By now, everybody knows that eating veggies and low-sugar fruits is a health no-brainer for many reasons. But you may not appreciate one of the most important – getting your daily dose of mission critical polyphenols. These extra special compounds can supercharge just about every aspect of your health and missing out on them can have serious consequences. And while I always recommend eating the good stuff – as in whole, unprocessed, organic or farmers’ market versions – as we begin a new year, I encourage everyone to redouble their efforts to fill up on foods – particularly those rich in polyphenols – to fortify and protect your body at every meal. What can polyphenols do for you? Here’s the polyphenol 411:

So what are polyphenols anyway?

Polyphenols just happen to be the largest and most health-boosting family of compounds found in the plants we eat. They’re in our fruits and veggies, sure, but they’re also in tea (especially green tea) and coffee, dark chocolate, red wine and many spices. And no matter what form they come in, they’re all packed with a ton of antioxidant power. And that’s a good thing.

Why do we need them?

It so happens that the basic acts of eating and breathing generate molecules called “free radicals.” The right level of them in our system helps drive our immune system. But when our bodies accumulate too many of them, they drive inflammation and damage the DNA in our cells. The result, all too often, are the inflammation-driven diseases of aging: heart disease, dementia, and cancer. The good news? The antioxidants we eat in our food bolster our bodies’ antioxidant enzymes which neutralize the excess free radicals and help keep us healthy over the long haul.

Why are plants doing us so many favors?

Actually, plants evolved with all these great chemicals to save their own skins. After all, they can’t run away from danger, they are stuck in the ground. And, plants, like us, are vulnerable to being damaged by the basic elements of life, like oxygen, sunlight and predators, and over the eons they ramped up their internal  chemical factories to produce the polyphenolic compounds to protect them. And not just that. Some of the chemicals that the vegetables produce have a sharp, bitter taste that keep animals and insects away who would otherwise feast on them. And some of the chemicals give fruits their vibrant colors for the opposite reason -- so that animals will eat them! That way, the seeds get distributed as they pass through the animals’ digestive systems. Lucky for us, most of these “phytochemicals” (a fancy word for plant chemicals) work for us. We appreciate the bright color and pungent taste of a raspberry, or the mouth-puckering bitterness of a high-grade extra-virgin olive oil. We’re just beginning to unravel health benefits associated with, for instance, the eye-sight protecting lutein in orange bell peppers or the anti-cancer properties of lycopene in tomatoes.

Diversity, Diversity, Diversity

The secret of polyphenols success in keeping our bodies on track is their sheer variety. We’ve identified some 8,000 compounds, roughly spread across four major families. You may have heard of the flavonoids which are found in everything from fruits to herbs to legumes like lentils. Or the anthocyanins which give plants their distinctive color. You’ve probably heard the wise advice when it comes to produce, to “eat the rainbow.” If you wanted to sound a little more scientific, you could say, “eat the polyphenol palette”!

The point is, all that diversity works to our advantage. Each one of those 8,000 polyphenol compounds has a slightly different chemical structure than its neighbor which means it interacts with the human body in a slightly different way. The cumulative effect is breathtaking! When you’re consuming as many different kinds of veggies and fruits (and tea and spices and all the rest) as possible, you’re covering as many health bases as possible. One of the major drags on our health is that modern industrial agriculture has made us such unadventurous eaters compared to our hunter-gatherer ancestors. When you consider that 2/3 of the calories that Americans eat come from three crops – wheat, corn, soy – it’s no surprise that we’ve got some major nutritional gaps that leave us vulnerable to the so-called “diseases of aging.” Let the solution be on the plate!

When it comes to the ‘Polyphenol Health Report Card’ – we’re talking straight A’s!

Polyphenols do so much for your health, I can’t help but sing their praises – and I hope these benefits are one more way to inspire your food choices. Eating is, after all, one of life’s great pleasures, so with every plate of plants you tuck into, remember, that when done right, ideally with fresh organic and/or farmers’ market options, seeking out all those polyphenols payoff big time, in the following ways:

Whole body health

Polyphenols can work their anti-inflammatory magic throughout the body. Researchers from the University of Ottawa have found that polyphenols are associated with tamping down the activity of cytokine molecules which can drive out-of-control inflammation. One of the best studied, and powerful, polyphenolic compounds is curcumin, the active ingredient in the spice turmeric. It’s been looked at as a helper therapy for everything from joint pain to heart disease to cancer.

Heart health  

Polyphenol consumption has been linked with lower LDL and higher HDL. Research suggests it may lower blood pressure by promoting the body’s production of nitric oxide, which relaxes the blood vessels.

Metabolic health  

Evidence suggests that polyphenol-rich diets may lower blood sugar and improve insulin sensitivity, thereby reducing the risk of diabetes.

Gut health  

Exciting new research is looking at polyphenols as a super-charged prebiotic, feeding the good bacteria in the gut. One study showed that microbiomes with plenty of polyphenol from green tea and cocoa produced more butyrate, which builds up the gut wall and guards against leaky gut.

Cancer protection  

We know that a plant-rich diet is powerful insurance against cancer. Some researchers believe polyphenols may be responsible for much of the benefit.

Brain health  

There’s been interesting preliminary research showing that both grape juice and cocoa polyphenols can boost memory performance.

Get your piece of the polyphenol pie.

What’s cool about polyphenols is that so many of them are delicious – and if you’re paying attention to eating right, you’re likely eating a few of them already. My advice, go wide! Expand your repertoire and don’t get stuck eating the same five things and expect a giant payoff. Though eating some of them is certainly better than none, branch out to get the widest variety of polys on your plate. Here are a few of my favorites, in addition to the good-for-you staples, like spices, herbs, wine, dark chocolate, and tea:

1. Almonds – raw are best
2. Apples – I like the lower in sugar ones like tart green Granny Smiths
3. Artichokes
4. Asparagus
5. Berries – think raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries
6. Black Beans
7. Broccoli
8. Citrus fruits – like grapefruit and lemons
9. Coffee
10. Dark Chocolate – you want the 75% or more cacao versions
11. Endive
12. Flax Seed – ground are great for sprinkling
13. Green Tea
14. Green Onions
15. Ginger
16. Olives
17. Olive oil – extra virgin, in dark glass bottles
18. Pecans
19. Pomegranates
20. Shallots
21. Spices – like cinnamon, turmeric, basil, parsley, peppermint, rosemary, thyme, etc
22. Spinach
23. Walnuts
24. White Beans