Increased intestinal permeability is associated with the development of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and even Alzheimer's disease, due to the increased passage of potentially toxic substances into the blood related to their development. However, the regular consumption of foods rich in polyphenols such as apples, chocolate, green tea, blueberries, pomegranate, oranges, among others, has been shown to be very effective in reducing it, especially in older people (+60 years). This is demonstrated by a study led by Dr. Cristina Andrés Lacueva, professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences of the UB, head of the Biomarkers and Nutritional Metabolomics of Food Research Group of INSA-UB and the Biomedical Research Center Network on Frailty and Aging (CIBERFES), which is also integrated into the Food Innovation Network of Catalonia (XIA).
The results observed in this study were published in the prestigious journal Clinical Nutrition: Crosstalk among intestinal barrier, gut microbiota and serum metabolome after a polyphenol-rich diet in older subjects with “leaky gut”: The MaPLE trial.