Boosting Your Polyphenols

Over the past five years, the nutrition spotlight has focused more and more sharply on a group of

nutrients not familiar to many consumers. This group of nutrients is called polyphenols, and it

has emerged as perhaps the most essential group of nutrients in terms of its antioxidant, anti-

inflammatory, and anticancer health benefits. Risk of heart diseases, degenerative diseases of the

nervous system, and several types of cancer can all be reduced with the help of a diet rich in

polyphenols. However, many of us don't know how to obtain these critical nutrients from food or

which foods emerge as standouts when it comes to their polyphenol content.

Polyphenols are a very diverse group of nutrients found in virtually all plants. But to find out

more about the specifics, researchers based in the National Public Health Institute in Helsinki,

Finland analyzed the diets of 2,007 Finnish adults for polyphenol content. They included 143

different foods in their analysis and 24 different kinds of polyphenols as they set out to

determine which foods were the best contributors of polyphenols in the Finnish diet. (For those

of you who are interested in more of the technical details here, we've included a short footnote at

the end of this news update describing specific polyphenols that were measured in the study.)

As a group, the participants in this study averaged 863 milligrams of polyphenols per day in

their overall diet. Men averaged about 10% higher than women, but they also ate more food.

Surprisingly, the greatest contributions from overall food groups came from grains and

beverages (or more specifically, coffee). That result was due to the fact that phenolic acids like

caffeic acid and ferulic acid were included in the study measurements of polyphenols, and these

nutrients are especially concentrated in coffee beans and in the bran portion of grains. Rye

products were given special mention here as polyphenol-rich foods that played an important

health-protective role in the Finnish diet.

In the fruit group, dark plums, cherries, dark grapes, and apples were found to be the most

concentrated sources of polyphenols followed by berries. (Strawberries, blueberries,

blackberries, raspberries, and cranberries were included in the group of berries that were

analyzed.) Among the vegetables, rhubarb and red cabbage were standouts for total polyphenol

content.

The authors noted that processing can take a significant toll on polyphenols. Overcooking of

food and lack of food freshness (for example, due to prolonged storage) were specifically named

as problems when it comes to preserving the beneficial polyphenols found in food.

Technical Note: Three basic types of polyphenols were analyzed in this study: phenolic acids,

flavonoids, and tannins. Specific polyphenols are described in the table below:

Phenolic Acids Flavonoids Tannins

caffeic acid cyanidin proanthocyanidins

ferulic acid delphinidin ellagitannins

gallic acid isoflavonoids

p-coumaric acid total flavonols

sinapic acid total flavanones

WHFoods Recommendation: If you want optimal antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer

protection from your diet, make sure you have an ample supply of plant foods rich in

polyphenols. Whole grains (with special mention going to rye), dark fruits including dark plums,

cherries, and berries, and red-pigmented vegetables like rhubarb or red cabbage are all

outstanding choices. In comparison to other food groups, most all fruits and vegetables are

naturally nutrient-rich in polyphenols and should take center stage in your diet.

References

• Ovaskainen ML, Törrönen R, Koponen JM et al. Dietary intake and major

food sources of polyphenols in Finnish adults. J Nutr. 2008

Mar;138(3):562-6. 2008.