By Eva Keohane, 2023-2026 FFAR Fellow
at Colorado State University
Most people have heard the phrase, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” But what if those apples are not the same? Imagine one grown on a rainy, organic farm in New York and another produced conventionally in Colorado’s dry, windy climate. Both are apples, yet their chemical makeup is likely quite different.
Research indicates that wild and domesticated apple varieties can vary widely in compounds called polyphenols—plant chemicals linked to health benefits such as improved gut and heart function. The varied characteristics of polyphenols can affect how they are absorbed in the body and interact with the gut microbiome–the trillions of microbes that help digest food and regulate health. Gut microbes break down polyphenols into smaller molecules that we can absorb, and along the way, polyphenols can support the growth of beneficial microbes. To truly understand how diet shapes health, we need to have a more nuanced view of what’s actually in the foods people eat, down to the chemical level. This is my area of research as a FFAR Fellow at Colorado State University (CSU).
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