What are polyphenols?
Polyphenols are nutrients in plants that help your body manage inflammation and protect you from oxidative stress (damages your cells within your body).
Polyphenols are type of phytonutrients, which are made up of chemical compounds found in plants that have specific health benefits. Along with other plant nutrients like fiber, vitamins and minerals, polyphenols can help protect your body from the root causes of many chronic illnesses.
Benefits of polyphenols
Polyphenols is what help keep plants healthy. They make sure the plant can absorb the sunlight it needs to grow, and they protect the plant from disease.
When you eat polyphenol-rich plants, the same polyphenols that kept the plant healthy do similar good for your body. Polyphenols have two main benefits for your body: They’re antioxidants and anti-inflammatory.
As an antioxidant, polyphenols help fight free radicals (unstable molecules) in your body. That’s important because a buildup of free radicals damages your cells (as mentioned above). That damage is called oxidative stress, and it can lead to a range of health conditions, such as:
- Cancer.
- Autoimmune disease
- Heart disease.
- Aging skin.
Polyphenols are also anti-inflammatory. A diet rich in polyphenols can help keep your inflammation response in check and help prevent chronic issues such as arthritis or alzheimers disease.
Without going into further details about the many categories of polyphenols, to sum it sup, all those various kinds of polyphenols essentially do the same thing: They help defend your body from chronic disease.
Polyphenols and food
Polyphenols occur naturally in plants. So, when you eat fruits, vegetables, herbs, spices, seeds, nuts and whole grains, you can feel confident you’re doing good and protecting your body. The key is to eat a wide range of natural foods to get a mix of as many polyphenols (and other key nutrients) as possible.
A quick list, but not all of the foods that are rich in polyphenols:
- Apples.
- Berries.
- Broccoli.
- Carrots.
- Chili peppers.
- Cumin.
- Dark chocolate (because cocoa is a major source of polyphenols).
- Flax seeds.
- Ginger.
- Gingko biloba.
- Green tea.
- Oats.
- Olives and olive oil.
- Onions.
- Red cabbage.
- Sesame seeds.
- Spinach.
- Turmeric.
- Whole grains.
To summarize this list, try to fucus on fruits that are dark in color, green veggies, seeds or skins of fruits or vegggies.
Many foods that are high in polyphenols will have a bitter taste or have an odor such as kale or spinach.
Polyphenols as supplements
With the boom of preventive healthcare and alternative medicine, many feel they can just get what they need from a supplement, right? Well kinda. Not all supplements are created equal, some have more nutrients than others, also vital nutrients are being "isolated" from plant sources to be made into that supplement, which affects how the nutrient works. Supplements help, but getting your polyphenols the "old fashioned way" is best.
Putting it all together
Incorportating foods rich in polyphenols with every meal can do wonders for your body. It can help with weight loss, improve skin, boost immunity, gut health, heart health, blood sugar balance, decrease inflammation and cancer fighting properties to name a few. With so many options, there are endless possiblies for meal and snack time. Enjoy, your body will thank you for it!
Info from The Cleveland clinic: https://health.clevelandclinic.org/polyphenols