Polyphenols Explained: How They Affect Your Genes and Health

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Posted: October 15, 2024

Watch Time: 45 minutes

Posted: March 11, 2025

Watch Time: 12:59 minutes

Hosted By:

By Dr. Barry Sears

Founder & President, Zone Labs

Mary Perry

Clinical Trials Director, Zone Labs

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Summary

Polyphenols do more than just give fruits and vegetables their vibrant colors—they have the potential to influence your genes. That’s right, the food you eat can literally turn certain genes on or off. But how does this work? It all comes down to AMPK, the master regulator of metabolism.

In this episode of The Wellness Zone, Dr. Barry Sears and Mary Perry explain how polyphenols activate AMPK and why this is crucial for your health. But there’s a catch—polyphenols aren’t easily absorbed by the body. They need to be broken down by your gut microbes before they can work their magic.

Topics We Discuss:

[00:01]- Polyphenol. They have the ability, if they get into your body to change the expression of your genes. That’s a pretty powerful statement that I can put a piece

[00:10]- of food in my mouth and I can change which genes are turned off and turned on by that food.

[00:22]- Hello everyone and welcome to the Wellness Zone podcast. I’m Mary Perry and I’m here with Dr. Barry Sears. This week we’re diving into the topic of polyphenols.

[00:31]- And for those of you who are familiar with the zone, this is not a new term for you, but for those of you who aren’t,

[00:36]- we’re gonna talk a bit about what they are and why they’re so important for your health. So Dr. Sears, can you tell our listeners

[00:42]- what exactly polyphenols are? Well, polyphenols are chemicals. They give fruits and vegetables their color, and they say, well, that’s nice, but what do they do?

[00:42]- Well, they do quite a bit, but they aren’t very concentrated in fruits and vegetables.