Polyphenols: Health Benefits and Common Food Sources

You may have seen the term “polyphenols” pop up in health articles, and scratched your head. Read on for layman’s explanation of what polyphenols are, their health benefits, and what foods contain them, so you can get your daily dose of these cancer fighting, gut-health-promoting plant compounds!

What Are Polyphenols?

Polyphenols are phytochemicals that are found in plants (i.e. plant chemicals). They’re what give plants distinct colors and tastes/flavors- think of the blue in blueberries. Polyphenols also keep plants strong and healthy by helping attract pollinators and protecting plants from danger like pests or other environmental hazards. They’re plants’ natural defense system!

And- when you eat plants with high levels of polyphenols, you benefit, too.

How Can Polyphenols Improve Your Health?

We benefit from eating polyphenols in a number of ways. Polyphenols help reduce inflammation, have an antioxidant effect in the body by neutralizing free radicals and reversing cell damage, may protect against some cancers, and in general can help reduce your risk for developing chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes and heart disease. They’re also great for the health of your GUT.

When you eat foods containing polyphenols, they travel down to your stomach and then into your small intestine. There, about 5% of them will be broken down.

Where the *real* party happens is in your colon- your large intestine. That’s where millions of bacteria- known collectively as your gut microbiome- break down polyphenols so that they can be used by your body as nutrients. In turn, polyphenols can help build up the good bacteria in your gut- so that you can keep breaking down those polyphenols into nutrients for your body! Kinda like a virtuous cycle. How cool is that?

Ok, So What Foods Contain Polyphenols?

The good news is that the foods that contain high levels of polyphenols are probably foods that you already love! Here’s a brief rundown.

• Tea- here we’re talking about the black or green kind, not herbal. So break out that dairy-free matcha latte- but go easy on the sweetener!

• Chocolate is a very rich source of polyphenols. Just be sure you’re getting dark chocolate with as little added sugar as possible. Choose chocolate that has at least 70% cacao, no milk or other additives, and little sugar. Cacao nibs are also great! I love to sprinkle them on smoothies. And raw cacao powder or unsweetened cocoa powder is a good choice for getting your dose of chocolate. Try adding it to a smoothie, like in my Decadent Chocolate Nice Cream recipe.

• Red Wine is also a rich source of polyphenols, especially varietals including cabernet sauvignon, merlot, pinot noir, and petit syrah. Like chocolate and tea, however, this is also something you’ll want to drink in moderation.

• Coffee- You knew there had to be a reason you love it so much! Coffee is high in polyphenols and antioxidants. However, there can always be too much of a good thing, and some people don’t do well with coffee- for example, coffee gives me stomach problems and makes me anxious and jittery. If you, too, don’t tolerate coffee well, that’s ok- there are many more plant foods and drinks where you can get your polyphenols!

• Fruits and Vegetables. This is the big one, folks- the absolute best way to get your polyphenols! Yes, there are fruits and vegetables with particularly high concentrations of polyphenols. But, to get the biggest healthy bang for your buck, you’ll want to eat a broad variety of fruits and vegetables every day, or a least across the week. This is the scientific logic behind that well known aphorism, “eat the rainbow”. Different colored vegetables and fruits contain different types of polyphenols, and therefore can provide your body with different micronutrients. So even though you’ve probably heard about the high antioxidant content of berries, you’d never want your entire diet to consist of berries. You literally want to eat every color you can sink your teeth into.

Choose and Prepare Your Food Wisely

All plants contain polyphenols, but not all plants are of equal quality- nor are all methods of preparation.

When it comes to quality, fresh and richly colored fruits and vegetables are the way to go. Aging can increase the polyphenols in wine and teas, but time does you no favors when it comes to fruits and vegetables. Eat seasonally, and if you can get fresh produce from a local organic farm, that would be ideal- another great reason to visit your farmer’s market or enroll in a community supported agriculture program.

Your cooking methods matter, too. As a rule of thumb, cooking with a microwave or frying fruits and vegetables can reduce their polyphenol content. And some plants are just better off consumed raw- for instance, cooking onions or tomatoes can almost completely wipe out their polyphenols.

But let’s not complicate matters too much. The most important thing is that you eat the rainbow! Get in your daily dose of fruits and vegetables, of multiple types and colors. Get them as fresh as you can (or flash frozen if fresh isn’t available). And enjoy those polyphenol-rich foods that I know you love in moderation, knowing that you’re feeding your body and soul when you savor that piece of dark chocolate or glass or merlot!