You already know how important it is to improve your diet. But what if you have not been able to make big enough improvements? Are you destined to a life of disease? Maybe not.
You can protect yourself from indiscretions with a nutrient Ive told you about many times. No, this is not an excuse to eat poorly. No matter what the research tells you in a study, theres just no way to calculate the harm that a toxic diet will cause. But evidence is mounting that you can mitigate much of the damage.
And the best way to do it is with polyphenols. Polyphenols are a broad class of nutrients that we also call bioflavonoids. These phyto (plant) chemicals are rich in whole living colorful foods. The most famous are resveratrol, curcumin, quercetin, Seanol, and others.
New research demonstrates that these compounds will help you burn your food cleaner. They work much like gasoline additives, which help your car burn cleaner.
For the study, researchers fed six men and four women three different meals consisting of dark meat turkey cutlets. One meal, the control, consisted of turkey meat and water. The second meal consisted of turkey meat with polyphenols added after cooking (one tablespoon of concentrated wine) followed with a glass of red wine (about seven ounces). The third meal consisted of turkey meat with polyphenols added before cooking and then followed by a glass of wine.
The researchers studied the subjects production of a toxic metabolite called malondialdehyde (MDA). While some aldehydes are good, they are generally not friendly chemicals (you are probably familiar with formaldehyde, the embalming fluid). These chemicals tend to cross-link your tissues and damage your liver.
MDA is a natural dirty byproduct of fat digestion. It increases your risk for heart disease and causes other chronic problems. MDA nearly quintupled after the control meal. However, the addition of polyphenols, either before or after cooking, nearly eliminated the rise in MDA.
Ive brought you fantastic news on resveratrol and its ability to support your insulin metabolism. Insulin is closely related to fat metabolism. More insulin means faster aging. Resveratrol actually slows your aging process. Many people think polyphenols, such as resveratrol, primarily work as free radical scavengers. That is why we call them antioxidants. Now it seems that, like many natural (non-drug) compounds, they actually drive your metabolism into safe mode – clean burning.
Again, theres no excuse to eat a toxic diet. But I understand that you just might not be able to fully make the dietary leap. Or once in a while you would like to splurge. I do too (but not with overtly toxic foods). If so, have some polyphenols in your back pocket. The most powerful ones are resveratrol and Seanol. Both of these are available from Advanced Bionutritionals (800-728-2288).
Simply take one or two capsules after a questionable meal. You may help protect your liver and arteries by reducing MDA production from the fat in the meal. Negating MDA with polyphenols may not mitigate all the damage of a bad diet. But the research suggests that it can help a lot.
This may also explain the French paradox. Many French drink lots of red wine with rich (fatty) meals. And they have lower risks of heart disease than Americans. Perhaps this effect of polyphenols is the explanation.
Ref: The FASEB Journal, January 2008.