← The Dr. Gundry Podcast
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Welcome to the Dr. Gundry podcast, where Dr. Steven Gundry shares his groundbreaking research from over 25 years of treating patients with diet and lifestyle changes alone. Dr. Gundry and other wellness experts offer inspiring stories, the latest scientific advancements, and practical tips to empower you to take control of your health and live a long, happy life.
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The power of polyphenols for feeling and looking your best. All right, what the heck are polyphenols? So phenols are a chemical ring structure that's incredibly common in plants primarily, and polyphenols simply refer to lots of these phenol rings joined together. Now, one of the things that I write about in my next book that will be coming out in March of 2022 is how plants protect themselves from harm. We often don't think about this, but plants have to harvest sunlight, the photons in sunlight and their mitochondria, yes, they actually have. Mitochondria take sunlight and convert it into sugars and oxygen. And the process of that production is actually very damaging to the energy producing organelles in plants. And, and they literally protect themselves from this damage by manufacturing polyphenols. And polyphenols are actually the way the plant actually, if you will, sops up the damage from what are called reactive oxygen species. Ross Some people know them as free radicals. So as much as a plant needs sunlight, it turns out the plant is damaged by sunlight simultaneously. So the polyphenols are the plant's method, if you like, of sunscreen. Now, interestingly, the more a plant is stressed, for instance, the closer it is to the sun, the higher the altitude, the more it's stressed by other factors like poor nutrients, not enough water, other harsh conditions, the more polyphenols the plant produces. Now, fun fact, most plant polyphenols are actually in the leaves where in fact the energy production is done. And if you've ever doubted about why polyphenol phenols are so important to a plant, every fall you get to watch a beautiful color display of polyphenols. Now, we often talk about the leaves are changing color. In fact, those colors are actually the polyphenols in the leaves that you didn't see because all of the green chlorophylls was hiding those colors. But as the chlorophyll, the energy producing part of the plant, dies off, the polyphenols remain. So this fall, when you're looking at the brilliant color displays, you can actually, in your own eyes see the power of polyphenols that the plant was using to protect itself. During that exposure to sunlight. Okay, now I mentioned that polyphenols are concentrated in leaves, but the same thing holds true for the fruit of the tree. And the fruit can be damaged by sunlight. So many plants concentrate polyphenols, particularly in the skin of that fruit, to protect it from harm. And for instance, great winemakers have known this for a very long time, that the more the vines are stressed, the higher the elevation, the underwater they are, the more polyphenols will be present in the grapes of that particular vine. And great winemakers have known for some time that it was the polyphenols in the grapes that brought all the characteristics and benefits from the wine that the vintners were looking for. But getting back to the point, for instance, we're going to talk about olive oil. Olive oil happens to be a great delivery device for polyphenols. And the polyphenols were in the olives. And when you eat an olive, you're eating polyphenols. When you squish an olive and extract the oil. The benefit of olive oil is not oleic acid, which is a monounsaturated fat. The benefit is in the polyphenol content. And one of the best ways to assess polyphenol content in olive oil is that if it makes you cough as you drink it or eat it, that's a very potent sign of the level of polyphenol. But there's actually more polyphenols in olive leaves. And that's why olive leaf extract is actually an incredibly great source of polyphenols. And if you want to munch on a few olive leaves, be my guest. Okay, so polyphenols protect the plant from damage from free radicals from reactive oxygen species. Want to stay active, independent and mobile for years to come? The Juvent micro impact platform can help most of us sit too much. And even when we move, cushioned shoes block the gentle forces our bones and joints need. Juvent restores those healthy micro impacts, boosting bone density, reducing pain, and even supporting stem cell production. Just 10 to 20 minutes a day at home can help you stay young, strong, flexible and pain free. It's a smart, simple way to support your mobility and long term health. With a 6 week buy back guarantee, financing options, and 10 year limited warranty, there's never been a better time to try it risk free. Visit Juvent.comGendry and use code GUNDRY for an exclusive $300 off. That's J-U V E N T.comGendry code GUNDRY at checkout Give your body the boost it deserves and enjoy stronger bones, better mobility, and a longer, healthier life. And we eat plants, and we eat the plant polyphenols either in their leaves. When we eat lettuce, believe it or not, we're eating polyphenols. When we're eating red leaf lettuce, we were eating more polyphenols than in green lettuce. In fact, years ago, Rutgers University patented a red romaine lettuce that they showed had considerably more polyphenol content than regular romaine lettuce. And I've forgotten the name of it now, but it was something red. But they received a patent because of the polyphenol content. Okay, so polyphenols protect plants from damage. Now, years ago, we used to think that polyphenols were primarily antioxidants. And for years and years and years, we measured the polyphenol content by what was called an ORAC rating, O, R, A, C, that's the oxygen radical absorbing capacity, and looked at whether these compounds could actually absorb free radicals. And for years and years and years, this was the standard by which we judged polyphenol content. Unfortunately, it turns out that these compounds, when we swallow them, are not doing that at all. And so if you hear people say that the reason to get polyphenols into your diet is that they are antioxidants, number one, don't believe them. Number two, that's not how they work. That their power is actually far more important. And one of the most recent findings is that polyphenols are actually prebiotics. In other words, if you remember, prebiotics are what your friendly bacteria, the probiotics, like to eat. So first and foremost, whoever says that polyphenols are the plant defense system against being eaten, and that polyphenols, because of that, are extremely damaging to your health. First of all, it doesn't know what they're talking about. Number two, that's not how polyphenols work for the plant. And they're not a defense system of the plant. That's what lectins are for. That's what phytates are for, not polyphenols. The second thing is people who say polyphenols are bad for you actually don't realize that polyphenols feed friendly bacteria. And there's a host of evidence that you'll see in my upcoming book about the incredible benefit of polyphenols in actually changing the gut microbiome for the better. In fact, I'll give you a little Tease. There's a fascinating study looking at the microbiome and inflammatory markers in three trials in human beings. One group had to drink several glasses of red wine per day. The second group had to drink the same red wine that had the alcohol removed. And you can go to a store and find non alcoholic red wine. And the third group got to drink gin in the same alcoholic amount that the red wine drinkers were drinking. And lo and behold, what they found was that both the red wine with and without alcohol changed the gut microbiome to a much more friendly microbiome. In other words, it increased the gut buddies. And the result was that multiple markers of inflammation fell in both of those red wine drinkers, whereas no effect was found in the gin drinkers. Why? Because the gin, even though it had alcohol, didn't have any polyphenols. So the idea that polyphenols are somehow a plant defense system is absolutely wrong. And human studies back up the fact that it's the polyphenols, not the alcohol in red wine, that is the beneficial effect. And its benefit is not the polyphenols directly, but it's the polyphenols being eaten by certain gut bacteria and basically fertilizing good gut bacteria. The other thing we know is that polyphenols in general, when you eat them, are incredibly poorly absorbed. Maybe only 10% of all the polyphenols that you eat are ever absorbed. But again, the good news is that these polyphenols are eaten by your gut buddies and it's the products that your gut buddies make make from these polyphenols in the form of postbiotics that I talk extensively about in the energy paradox that is one of the main ways that polyphenols benefit our health. So that's actually the exciting new science of polyphenols and how they work.
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I hope you enjoyed this episode of the Dr. Gundry podcast. If you did, please share this with family and friends. You never know how one of these health tips can completely transform someone's life when you take the time to share it with them. There's also the Dr. Gundry Podcast YouTube channel where we have tens of thousands of free health insights that can help you and your loved ones live a long, vital life. Let's do this together.