Despite its role in a healthy lifestyle, many Americans skip breakfast on a regular basis, and those who do make time for the meal often consume it on the go, reports Colorado State University. Breakfast banana shakes offer a healthy breakfast option. You can tailor the shake's ingredients to suit your taste -- and your refrigerator contents -- as well as consume the drink at home or during a morning commute. The shake's fruit content ensures that the drink contains a range of nutrients that benefit your health.

Vitamin B-6

Drinking a banana breakfast shake provides a source of vitamin B-6, also called pyridoxine. Your body relies on pyridoxine to help produce nucleic acids, the chemical components used to make your DNA. Pyridoxine also contributes to healthy circulation, helping your body produce red blood cells. Finally, vitamin B-6 facilitates the production of neurotransmitters, the chemicals your brain cells use to communicate. Each large banana you add to your breakfast shake provides 0.5 milligram of vitamin B-6, 29 or 33 percent of the recommended daily intake for men and women, respectively, according to the Linus Pauling Institute.

Manganese

Starting your day with a banana breakfast shake also helps you reach your recommended daily intake of manganese. One large banana contains 0.37 milligrams of manganese, contributing a moderate amount to the 1.8 and 2.3 milligrams required daily by women and men, respectively, according to the Linus Pauling Institute. The manganese from banana breakfast shakes helps activate a range of enzymes in your body, facilitating new bone and cartilage development as well as collagen production. Mangenese also helps your body derive energy from food, which supports your metabolism. Drinking banana breakfast shakes to boost your manganese intake helps prevent the altered metabolism and bone disorders that occur due to manganese deficiency.

Potassium

Potassium content is perhaps bananas' most well-known nutritional benefit, and drinking a banana breakfast shake helps boost your intake of this essential mineral. Getting enough potassium helps preserve your body's electrolyte balance, which is essential to nerve and muscle function as well as the production of energy in your cells. Potassium deficiency significantly affects your health, hindering the function of your nerves and muscle cells -- including the cells in your heart -- as well as causing fatigue. Each large banana in your breakfast shake provides approximately 10 percent of your daily potassium requirements.

Making Your Breakfast Shake

While the staple ingredient in banana breakfast shakes -- the bananas -- offer a number of health benefits, the other ingredients in your shake can make or break the nutritional value of your meal. Avoid sugary or fatty ingredients, like sweetened yogurts or high-fat milk, and let the natural sweetness and creamy texture of banana take center stage. Make your shake in a base of nonfat dairy milk, or a fat- and sugar- free milk alternative, such as soy or almond milk. Add flavor to your banana breakfast shake with healthy ingredients, including fresh or frozen berries. Use all-natural nut butters in your breakfast shakes to increase the drink's protein content -- a 2-tablespoon serving of peanut butter adds almost 8 grams of protein to your shake, while an equivalent serving of almond butter adds almost 7 grams. For an extra-refreshing breakfast shake on hot mornings, make your shake with frozen, sliced bananas to yield a shake with a texture resembling soft ice cream.