s a drink I can get behind!
Latest Recipe Video!
🥘 Ingredients
My healthy broccoli smoothie calls for just 6 simple ingredients, all of which can be found at your local grocery store. Scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of the post for the exact measurements and nutritional info.
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Broccoli: This veggie forms the base of my superfood smoothie. You can use either raw broccoli florets or cooked broccoli. You can even make a frozen broccoli smoothie, and it will come out just as well.
Mango: Mango adds some sweetness and is naturally loaded with Vitamin C (source). I recommend using unsweetened frozen mango chunks to save prep time. Frozen ingredients also mean you don’t have to add ice.
Banana: Rich in potassium and nutrients (source), I include frozen ripe banana to add some sweetness and creaminess.
Milk: I used unsweetened almond milk, but any type of milk will work. Other plant-based options include unsweetened coconut milk, oat milk, flax milk, and rice milk. If you’re not vegan, low-fat milk or skim milk are great choices. If you don’t want to use milk, you can also use coconut water. I don’t recommend using fruit juices like orange juice or pineapple juice as that would increase the sugar content of this recipe.
Vanilla Extract: Just a pinch of vanilla extract adds natural sweetness. I like to use it instead of adding extra sugar.
Yogurt: Greek yogurt gives the smoothie its creamy texture and a good dose of calcium and protein (source). Feel free to use dairy-free yogurt (like unsweetened coconut yogurt) as a vegan option.
🔪 How To Make A Broccoli Smoothie
My simple broccoli smoothie recipe is so easy, that you’ll wonder why you haven’t been making homemade smoothies all along! It’s a 2-step process that anyone can master.
Watch my video below to see how quickly this smoothie comes together in just minutes.
Blend Ingredients: First, I place all the smoothie ingredients in a high speed blender and puree until smooth. Then I give the broccoli shake a taste and adjust the sweetness if needed.
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Serve: I enjoy my smoothie immediately!
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My #1 Secret Tip when making this smoothie is to use a high-speed blender. This is crucial for achieving a smooth, creamy texture without any remaining chunks of broccoli.
High-speed blenders (like a Vitamix) can fully pulverize the vegetables and fruits, ensuring that all the ingredients are well-blended. When you’ve got an ingredient like broccoli which is pretty fibrous, you really want to makes sure it gets completely blended in. This not only improves the texture but also enhances the flavor.
Other Tips To Keep In Mind:
- Add Liquid First: Pour your liquid (almond milk or any other milk) into the blender first to prevent ingredients from sticking to the blades. This helps create the smoothest consistency and saves me some blending time.
- Freeze The Banana: I like to freeze my banana ahead of time to create a thick and creamy smoothie that is already chilled and doesn’t need any ice.
- No Extra Sugar Needed: Thanks to the fresh fruit, you most likely won’t need to add sugar or coconut sugar (or any sweetener) to my recipe! I recommend tasting the smoothie before adding more sugar.
- Serve Immediately: For the best taste and texture, I serve this broccoli and banana smoothie right after blending before it begins to separate. If you do have to wait to serve, give it a good stir until fully combined again.
- Prep Ahead: For busy mornings, you can prep the ingredients the night before. I measure out the broccoli, mango, and banana and store them in the freezer. Then, in the morning, I just add the liquid and blend!
📖 Variations
Vegan: To make this banana broccoli smoothie vegan I use unsweetened coconut yogurt in place of the Greek yogurt. Any type of vegan yogurt will work; just keep in mind that thinner yogurt will produce a thinner consistency, so you may want to add a little less.
Mix-Ins: Make my already healthy broccoli and fruit smoothie even more nutritious by mixing in some omega-3 fatty acids like chia seeds, hemp hearts, flax seeds, or even nuts and nut butter.
Other Fruits: You can also change up the fruits. Instead of mango and banana, feel free to use other fruits like pears, apples, dates, and berries. Both fresh and frozen fruit work, but I do recommend freezing the fruit before making your smoothie.
Kid-Friendly Version: If your kids are sensitive to the taste of broccoli, try adding a bit more fruit to mask the flavor instead of adding sweeteners or sugar. This makes a great broccoli smoothie for toddlers.
Raw Broccoli Spinach Smoothie: If you want to add even more greens make a raw broccoli smoothie with a handful of spinach. Any leafy greens can be added. I love tossing in whatever greens happen to be in my fridge.
Additional Protein: To turn my recipe into a broccoli protein shake by adding a scoop of your favorite regular or vegan protein powder or 1 tablespoon of peanut butter or almond butter.
Broccoli Pineapple Smoothie: Instead of the mango, add ½ to ¾ cup chopped pineapple to make a broccoli banana smoothie with pineapple! My kids love this version.
Broccoli Milkshake: To make it even creamier and almost like a dessert, use some regular or vegan vanilla ice cream in place of the Greek yogurt.
Smoothie Bowl: Turn this into a smoothie bowl recipe! Pour the blended smoothie into a bowl and then top it with some of my healthy low calorie granola, nuts, and coconut. You can add any toppings you like.
🍽 Serving Suggestions
My broccoli mango smoothie with banana is delicious alone but it’s also a great accompaniment to a bigger breakfast, healthy snack, or lunch. These are just a few of my favorites.
With Breakfast: Enjoy it alongside a bowl of my cornmeal porridge or high protein overnight oats. Another great option is to pair it with my gluten-free chocolate chip banana muffins, blueberry sourdough muffins, or healthy bran muffins for a quick and easy on-the-go breakfast.
With Snacks: You can also enjoy your smoothie with snacks like my air fryer banana chips, healthy flapjacks, or no bake peanut butter bliss balls. It’s also perfect with some fresh veggies and my no garlic hummus or a piece of honey avocado toast.
With Lunch: For lunch, pair your smoothie with my vegan hummus avocado wrap or kale and caramelized onion veggie panini.
🧊 Storage Directions
Fridge: Smoothies are best enjoyed fresh, but if I have any leftovers, I pour them into an airtight container and store them in the fridge. They will stay fresh for about 24 hours. Before enjoying it again, I give it a good stir.
Freezer: Freezing will change the texture and possibly the taste, but smoothies will keep for up to 3 months when frozen. What I do is pour the smoothie into a freezer-safe container or ice cube trays. Once frozen, I put the frozen smoothie cubes in a ziplock bag. When ready to enjoy, I toss the ice cubes into my blender and puree.
❓Recipe FAQs
Yes! I often use pre-frozen broccoli, which is cheaper and sometimes even more nutritious than fresh broccoli, since it’s flash frozen right when it’s harvested. And the smoothie tastes just like if I had made it with fresh broccoli!
If you don’t drink your smoothie right after blending, it can begin to separate when the ingredients start to settle. This is natural and happens because different ingredients have different densities. To fix this, I simply give the smoothie a good stir or shake before drinking.
Broccoli smoothies can become bitter if it contains too much raw broccoli or if the fruit used is not ripe enough. If this happens, I balance the bitterness by adding a bit more sweet fruit or a little bit of a natural sweetener like honey or maple syrup.
Smoothies can sometimes curdle when acidic fruits (like citrus or pineapple) are mixed with dairy products (like milk or yogurt) and then aren’t served immediately. To prevent this, I use non-dairy alternatives such as almond milk or coconut yogurt when blending with acidic fruits. If curdling happens, it’s best to blend the smoothie again to try and recombine the ingredients.
No, in fact, I don’t recommend cooking any vegetables before adding them to smoothies because cooking veggies releases more of their water content and changes their texture, which will make your smoothie too watery and runny.
![Healthy broccoli smoothie with banana in a glass on a white countertop.](https://pickyeaterblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/broccoli-smoothie-recipe-with-banana-and-mango.jpg)
Looking for more smoothies with vegetables you can’t taste? Try some of my other delicious vegetarian smoothies!
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📋 Recipe Card
Easy Broccoli Smoothie
Packed with hidden veggies and sweetened with banana and mango, my rich and creamy broccoli smoothie is the perfect nutritious and delicious way to kickstart your day! Made with just a handful of basic ingredients, it takes just 5 minutes to make, and it also happens to be super kid-friendly too!
Servings: 2 servings
Calories: 173kcal
- Make sure the banana slices are frozen so the smoothie is thick, creamy, and smooth.
- Always adjust the sweetness to suit individual tastes.
- Maple syrup can be used as a substitute for coconut sugar.
- Using a high-speed blender will result in a very smooth and fluffy smoothie.
- To make this vegan, use unsweetened, plain coconut yogurt instead of Greek yogurt.
- Nutritional information includes coconut sugar.
Serving: 1smoothie | Calories: 173kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 3mg | Sodium: 165mg | Potassium: 462mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 20g
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