Tag: polyphenols

Categories : Cardiovascular Disease Diet and NutritionTags :

Polyphenol-rich Diets Linked to Better Long-term Heart Health

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Compounds found in tea, coffee, berries and nuts linked to better long-term heart health.

Photo by Annemarie Grudën on Unsplash

People who regularly consume polyphenol-rich foods and drinks, such as tea, coffee, berries, cocoa, nuts, whole grains and olive oil, may have better long-term heart health.

The research, led by King’s College London, found that those with higher adherence to polyphenol-rich dietary patterns had lower predicted cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk.

Polyphenols are natural compounds found in plants that are linked to various health benefits, including improved heart, brain, and gut health.

The study, published in BMC Medicine, followed more than 3100 adults from the TwinsUK cohort for over a decade, found that diets rich in specific groups of polyphenols were linked to healthier blood pressure and cholesterol profiles, contributing to lower CVD risk scores.

For the first time, the researchers also analysed a large number of metabolites in the urine that are produced when the body breaks down polyphenols.

These biomarkers confirmed that individuals with higher levels of polyphenol metabolites—especially those derived from specific groups of polyphenols, flavonoids and phenolic acids – had lower cardiovascular risk scores. They also had increased HDL cholesterol, also know as ‘good’ cholesterol.

The study used a newly developed polyphenol dietary score (PPS) to capture intake of 20 key polyphenol-rich foods commonly consumed in the UK, ranging from tea and coffee to berries, olive oil, nuts, and whole grains.

This score showed stronger associations with cardiovascular health than estimates of total polyphenol intake, likely because it captures overall dietary patterns rather than individual compounds.

This finding suggests that considering the whole diet provides a more accurate picture of how polyphenol-rich foods work together to support long-term heart health.

Our findings show that long-term adherence to polyphenol-rich diets can substantially slow the rise in cardiovascular risk as people age. Even small, sustained shifts towards foods like berries, tea, coffee, nuts, and whole grains may help protect the heart over time.”

Professor Ana Rodriguez-Mateos, Professor of Human Nutrition at King’s College London

Dr Yong Li, first author of the study, added: “This research provides strong evidence that regularly including polyphenol-rich foods in your diet is a simple and effective way to support heart health. These plant compounds are widely available in everyday foods, making this a practical strategy for most people.”

The researchers note that while cardiovascular risk naturally increases with age, higher polyphenol intake was associated with a slower progression of risk over the 11-year follow-up period. They also emphasise the need for future dietary intervention studies to further validate these associations.

Source: King’s College London

Categories : Diet and NutritionTags :

Could a Latté a Day Keep Inflammation Away?

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Photo by Porapak Apichodilok on Pexels

A simple latté may have an anti-inflammatory effect in humans, according to a new study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. The researchers found that a combination of proteins and antioxidants, such as in coffee with milk, doubles the anti-inflammatory properties in immune cells. The researchers hope to be able to study the health effects on humans.

Antioxidants known as polyphenols are found in humans, plants, fruits and vegetables. This group of antioxidants is also used by the food industry to slow the oxidation and deterioration of food quality and thereby avoid off flavours and rancidity. Polyphenols are also known to be healthy for humans, as they help reduce oxidative stress in the body that gives rise to inflammation, which can results from infection but also other causes such as muscle overuse or arthritis.

Despite this, understanding of polyphenols is lacking, and few studies have investigated what happens when polyphenols react with other molecules, such as proteins mixed into foods.

In a new study, researchers at the Department of Food Science, in collaboration with researchers from the Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, at University of Copenhagen investigated how polyphenols behave when combined with amino acids, the building blocks of proteins. The results have been promising.

“In the study, we show that as a polyphenol reacts with an amino acid, its inhibitory effect on inflammation in immune cells is enhanced. As such, it is clearly imaginable that this cocktail could also have a beneficial effect on inflammation in humans. We will now investigate further, initially in animals. After that, we hope to receive research funding which will allow us to study the effect in humans,” says Professor Marianne Nissen Lund from the Department of Food Science, who headed the study.

The study has just been published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 

Twice as good at fighting inflammation

To investigate the anti-inflammatory effect of combining polyphenols with proteins, the researchers applied artificial inflammation to immune cells. Some of the cells received various doses of polyphenols that had reacted with an amino acid, while others only received polyphenols in the same doses. A control group received nothing.

The researchers observed that immune cells treated with the combination of polyphenols and amino acids were twice as effective at fighting inflammation as the cells to which only polyphenols were added.

“It is interesting to have now observed the anti-inflammatory effect in cell experiments. And obviously, this has only made us more interested in understanding these health effects in greater detail. So, the next step will be to study the effects in animals,” says Associate Professor Andrew Williams of the Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, who is also senior author of the study.

Found in coffee with milk

Previous studies by the researchers demonstrated that polyphenols bind to proteins in meat products, milk and beer. In another new study, they tested whether the molecules also bind to each other in a coffee drink with milk. Indeed, coffee beans are filled with polyphenols, while milk is rich in proteins.

“Our result demonstrates that the reaction between polyphenols and proteins also happens in some of the coffee drinks with milk that we studied. In fact, the reaction happens so quickly that it has been difficult to avoid in any of the foods that we’ve studied so far,” says Marianne Nissen Lund.

Therefore, the researcher does not find it difficult to imagine that the reaction and potentially beneficial anti-inflammatory effect also occur when other foods consisting of proteins and fruits or vegetables are combined.

“I can imagine that something similar happens in, for example, a meat dish with vegetables or a smoothie, if you make sure to add some protein like milk or yoghurt,” says Marianne Nissen Lund.   

Spurred by polyphenols’ benefits, researchers and industry are working on how to add the right quantities of polyphenols in foods to achieve the best quality. The new research results are promising in this context as well:

“Because humans do not absorb that much polyphenol, many researchers are studying how to encapsulate polyphenols in protein structures which improve their absorption in the body. This strategy has the added advantage of enhancing the anti-inflammatory effects of polyphenols,” explains Marianne Nissen Lund.

Source: University of Copenhagen