Scientists from the University of Barcelona found that polyphenols in foods can prevent inflammation in older people since they alter the intestinal microbiota.
The research is published in the journal Molecular Nutrition & Food Research and was conducted by Professor Cristina Andrés-Lacueva et al.
Polyphenols are natural compounds, considered probiotics, which we eat mainly through fruits and vegetables.
Several dietary polyphenols have well-known antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, as well as the ability to interact with bacteria present in the human gut and to produce postbiotics (such as IPA), which increases their positive effects on health.
Regular consumption of polyphenols in the diet can contribute to healthy aging, especially if they are part of a healthy diet, such as the Mediterranean one, and are linked to a healthy lifestyle, that is, one including regular physical activity and excluding tobacco and alcohol.
In the study, the team analyzed the composition of the gut microbiota on fecal samples of fifty-one volunteers aged over sixty-five who kept following a diet rich in polyphenols (green tea, bitter chocolate, fruits including apples, pomegranate and blueberries) for eight weeks.
They found the interaction between polyphenols and gut microbiota can induce the proliferation of bacteria with the ability to synthetize beneficial metabolites, such as IPA, a postbiotic with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties that contribute to improving the health of the intestinal wall.
Therefore, this compound would contribute to the prevention of some diseases associated with aging.
The results showed that the diet rich in polyphenols generated a significant increase in the blood IPA levels, together with a decrease in inflammation levels.
The team says these results could be clinically relevant since the low IPA levels have been associated with a rapid decline in kidney function and a chronic kidney disease.
Therefore, a polyphenol-rich diet including probiotic foods such as green tea, dark chocolate and some fruits like apples, pomegranate and blueberries could increase the production of IPA through changes in the composition of gut microbiota.
This increase in the levels of a postbiotic, such as IPA in the elderly, could be beneficial in delaying or preventing chronic diseases that harm the quality of life.
If you care about inflammation, please read studies about the big cause of inflammation in common bowel disease, and vitamin B may help fight COVID-19, reduce inflammation.
For more information about nutrition, please see recent studies about new way to halt excessive inflammation, and results showing this diet may help reduce inflammation in COVID-19.
Copyright © 2022 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.
