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Polyphenols are a major reason fruits, vegetables, and other plant-based foods make us healthier. One of the things that damages our health the most is inflammation. Polyphenols’ anti-inflammatory properties can improve health, help with joint pain, and reduce disease. Anti-inflammatory Polyphenols: Helping joints, brain, and overall health

Today, we will explain more about the anti-inflammatory properties of polyphenols. 

What are polyphenols?

Polyphenols are phytochemicals or molecules that come from plants. Polyphenols are broken down into several categories, the main ones being:

  • Lignans
  • Flavonoids
  • Stilbenes
  • Phenolic Acids

Some polyphenols that you may have heard of include resveratrol (this is the one that makes red wine healthy), curcumin (a major factor in the health benefits of turmeric), and anthocyanins (found in berries, especially blueberries, giving them their healthy benefits).

Polyphenols can be large or small molecules, and they each have their own individual properties that make them beneficial. Polyphenols have been given credit for so many health-boosting benefits, like:

All of these things are fantastic, but one of the most important jobs of polyphenols is being anti-inflammatory. 

Why is inflammation a problem?

Inflammation happens throughout the body for many different reasons. If you were to get an injury from rolling your ankle, your ankle would swell. This is actually a good thing. Swelling makes it difficult for the ankle to move, so you don’t injure it more. 

Inflammation happens when a rush of immune cells flood the injured area to help repair what was damaged. 

This is a healthy immune response. However, if this continually happens without proper healing, it can lead to problems in the future, like arthritis (literally translated as joint inflammation).

With our overall health, inflammation can happen too. It often happens without much notice at first. Allergic reactions, common cold, upset stomach, skin concerns like atopic dermatitis and acne are all examples of inflammation that typically fly under the radar. We know that something is going on in the body, but because it happens to so many people, we just write it off as a normal problem that we have to deal with. 

However, when we continually experience little inflammations, it causes the immune system to be taxed because it never gets a break. Our bodies need a time of rest from inflammation to clear out unnecessary, damaged, or pathogenic cells. It needs time for the immune cells to stop circulating. It needs time to rest and reset. If it never gets rest, diseases and autoimmune conditions can happen. 

Diet has a large role in inflammation throughout the body. Diets high in sugar increase inflammation because the body is trying to reduce the sugar levels. This is where obesity and diabetes often begin. 

Diets high in polyphenols help to manage the inflammation, making the immune process easier for your body to handle. Certain foods can actually speed up the healing process. This is why foods high in polyphenols are so important to manage inflammation.

Anti-inflammatory properties of polyphenols

Polyphenols on their own have great properties that help the body to heal. The main way that they help the body is because of their prebiotic content. 

Prebiotics are what feed the good bacteria within the gut. When the gut microbiome is healthy, the rest of the body is too because it controls most of the immune and inflammatory responses.

The gut microbiota gives off postbiotics after consuming prebiotics. The postbiotics of polyphenols are what provide the body with healing and anti-inflammatory benefits.

Check out this article to learn what foods you should be eating for more prebiotic content in your diet!

Anti-inflammatory effects of polyphenols for gut health

Like we said above, the gut is the first thing affected by polyphenols. Anytime there is inflammation in the gut, it can cause damage to the intestinal lining. If this becomes damaged, bacteria and pathogens can cross the barrier and create an immune response. 

When consuming high-polyphenol foods, our gut balance becomes healthier which can repair the intestinal lining and prevent intraintestinal and extraintestinal inflammation. 

Studies have shown that high-polyphenol diets increase the production of butyrate, a beneficial short-chain fatty acid (SCFA). Butyrate is neuroprotective, helps maintain the gut barrier, and can regulate blood sugar levels.

Studies also show that high-polyphenol diets can reduce the risk of colorectal cancer and improve colitis symptoms.

Anti-inflammatory effects of polyphenols for the brain

Studies have shown there is a link between inflammation and neurological disorders, like:

While the direct understanding between many of these diseases and the role of inflammation isn’t completely understood, there is a definite connection, as all these conditions deal with brain inflammation. 

There are multiple studies showing positive effects of polyphenols on brain health. However, most of them are done on animals and haven’t been replicated in human studies. Some of these studies have looked at using the following polyphenols to improve brain function and reduce inflammation:

  • Anthocyanins (found in lingonberries and other berries)
  • Grape seed and skin extracts
  • Catechins
  • Gallic acid
  • Vanillin
  • EGCG
  • Purple sweet potato extract

These polyphenols have been able to help with removing reactive oxygen species that contribute to oxidative stress, which helps reduce brain inflammation. They also showed a reduction in the formation of amyloid plaques, which are consistent with many of the cognitive decline symptoms in these conditions. 

While polyphenols haven’t been shown to cure these conditions, the fact that they can help with inflammation does give them an edge on helping with symptoms, so long as the quality of the polyphenol sources is good.

Anti-inflammatory effects of polyphenols for your joints

Osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are conditions that affect the joints and cause pain from inflammation. 

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disorder that can affect any joint throughout the body. Osteoarthritis is often caused from overuse or injury to the joints that continues over time. 

Polyphenols have been shown to help in both instances. While more studies have been done on polyphenols and RA, they are also helpful for osteoarthritis. 

A meta-analysis looked at 47 different studies on the use of polyphenols for RA patients. They found that in most cases, adding polyphenols to the diet helped improve disease activity scores, reduced inflammation, and helped manage oxidative stress levels in RA patients. The polyphenols used included:

  • Curcumin
  • Cinnamon extract
  • Cranberry extract
  • Crocus sativus L. extract
  • Garlic extract
  • Ginger extract
  • Hesperidin
  • Olive oil
  • Pomegranate extract
  • Puerarin
  • Quercetin
  • Resveratrol
  • Sesamin
  • Tea polyphenols

Osteoarthritis is interesting because there haven’t been any drug developments in helping this condition. Osteoarthritis continues to degrade the parts of the joint throughout the lifetime of the patient, often leading to the need for a surgical replacement of part or all of the joint. 

Studies found that polyphenols can help protect the chondrocytes in the joints, reduce inflammation, and clear out ROS. EGCG, Butein, Wogonin, Resveratrol, Curcumin seemed to provide the best benefits to osteoarthritic patients.

Anti-inflammatory effects of polyphenols on your body systems

Polyphenols help reduce inflammation throughout the entire body. They can reduce chronic inflammation by managing multiple inflammatory pathways. 

As a result, any body systems that are being affected by chronic inflammation (brain, cardiovascular, etc.) can benefit from polyphenol intake. This puts polyphenols in an important position to prevent diseases from happening and provides the potential to reverse diseases that are already present.

Anti-Inflammatory Diet Tips

The main place we get most of our polyphenols is through diet. Fruits and vegetables are the most commonly known way to get polyphenols, however, you can get polyphenols while eating the following as well:

  • Flowers
  • Roots
  • Seeds
  • Nuts
  • Popcorn
  • Spices
  • Herbs
  • Tea, coffee, and other drinks

Anti-inflammatory diets are becoming more common, however, these diets should be guided by your personal healthcare provider. Anti-inflammatory diets often restrict specific foods that may cause inflammation. However, inflammatory foods for one person may not cause inflammation in another person, and some of the foods people cut out for anti-inflammatory diets can actually be extremely healthy and beneficial for your health — like tomatoes. 

Your doctor can test you for foods that you may have sensitivities to that may be causing inflammatory responses in your body. By reducing and limiting these foods in a safe way, you can truly benefit your entire body’s health and reduce pain. 

Some great places to start would be following any of the following diets until you can get with your doctor about specifics for you:

For more specific information depending on your ailments, these articles might help you more:

Atrantil is a great thing to try while you’re waiting to get with your doctor as well. Atrantil contains large polyphenols that help your body reduce inflammation and repair gut dysbiosis. Ask your doctor if this might be right to help you until you can see them. 

Resources:

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