Get the Most from Fresh Fruits and Vegetables: Polyphenol Digestion
With summer’s arrival, we look forward to fresh produce from the garden and farmer's market.
Vegetables and fruits are good sources of fiber, natural sugars, vitamins, minerals and many other compounds. We now know that the best way to derive the nutrition of these foods is by eating them as a whole food.
Polyphenols are good
Polyphenols are compounds found in fruits and vegetables. Polyphenols provide protection from oxidative stress, carcinogens, and mutagens (substances that cause genetic changes).
The problem is the majority of polyphenols are in a form that don’t do much for us.
Most polyphenols don’t begin to benefit us until late in your digestion when they reach the colon.
There the polyphenols are put into action by enzymes produced by bacteria in your colon. Unfortunately, these same bacteria may also produce substances that knock down the polyphenol before it can be absorbed.
The fact that these actions occur in the colon is also a concern since nutritional absorption is not optimal within the colon.
If only there was a way to allow polyphenols to work earlier on in the digestive process....Oh, wait - there is!
It is thought that certain enzymes produced by good fungi and bacteria may clip the attached sugar group which keep polyphenols from being absorbed.
These same enzymes, when taken as a supplement, can start working on the polyphenols while the food is still in the stomach and small intestine.
By breaking off the sugar group that held the polyphenol in check, the compound is freed to work much earlier in the digestive tract.
Absorption can then occur in the small intestine rather than being lost with bowel movements. This also prevents the polyphenol from being degraded by the colon’s bacteria.
Enzymes specific for polyphenol digestion can enhance your absorption of these compounds so their nutritive benefits occur quicker and with greater effect.
No-Fenol for polyphenolic foods
For the best digestive support of polyphenols in fruits and vegetables, try an enzyme formula specific to polyphenols, such as No-Fenol.
Posted in
Food Intolerances,
Diets,
Digestion;