Dr. Sears has introduced Zone Polyphenols in capsule form, handy for travelers and athletes.
It has been known for a long time that consuming large amounts of fruits and vegetables is associated with less chronic disease.
“For a long time people thought this was due to the anti-oxidants in these foods, but long-term studies with anti-oxidants, like Vitamin E, Vitamin C, and beta-carotene have yielded little support for that hypothesis,” Dr. Sears said.
Overlooked has been the impact of a small subclass of phytochemicals, known as polyphenols, also found in fruits and vegetables.
“Yes, they have some anti-oxidant properties, but more intriguing is their potential anti-inflammatory properties, and here lies the problem for the consumer, how to distinguish marketing hype from reality because not every polyphenol will have the same anti-inflammatory properties,” Dr. Sears said.
In developing Zone Labs new polyphenol capsule, Dr. Sears combined those polyphenols that have significant anti-inflammatory properties and then tested them in the laboratory. Using cell cultures to which a pro-inflammatory compound could be added to induce inflammation, Dr. Sears was able to show that the polyphenol combination in our new polyphenol capsule could decrease the inflammatory response by some 66 percent.
“If you decrease inflammation, you will decrease the likelihood of the development of chronic disease. Unfortunately, very few anti-oxidants from fruits and vegetables have anti-inflammatory properties,” he said.
All polyphenols have anti-oxidant properties that can be measured by their Oxygen Radical Absorption Capacity (ORAC), but not all polyphenols have anti-inflammatory properties. The polyphenols in Zone Polyphenols have been carefully chosen to have both.
½ cup serving of fresh fruit contains anywhere from 200-1300 ORAC units depending on the fruit selected. The average American serving of fruits or vegetables provides about 300 ORAC units.
One serving (1 capsule) of Zone Polyphenols contains approximately 1500 ORAC units.
To learn more about Zone Polyphenols, call a Zone Professional at 1-800-404-8171 or click on products at CareuDiet.com.