Polyphenol Antioxidants Inhibit Iron Absorption

#AceHealthNews – Side Effects of taking Modern Day Medication #prescriptions

Health benefits from polyphenol antioxidants — substances found in many fruits and vegetables — may come at a cost to some people. Penn State nutritional scientists found that eating certain polyphenols decreased the amount of iron the body absorbs, which can increase the risk of developing an iron deficiency.
Polyphenols have been known to have many beneficial effects for human health, such as preventing or delaying certain types of cancer, enhancing bone metabolism and improving bone mineral density, and decreasing risk of heart disease,” said Okhee Han, assistant professor of nutritional sciences. “But so far, not many people have thought about whether or not polyphenols affect nutrient absorption.”

The researchers, led by Han, studied the effects of eating grape seed extract and epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) found in green tea. They used cells from the intestine — where iron absorption takes place — to assess the polyphenols’ effect and found that polyphenols…

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