Gut Health 101
Microbial Metabolites from Gut Account for a Major Fraction of Polyphenols Excreted in Urine of Rats Fed Red Wine Polyphenols – (02-10-03)
Microbial Metabolites from Gut Account for a Major Fraction of Polyphenols Excreted in Urine of Rats Fed Red Wine Polyphenols
Sorry for the long title. This article points reminds us of how important our bacterial flora in our guts are. In this rat study, the researchers found that the bacterial breakdown of polyphenols (beneficial compounds for in such items as grape juice) produces some of the active compounds. There are two things to consider here. First, studies that look at whether red wine benefits health may show stronger benefits if we also controlled for other factors-in this case colonic flora. Second, this just draws further concern on the widespread antibiotic use and the potential long term negative effects (or at least loss of a positive effect).
nutrition.org — Abstracts: Gonthier et al. 133 (2): 461
