Hi there Quentin,

I have always known, even if intuitively, that fresh ordinary foods just had
to be the best way to obtain all the necessary items needed to promote good
health. I mean, it's simply logical, after all, the human race evolved
without supplements!  Less helpful though, was knowing just which foods were
more nutritious and health-promoting, especially given the metabolic
disorder we call T2 diabetes. We have to make choices based on availabilty
and cost, let alone the limited capacity of just how much we can eat in one
day!

You initiated my interest in seeking to find out all I could about just what
is in our food, what it did for us, and so on. I'm still struggling to
understand a lot of the info I've collected!

BUT, I had not come across the term polyphenols, or more likely, had not
noticed that particular name for this subset of micronutrients.

So I went Googling, and found out a lot of interesting things, and not only
about polyphenols.

For those other than yourself, who would also like to learn a little more
about this fascinating area of nutrition that is less commonly discussed by
dieticians, here are some of the major sites I found. Do feel free to
correct any errors I may have made in writing this.

For those who just want something fairly easy to read and follow;
http://www.ars.usda.gov/Aboutus/docs.htm?docid=4142
Phytonutrient FAQs

For those who want something a bit more scientific and more in detail,
including a very nice little chart;
http://encyclopedias.families.com/bioactive-food-components-201-205-efc
Bioactive food components.

Finally, for the really clever people who like to really get into scientific
studies, here is an abstract about current studies on polyphenols in
particular. Since I did not wish to pay for the full article, I did not go
any further with this one;
http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/79/5/727
Polyphenols: food sources and bioavailability1,2

Anyway, here's a small idea of what this is all about, for the majority of
folk who simply want a bit of and idea on what to eat.

1. Phytonutrients, which include the polyphenols, are found naturally in all
ordinary fresh foods. You'll notice that they are also called MICRO
nutrients. That's because they are such a small part of what we eat, yet are
extremely important in maintaining good health, or even healing us of damage
done to our bodies.

MACRO-nutrients are the Big 3 stuff, like protiens, fats and carbohydrates,
that provide the energy all living things need. We need lots and lots of
that stuff, but it simply is not enough by itself to keep the complicated
system (our metabolism) working smoothly.
Actually, one of the items included in these studies that *does* come in
large, obvious amounts, is fiber. It just looks kind of useless, seeing as
it contributes nothing (or very little) to our daily energy needs. So it
doesn't make the Big 3. But it is still very important for a number less
obvious metabolic reasons.
Somewhere in the middle are the vitamins and minerals we have come to know
and love in modern times.

2. Most studies concentrate on the ones from the vegetable kingdom, since
there are so many of them. In short, fruit and vegetables are wonderful
sources of these very important yet comparitively minor parts of our food.

3. Polyphenols are also known as flavinoids or similar, with those funny
names you often see Quentin writing about in this group. Like lutein,
quercetin, hesperidin, zeaxanthin, or that real tongue twister, astaxanthin,
one of the ones that comes from sea animals like salmon or prawns. There's a
zillion of them, many that appear to do nothing, and heaps that are not
understood at all, one way or the other.

So eat lots of veges and some fruit, and anything else you see Quentin
recommending as being important.  It probably is!
If at all possible, always try to meet your nutritional needs from natural
food sources. It the best way to ensure you get a balanced amount, and have
included things you need, including those that even the scientists still
don't know about.
Variety is not only more interesting, but gives you a larger range of
possibilities, as well.

Annette
Munching her way through life!

I'm sure it must have been. Thanks for doing it.

I knew about the wrong stereoisomers, but not about the polyphenols.
Thanks!

BTW, I find it very interesting that as flavonoids, isoflavones and
ellagic acid are all Polyphenols, and thus anti-oxidants, a google on
ellagic acid turned up a great many claims that it's an anti-cancer
agent too.

It's found in quantity in blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, red
grapes, and strawberries.

I'm not sure, but I think that would make red wine a good source of it
too.

Unless, of course, you decide to dine on Polar Bear liver... :-)

And that could, perhaps, be the reason for the results in that
beta-carotine cancer test that you mentioned a while back?