Polyphenols Benefits & Polyphenols Foods

The Gene Smart Team41979 Views400 Comments

At Gene Smart, we believe in a lifestyle approach to eating, nutrition and exercise that works with your genes to reduce inflammation, increase energy and lose weight — giving you the freedom to live each moment more fully.

Unlike most “diets” that focus on off-limit foods, the Gene Smart plan emphasizes delicious natural foods to add to your diet that replace key nutrients missing in today’s foods.

One of these key nutrients is polyphenols.

What are Polyphenols?

Polyphenols are compounds made by plants to protect themselves. When we eat the plants & their fruits, these same polyphenols also protect us.

Polyphenols are a large family that includes over 4,000 diverse bioactive compounds widely distributed in plants and their fruits.

Polyphenols Benefits

The science of polyphenols foods and their health benefits is at an earlier stage than foods with fiber or omega 3 fats, but what we know is very exciting.

Among the many polyphenols benefits, perhaps most important is the strong evidence for their ability to control gene expression, specifically the genes that control inflammation.

Polyphenols have been shown to act positively on a number of inflammatory diseases:

In heart disease, polyphenols reduce platelet aggregation, improve blood lipids, and reduce blood pressure.
In diabetes, polyphenols can help reduce blood glucose levels.
Several polyphenols have been shown to block processes in individual cells that drive arthritis.
Polyphenols have also been shown to help reduce bone density loss and reduce your risk for cancer.
Besides polyphenols benefits in these diseases, they also play an important role in weight loss by increasing energy expenditure and metabolic rate, which generally slow when we lose weight.

Boosting Your Polyphenols Benefits Each Day

This is one of the most delicious aspects of the Gene Smart Anti-Inflammatory Diet Plan!

We recommend eating at least five servings of fruits & vegetables, plus other high polyphenols foods each day.

On The Gene Smart Plan, you will learn which fruits and vegetables have high and low levels of polyphenols, enabling you to shop and choose the best foods for you with ease. To get the most benefit, incorporate the fruits and vegetables with high polyphenols into your meals whenever possible.

Polyphenols can be found in fruits such as apples, blackberries, blueberries, cantaloupe, cherries, cranberries, grapes, pears, plums, pomegranates, raspberries, and strawberries; in vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage, celery, onions, and parsley; and in nuts such as almonds and walnuts.

Other sources include most legumes, green tea, olive oil, 100% fruit juices, bee pollen, and even dark chocolate and red wine!

Typically, fruits & vegetables with darker skins have higher polyphenols levels, and more benefit.

Fiber & Polyphenols Benefits: 2 for 1 Food Choices

For a double benefit, seek out foods high in polyphenols foods that are also high in fiber. These foods have double benefit!

Free Polyphenols Foods List

We encourage you to download a copy of our free Healthy Eating Guide with a high polyphenols foods list right now. Check out which high polyphenols foods that you and your family enjoy, and work to add these foods into your meals.

You can even print a copy to take with you to the grocery store or when eating out.