Zone Labs offers the best of the super fruits

Polyphenols are all the rage today, ranging from super fruits to chocolate to red wine. So what’s the real science behind these polyphenols?

To begin with they are very complex molecules that give fruits and vegetables their color. But they do a lot more than bring color to the diet. They are the main defense system for vegetables and fruits. Since fruits and vegetables can’t run from bacterial and viral invaders, they have to stay and fight with their own defenses. The most powerful of these are polyphenols. Because of their structural complexity, they were virtually ignored until 1995. Early studies found that they are powerful anti-oxidants. More detailed research indicated some polyphenols were also functioning as anti-inflammatory agents that could inhibit the master inflammatory switch (NF-kB) found in every cell. Now more detailed molecular biological experiments indicate that a select few polyphenols can activate the “enzyme of life” known as AMP kinase. This particular key enzyme controls most of the metabolic pathways in the body. When it is activated, you regain control of your metabolism, live longer, and perform better.

There are more than 4,000 known polyphenols. However, there is one class of polyphenols that does the best job in activating this AMP kinase. This unique class of polyphenols is known as delphinidins, primarily found in blueberries. The richest source comes from Patagonia blueberry or the maqui berry. This particular source of delphindins only grows in the harsh arctic-like climate in Chile near the South Pole and contains 13 times more delphindins than blueberries.

The Chilean government has taken a keen interest in developing the maqui berry as a natural resource similar to overseeing the copper and fishing industries as sources of national wealth. As a result, they have put a lot of research money into studying the properties of isolated delphinidins from the maqui berry. When purified, these delphinidins have great promise in not only enhancing athletic performance (we were giving them to the Miami Heat, added to players’ daily breakfast shakes last year), but also helping to manage blood sugar levels. At a recent research scientific conference, I reported on some of these initial human results conducted in Chile with purified delphindin extracts from the maqui berry. I am not easily impressed, but the data I reported on even impressed me since it was so effective at such a low concentration.

So if you want more energy, better control of blood sugar, and less inflammation, take your delphinidins. You can either go to Patagonia in Southern Chile and pick them yourself and then travel to Italy to purify the delphindins from the raw berry, or just take a capsule a day of polyphenols containing delphinidins.

Zone Labs now has two such products. The first new product is Polyphenols Rx, with each capsule containing 20 mg of delphindins. The other new product is Polyphenols XT, with each capsule containing 75 mg of delphindins.

For more information, go to zonediet.com. Click on Products and then Polyphenols.