21 Most Beneficial Polyphenols & What Foods Have Them
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We often write about polyphenols here at 10almonds; sometimes mentioning that a certain food is good because it has them, or else occasionally an entire article about a particular polyphenol. But what about a birds-eye view of polyphenols as a whole?
Well, there are many, but we’ve picked 21 particularly beneficial for human health, and what foods contain them.
We’ll be working from this fantastic database, by the way:
❝Phenol-Explorer is the first comprehensive database on polyphenol content in foods. The database contains more than 35,000 content values for 500 different polyphenols in over 400 foods. These data are derived from the systematic collection of more than 60,000 original content values found in more than 1,300 scientific publications. Each of these publications has been critically evaluated before inclusion in the database. The whole data on the polyphenol composition of foods is available for download.❞
Source: Phenol-Explorer.EU | Database on polyphenol content in foods
We use this database at least several times per week while writing 10almonds; it’s a truly invaluable resource!
However, 500 is a lot, so here’s a rundown of 21 especially impactful ones; we’ve sorted them per the categories used in the explorer, and in some cases we’ve aggregated several very similar polyphenols typically found together in the same foods, into one item (so for example we just list “quercetin” instead of quercetin 3-O-rutinoside + quercetin 4′-O-glucoside + quercetin 3,4′-O-diglucoside, etc etc). We’ve also broadly grouped some particularly populous ones such as “anthocyanins”, “catechins”, and so forth.
Without further ado, here’s what you ideally want to be getting plenty of in your diet:
Flavonoids
- Quercetin
- Foods: onions, apples, berries, kale, broccoli, capers.
- Benefits: anti-inflammatory, reduces allergy symptoms, supports heart and brain health, and may lower blood pressure.
- See also: Fight Inflammation & Protect Your Brain, With Quercetin
- Kaempferol
- Foods: spinach, kale, tea (green and black), capers, brussels sprouts.
- Benefits: antioxidant, may reduce the risk of cancer, supports cardiovascular health, and has anti-inflammatory properties.
- Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG)
- Foods: green tea, matcha.
- Benefits: potent antioxidant, promotes weight loss, supports brain health, and may reduce the risk of heart disease.
- Anthocyanins
- Foods: blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, red cabbage, cherries.
- Benefits: improve brain health, support eye health, and reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
- Apigenin
- Foods: parsley, celery, chamomile tea.
- Benefits: anti-inflammatory, reduces anxiety, and supports brain and immune system health.
- Luteolin
- Foods: peppers, thyme, celery, carrots.
- Benefits: anti-inflammatory, supports brain health, and may help reduce the growth of cancer cells.
- Catechins (aside from EGCG)
- Foods: green tea, dark chocolate, apples
- Benefits: boosts metabolism, supports cardiovascular health, and reduces oxidative stress.
- Hesperidin
- Foods: oranges, lemons, limes, grapefruits.
- Benefits: supports vascular health, reduces inflammation, and may help manage diabetes.
- Naringenin
- Foods: oranges, grapefruits, tomatoes.
- Benefits: antioxidant, supports liver health, and may improve cholesterol levels.
For more on epigallocatechin gallate and other catechins, see: Which Tea Is Best, By Science?
Phenolic Acids
- Chlorogenic acid
- Foods: coffee, artichokes, apples, pears.
- Benefits: supports weight management, improves blood sugar regulation, and reduces inflammation.
- See also: Green Coffee Bean Extract: Coffee Benefits Without The Coffee?
- Caffeic acid
- Foods: coffee, thyme, sage, basil.
- Benefits: antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and supports skin health.
- See also: The Bitter Truth About Coffee (or is it?)
- Ferulic acid
- Foods: whole grains, rice bran, oats, flaxseeds, spinach.
- Benefits: protects skin from UV damage, reduces inflammation, and supports cardiovascular health.
- Gallic acid
- Foods: green tea, berries, walnuts.
- Benefits: antioxidant, may reduce the risk of cancer, and supports brain health.
Stilbenes
- Resveratrol
- Foods: red currants, blueberries, peanuts.
- Benefits: anti-aging properties, supports heart health, and reduces inflammation.
- See also: Resveratrol & Healthy Aging ← and no, you can’t usefully get it from red wine; here’s why!
Lignans
- Secoisolariciresinol
- Foods: flaxseeds, sesame seeds, whole grains.
- Benefits: supports hormone balance, reduces the risk of hormone-related cancers, and promotes gut health.
- Matairesinol
- Foods: rye, oats, barley, sesame seeds.
- Benefits: hormonal support, antioxidant, and may reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
See also: Sprout Your Seeds, Grains, Beans, Etc ← for maximum nutritional availability!
Tannins
- Ellagic acid
- Foods: pomegranates, raspberries, walnuts.
- Benefits: anti-cancer properties, supports skin health, and reduces inflammation.
- Proanthocyanidins
- Foods: cranberries, apples, grapes, dark chocolate.
- Benefits: supports urinary tract health, reduces inflammation, and improves blood vessel health.
See also: Enjoy Bitter Foods For Your Heart & Brain
Curcuminoids
- Curcumin
- Foods: turmeric.
- Benefits: potent anti-inflammatory, supports joint health, and may reduce the risk of chronic diseases.
- See also: Why Curcumin (Turmeric) Is Worth Its Weight In Gold
Isoflavones
- Genistein
- Foods: soybeans, chickpeas.
- Benefits: supports bone health, reduces the risk of hormone-related cancers, and promotes heart health.
- Daidzein
- Foods: soybeans, legumes.
- Benefits: hormonal balance, supports bone health, and may help alleviate menopausal symptoms.
See also: What Does “Balance Your Hormones” Even Mean?
Well, that’s a lot of things to remember!
If you want to make it easier for yourself, you can simply make sure to get at least 30 different kinds of plant into your diet per week, and by doing so, statistically, you should cover most of these!
Read more: What’s Your Plant Diversity Score?
Alternatively, for a middle-ground approach of targetting 16 most polyphenol delivering foods, check out this super-dense arrangement:
Mediterranean Diet… In A Pill? ← it’s about plant extracts from 16 specific foods, and the polyphenols they deliver
Enjoy!
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Things Many People Forget When It Comes To Hydration
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Good hydration is about more than just “drink lots of water”, and in fact it’s quite possible for a person to drink too much water, and at the same time, be dehydrated. Here’s how and why and what to do about it:
Water, water, everywhere
Factors that people forget:
- Electrolyte balance: without it, we can technically have lots of water while either retaining it (in the case of too high salt levels) or peeing it out (in the case of too low salt levels), neither of which are as helpful as getting it right and actually being able to use the water.
- Gastrointestinal health: conditions like IBS, Crohn’s, or celiac disease can impair water and nutrient absorption, affecting hydration
- Genetic factors: some people simply have a predisposition to need more or less water for proper hydration
- Dietary factors: high salt, caffeine, and alcohol intake (amongst other diuretics) can increase water loss, while water-rich foods (assuming they aren’t also diuretics) increase hydration.
Strategies to do better:
- Drink small amounts of water consistently throughout the day rather than large quantities at once—healthy kidneys can process about 1 liter (about 1 quart) of water per hour, so drinking more than that will not help, no matter how dehydrated you are when you start. If your kidneys aren’t in peak health, the amount processable per hour will be lower for you.
- Increase fiber intake (e.g., fruit and vegetables) to retain water in the intestines and improve hydration
- Consume water-rich foods (e.g., watermelon, cucumbers, grapes) to enhance overall hydration and support cellular function (the body can use this a lot more efficiently than if you just drink water).
- Counteract the diuretic effects of caffeine and alcohol by drinking an additional 12 oz of water for every 8 oz of these beverages. Best yet, don’t drink alcohol and keep caffeine to a low level (or quit entirely, if you prefer, but for most people that’s not necessary).
- If you are sweating (be it because of weather, exercise, or any other reasons), include electrolyte fluids to improve cellular hydration, as they contain essential minerals like magnesium, potassium, and in moderation yes even sodium which you will have lost in your sweat too, supporting fluid regulation.
For more details on all of these, enjoy:
Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!
Want to learn more?
You might also like to read:
- Water’s Counterintuitive Properties
- Hydration Mythbusting
- When To Take Electrolytes (And When We Shouldn’t!)
- Keeping Your Kidneys Healthy (Especially After 60)
Take care!
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The Best Menopause Advice You Don’t Want To Hear About
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Nutritionist and perimenopause coach Claudia Canu, whom we’ve featured before in our Expert Insights segment, has advice:
Here’s to good health
When it comes to alcohol, the advice is: don’t.
Or at least, cut back, and manage the effects by ensuring good hydration, having an “alcohol curfew” and so forth.
What’s the relation to menopause? Well, alcohol’s not good for anyone at any time of life, but there are some special considerations when it comes to alcohol and estrogenic hormonal health:
- The liver works hard to process the alcohol as a matter of urgency, delaying estrogen processing, which can increase the risk of breast and uterine cancer.
- Alcohol has no positive health effects and is also linked to higher risks of breast and colorectal cancer.
- Alcohol can also trigger some menopausal symptoms, such as night sweats and hot flashes. So, maybe reaching for that “cooling drink” isn’t the remedy it might seem.
- During menopause, the body becomes more insulin-resistant, making it more susceptible to blood sugar spikes caused by alcohol. Also not good.
Common reasons women turn to alcohol include stress, frustration, the need for reward, and social pressure, and all of these can be heightened when undergoing hormonal changes. Yet, alcohol will ultimately only worsen each of those things.
For more on the science of some of the above, plus tips on how to make positive changes with minimum discomfort, enjoy:
Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!
Want to learn more?
You might also like to read:
- How To Reduce Or Quit Alcohol
- How To Reduce The Harm Of Drinking (Without Abstaining)
- Where Nutrition Meets Habits! ← our “Expert Insights” spotlight on Canu
- How To Reduce Your Alzheimer’s Risk Early ← particularly important at this life stage
Take care!
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Fix Tight Hamstrings In Just 3 Steps
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There’s a better way to increase your flexibility than just stretching and stretching and hoping for the best. Here’s a 3-step method that will transform your flexibility:
As easy as 1-2-3
Only one part actually involves stretching:
Step 1: reciprocal inhibition
- Concept: when one muscle contracts, the opposing muscle relaxes—which is what we need.
- Goal: engage hip flexors to encourage hamstring relaxation.
- Method:
- Kneeling hamstring stretch position with one leg forward.
- Support with yoga blocks or a chair; use a cushion for comfort.
- Maintain a slight arch in the lower back and hinge forward slightly.
- Attempt to lift the foot off the floor, even if it doesn’t move.
- Hold for around 10 seconds.
Step 2: engaging more muscle fibers
- Concept: our muscles contain a lot of fibers, and often not all of them come along for the ride when we do something (exercising, stretching, etc), and those fibers that weren’t engaged will hold back the whole process.
- Goal: activate more fibers in the hamstring for a deeper stretch.
- Method:
- Same kneeling position, slight back arch, and forward hinge.
- Drive the heel into the floor as if trying to dent it.
- Apply significant effort but hold for only 10 seconds.
- A small bend in the knee is acceptable.
Step 3: manipulating the nervous system
- Concept: the nervous system often limits flexibility due to safety signals (causing sensations of discomfort to tell us to stop a lot sooner than we really need to).
- Goal: passive stretching to reduce nervous system resistance.
- Method:
- Avoid muscle engagement or movement—stay completely relaxed.
- Focus on calmness, with slow, steady breaths.
- Avoid signs of tension (e.g. clenched fists, short/sharp breathing). While your nervous system is trying to communicate to you that you are in danger, you need to communicate to your nervous system that this is fine actually, so in order to reassure your nervous system you need to avoid signs that will tip it off that you’re worried too.
- Don’t overstretch; prioritize a relaxed, safe feeling.
For more on all of this, plus visual demonstrations, enjoy:
Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!
Want to learn more?
You might also like:
Tight Hamstrings? Here’s A Test To Know If It’s Actually Your Sciatic Nerve
Take care!
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Cashew & Chickpea Balti
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When it comes to curries, the humble balti is perhaps the best when you don’t have all day to let something simmer. Filled with healthful spices, this one also comes complete with lots of fiber as well as healthy proteins and fats, with most of its calories coming from the nuts themselves, and the haricot paste base makes for a deliciously creamy curry without having to add anything unhealthy.
You will need
- 1 cup cashews, soaked in warm water for at least 5 minutes, and drained (if allergic, omit)
- 1 can chickpeas (keep the water)
- 1 can haricot beans (keep the water)
- 1 can crushed tomatoes
- 2 medium (or 3 small) red onions, sliced
- red or green chilis, quantity per your preference re heat, chopped
- ½ bulb garlic, crushed
- ½ oz fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp garam masala
- 1 tbsp ground coriander
- 1 tbsp black pepper, coarse ground
- 2 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp mustard seeds (if allergic, omit)
- 1 tsp sweet cinnamon
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- ½ tsp MSG or 1 tsp low-sodium salt
- Avocado oil, for frying (extra virgin olive-oil, or cold-pressed coconut oil, are fine alternatives)
- Garnish: handful fresh cilantro, chopped (or parsley, if you have the “cilantro tastes like soap” gene)
Method
(we suggest you read everything at least once before doing anything)
1) Heat a little oil in a large sauté pan (we’re going to need space to work; a large wok is traditional but a sauté pan is convenient), and add the garlic, ginger, mustard seeds, and coriander seeds, stirring for about 2 minutes, then add the onions and chilis, stirring for another 3 minutes. The onions and chilis won’t be fully cooked yet, but that’s fine, we just needed to get them started.
2) Add the crushed tomatoes, stirring them in, and when they get to temperature, turn the heat down to a simmer.
3) Add the chickpeas to the pan, but separately put the chickpea water into a high-speed blender.
4) Add the haricot beans, including the water they came in, to the high-speed blender, as well as the tomato paste and the remaining spices (including the MSG or salt), and blend on high until smooth. Add the curry paste (that’s what you’ve just made in the blender) to the pan, and stir in well.
5) Add the cashews, stirring in well. Taste, and adjust any spices if necessary for your liking. If the onions still aren’t fully cooked, let them simmer until they are, but it shouldn’t take long.
10almonds tip: if perchance you made it too spicy, you can add a little lime juice and the acidity will counteract the heat. Adding lemon juice, lime juice, or some kind of vinegar (depending on what works with the flavor profile of your recipe) is a good last resort to have up your sleeve for fixing a dish that got too spicy.
6) Add the garnish, and serve—we recommend serving it with our Tasty Versatile Rice, but any carb is fine.
Enjoy!
Want to learn more?
For those interested in some of the science of what we have going on today:
- Why You Should Diversify Your Nuts!
- Three Daily Servings of Beans?
- Cashew Nuts vs Coconut – Which is Healthier?
- What Matters Most For Your Heart?
- Our Top 5 Spices: How Much Is Enough For Benefits? ← we hit 5/5 again today!
Take care!
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Grains: Bread Of Life, Or Cereal Killer?
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Going Against The Grain?
In Wednesday’s newsletter, we asked you for your health-related opinion of grains (aside from any gluten-specific concerns), and got the above-depicted, below-described, set of responses:
- About 69% said “They are an important cornerstone of a healthy balanced diet”
- About 22% said “They can be enjoyed in moderation, but watch out”
- About 8% said “They are terrible health-drainers that will kill us”
So, what does the science say?
They are terrible health-drainers that will kill us: True or False?
True or False depending on the manner of their consumption!
There is a big difference between the average pizza base and a bowl of oats, for instance. Or rather, there are a lot of differences, but what’s most critical here?
The key is: refined and ultraprocessed grains are so inferior to whole grains as to be actively negative for health in most cases for most people most of the time.
But! It’s not because processing is ontologically evil (in reality: some processed foods are healthy, and some unprocessed foods are poisonous). although it is a very good general rule of thumb.
So, we need to understand the “why” behind the “key” that we just gave above, and that’s mostly about the resultant glycemic index and associated metrics (glycemic load, insulin index, etc).
In the case of refined and ultraprocessed grains, our body gains sugar faster than it can process it, and stores it wherever and however it can, like someone who has just realised that they will be entertaining a houseguest in 10 minutes and must tidy up super-rapidly by hiding things wherever they’ll fit.
And when the body tries to do this with sugar from refined grains, the result is very bad for multiple organs (most notably the liver, but the pancreas takes quite a hit too) which in turn causes damage elsewhere in the body, not to mention that we now have urgently-produced fat stored in unfortunate places like our liver and abdominal cavity when it should have gone to subcutaneous fat stores instead.
In contrast, whole grains come with fiber that slows down the absorption of the sugars, such that the body can deal with them in an ideal fashion, which usually means:
- using them immediately, or
- storing them as muscle glycogen, or
- storing them as subcutaneous fat
👆 that’s an oversimplification, but we only have so much room here.
For more on this, see:
Glycemic Index vs Glycemic Load vs Insulin Index
And for why this matters, see:
Which Sugars Are Healthier, And Which Are Just The Same?
And for fixing it, see:
They can be enjoyed in moderation, but watch out: True or False?
Technically True but functionally False:
- Technically true: “in moderation” is doing a lot of heavy lifting here. One person’s “moderation” may be another person’s “abstemiousness” or “gluttony”.
- Functionally false: while of course extreme consumption of pretty much anything is going to be bad, unless you are Cereals Georg eating 10,000 cereals each day and being a statistical outlier, the issue is not the quantity so much as the quality.
Quality, we discussed above—and that is, as we say, paramount. As for quantity however, you might want to know a baseline for “getting enough”, so…
They are an important cornerstone of a healthy balanced diet: True or False?
True! This one’s quite straightforward.
3 servings (each being 90g, or about ½ cup) of whole grains per day is associated with a 22% reduction in risk of heart disease, 5% reduction in all-cause mortality, and a lot of benefits across a lot of disease risks:
❝This meta-analysis provides further evidence that whole grain intake is associated with a reduced risk of coronary heart disease, cardiovascular disease, and total cancer, and mortality from all causes, respiratory diseases, infectious diseases, diabetes, and all non-cardiovascular, non-cancer causes.
These findings support dietary guidelines that recommend increased intake of whole grain to reduce the risk of chronic diseases and premature mortality.❞
~ Dr. Dagfinn Aune et al.
We’d like to give a lot more sources for the same findings, as well as papers for all the individual claims, but frankly, there are so many that there isn’t room. Suffice it to say, this is neither controversial nor uncertain; these benefits are well-established.
Here’s a very informative pop-science article, that also covers some of the things we discussed earlier (it shows what happens during refinement of grains) before getting on to recommendations and more citations for claims than we can fit here:
Harvard School Of Public Health | Whole Grains
“That’s all great, but what if I am concerned about gluten?”
There certainly are reasons you might be, be it because of a sensitivity, allergy, or just because perhaps you’d like to know more.
Let’s first mention: not all grains contain gluten, so it’s perfectly possible to enjoy naturally gluten-free grains (such as oats and rice) as well as gluten-free pseudocereals, which are not actually grains but do the same job in culinary and nutritional terms (such as quinoa and buckwheat, despite the latter’s name).
Finally, if you’d like to know more about gluten’s health considerations, then check out our previous mythbusting special:
Enjoy!
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Not all ultra-processed foods are bad for your health, whatever you might have heard
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In recent years, there’s been increasing hype about the potential health risks associated with so-called “ultra-processed” foods.
But new evidence published this week found not all “ultra-processed” foods are linked to poor health. That includes the mass-produced wholegrain bread you buy from the supermarket.
While this newly published research and associated editorial are unlikely to end the wrangling about how best to define unhealthy foods and diets, it’s critical those debates don’t delay the implementation of policies that are likely to actually improve our diets.
What are ultra-processed foods?
Ultra-processed foods are industrially produced using a variety of processing techniques. They typically include ingredients that can’t be found in a home kitchen, such as preservatives, emulsifiers, sweeteners and/or artificial colours.
Common examples of ultra-processed foods include packaged chips, flavoured yoghurts, soft drinks, sausages and mass-produced packaged wholegrain bread.
In many other countries, ultra-processed foods make up a large proportion of what people eat. A recent study estimated they make up an average of 42% of total energy intake in Australia.
How do ultra-processed foods affect our health?
Previous studies have linked increased consumption of ultra-processed food with poorer health. High consumption of ultra-processed food, for example, has been associated with a higher risk of type 2 diabetes, and death from heart disease and stroke.
Ultra-processed foods are typically high in energy, added sugars, salt and/or unhealthy fats. These have long been recognised as risk factors for a range of diseases.
Ultra-processed foods are usually high is energy, salt, fat, or sugar. Olga Dubravina/Shutterstock It has also been suggested that structural changes that happen to ultra-processed foods as part of the manufacturing process may lead you to eat more than you should. Potential explanations are that, due to the way they’re made, the foods are quicker to eat and more palatable.
It’s also possible certain food additives may impair normal body functions, such as the way our cells reproduce.
Is it harmful? It depends on the food’s nutrients
The new paper just published used 30 years of data from two large US cohort studies to evaluate the relationship between ultra-processed food consumption and long-term health. The study tried to disentangle the effects of the manufacturing process itself from the nutrient profile of foods.
The study found a small increase in the risk of early death with higher ultra-processed food consumption.
But importantly, the authors also looked at diet quality. They found that for people who had high quality diets (high in fruit, vegetables, wholegrains, as well as healthy fats, and low in sugary drinks, salt, and red and processed meat), there was no clear association between the amount of ultra-processed food they ate and risk of premature death.
This suggests overall diet quality has a stronger influence on long-term health than ultra-processed food consumption.
People who consume a healthy diet overall but still eat ultra-processed foods aren’t at greater risk of early death. Grusho Anna/Shutterstock When the researchers analysed ultra-processed foods by sub-category, mass-produced wholegrain products, such as supermarket wholegrain breads and wholegrain breakfast cereals, were not associated with poorer health.
This finding matches another recent study that suggests ultra-processed wholegrain foods are not a driver of poor health.
The authors concluded, while there was some support for limiting consumption of certain types of ultra-processed food for long-term health, not all ultra-processed food products should be universally restricted.
Should dietary guidelines advise against ultra-processed foods?
Existing national dietary guidelines have been developed and refined based on decades of nutrition evidence.
Much of the recent evidence related to ultra-processed foods tells us what we already knew: that products like soft drinks, alcohol and processed meats are bad for health.
Dietary guidelines generally already advise to eat mostly whole foods and to limit consumption of highly processed foods that are high in refined grains, saturated fat, sugar and salt.
But some nutrition researchers have called for dietary guidelines to be amended to recommend avoiding ultra-processed foods.
Based on the available evidence, it would be difficult to justify adding a sweeping statement about avoiding all ultra-processed foods.
Advice to avoid all ultra-processed foods would likely unfairly impact people on low-incomes, as many ultra-processed foods, such as supermarket breads, are relatively affordable and convenient.
Wholegrain breads also provide important nutrients, such as fibre. In many countries, bread is the biggest contributor to fibre intake. So it would be problematic to recommend avoiding supermarket wholegrain bread just because it’s ultra-processed.
So how can we improve our diets?
There is strong consensus on the need to implement evidence-based policies to improve population diets. This includes legislation to restrict children’s exposure to the marketing of unhealthy foods and brands, mandatory Health Star Rating nutrition labelling and taxes on sugary drinks.
Taxes on sugary drinks would reduce their consumption. MDV Edwards/Shutterstock These policies are underpinned by well-established systems for classifying the healthiness of foods. If new evidence unfolds about mechanisms by which ultra-processed foods drive health harms, these classification systems can be updated to reflect such evidence. If specific additives are found to be harmful to health, for example, this evidence can be incorporated into existing nutrient profiling systems, such as the Health Star Rating food labelling scheme.
Accordingly, policymakers can confidently progress food policy implementation using the tools for classifying the healthiness of foods that we already have.
Unhealthy diets and obesity are among the largest contributors to poor health. We can’t let the hype and academic debate around “ultra-processed” foods delay implementation of globally recommended policies for improving population diets.
Gary Sacks, Professor of Public Health Policy, Deakin University; Kathryn Backholer, Co-Director, Global Centre for Preventive Health and Nutrition, Deakin University; Kathryn Bradbury, Senior Research Fellow in the School of Population Health, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau, and Sally Mackay, Senior Lecturer Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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