#94 March 2026 Newsletter Simplify Health News - How to Live Healthily Into Our Older Years

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#94 March 2026 Simplify Health News

How to Live Healthily Into Our Older Years

Simplify Holistic Nutrition Consulting & Functional Medicine Health and Wellness Coaching

When my newsletter reaches you, I will be in the Dominican Republic on a vacation I have been very much looking forward to, and at the same time I am accompanying my husband to a conference at our favorite resort. Between traveling to Florida to meet my husband’s clients, going to London to visit our daughter who is in her last MBA Duke semester at the London School of Economics, I have not been around much, and I am sorry.

Studying with Dr. Daniel Amen for the last 6 months to become a certified ELITE brain health coach has been challenging and enriching. Hopefully I will pass my final exam in mid-March and then be back and available for all of YOU.

Right now, I am at the annual Integrative Health Care Symposium in New York, for the 18th time, and it is so inspiring and literally nourishing.

So many knowledgeable speakers, so many wonderful topics, and eye-opening new research.

The Integrative Healthcare Symposium is a Functional Medicine conference with 1.900 attendees this year. Dr. Jeffrey Bland came up with the term ‘Functional Medicine’ at least two decades ago because he stated that we are doing medicine all wrong. He and his equally convinced partners and friends, like Dr. Mark Hyman, Dr. David Perlmutter, Dr. David Katz and many others, joined and all worked on restoring health first, with encouragement to improving lifestyle choices. Lifestyle choices like healthy eating, exercising regularly, surrounding yourself with the people you love, having a purpose, working on regular healthy sleep, and rest when we need to balance our stress levels.

Here are some pictures of Dr. Jeffrey Bland, Dr. Perlmutter, and Dr. Katz.

Dr. Jeffrey Bland, the father of Functional Medicine

Dr. David Perlmutter

Dr. David Katz

This year the most important topic ‘Longevity’ evolved around prolonging a ‘healthy lifespan’, or health- span. Not just a long lifespan and expected disease, but how to live healthily into our older years.

Dr. Austin Perlmutter (the son of Dr. David Perlmutter) gave an amazing talk about Polyphenols, which inspired me to write about it.

What are polyphenols?

Polyphenols are found in plants. There might be 8000, which work on longevity pathways, like flavonoids, phenolic acids, stilbenes…

The most polyphenol-dense foods, gram for gram, tend to be dried herbs and spices, cocoa products, certain berries, nuts/seeds, and some vegetables and legumes.

What are the health benefits of polyphenols?

Polyphenols are plant compounds with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity, and higher intakes are consistently linked to lower risk of several chronic diseases.

Key Health Benefits

Cardiovascular protection: Diets rich in polyphenols are associated with lower rates of cardiovascular disease, partly via reduced oxidative stress and inflammation, improved endothelial function, lower blood pressure, and better LDL/HDL profiles.
Metabolic health and blood sugar: Polyphenols can slow starch digestion, improving insulin secretion and sensitivity, and protecting pancreatic cells from oxidative damage, contributing to lower type 2 diabetes risk.
Anti-cancer potential: Observational data suggest polyphenol-rich diets may reduce risk or slow progression of certain cancers via antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, anti-mutagenic, and hormone-modulating actions, though human trial data are still mixed.
Neuroprotection and cognitive health: Polyphenols are linked to slower progression of neurodegenerative diseases, potentially through reducing oxidative stress and neuroinflammation, improving vascular function, and modulating cell-signaling pathways in the brain.
Gut health and inflammation: Because many polyphenols reach the colon, they act as modulators for the gut microbiome, increasing beneficial species and reducing intestinal and systemic inflammation, which may contribute to lower risk of inflammatory diseases.
General antioxidant and immune effects: Polyphenols neutralize reactive oxygen species, protect lipids, proteins, and DNA from oxidative damage, and exhibit anti-allergic, and immune-modulating effects that broadly support healthy aging.

Practical notes and cavaeats

Benefits are best documented for long-term intake of polyphenol-rich whole foods (fruits, vegetables, tea/coffee, cocoa, legumes, nuts, herbs) within an overall healthy dietary pattern.

Highest-density categories

Dried herbs & spices:
Cloves, peppermint, star anise, oregano, rosemary, thyme, cinnamon, turmeric, and similar dried herbs are among the very top sources per gram.

Cocoa and dark chocolate:
Cocoa powder and dark chocolate (≥70% cacao) are extremely rich in flavanols and other polyphenols.

Berries:
Especially elderberries, blueberries, blackcurrants, and other dark berries.

Nuts and seeds:
Flaxseed (particularly meal), chestnuts, hazelnuts, walnuts, and pecans are notable high sources.

Olives & extra-virgin, first cold pressed olive oil for cold use

Olives & extra-virgin, first cold pressed olive oil (for cold use):
Black and green olives and high–polyphenol extra-virgin olive oil provide significant amounts per typical serving.

Beans & organic soy:
Black and white beans, plus soy foods like soy flour and tempeh, have meaningful polyphenol content along with fiber and protein.

High-polyphenol vegetables
Artichokes, red chicory/radicchio, red onions, spinach, and some other leafy or bitter vegetables score highest among veggies.

Practical food list to focus on daily:

If you’re thinking in terms of daily, realistic intake rather than per-gram extremes, a polyphenol-rich pattern would emphasize:

Berries most days (fresh or frozen).
Generous use of herbs and spices like cloves, oregano, rosemary, turmeric, and cinnamon in cooking.
A serving of dark chocolate or cocoa (70%+ cacao) several times per week.
Extra-virgin olive oil as the main culinary oil for cold use, plus olives as snacks or additions to meals.
Regular nuts and seeds, especially flaxseed, walnuts, pecans, and hazelnuts.
Coffee and/or tea (green, black, or white) as beverages if tolerated.
Beans, lentils, and organic soy foods, and high-polyphenol vegetables like artichokes, red onion, and spinach in salads, stews, and side dishes.

What is the best way to absorb polyphenols from food?

Most polyphenols are absorbed reasonably well when they come from whole foods eaten in the context of a mixed meal, but a few strategies can improve their bioavailability and effectiveness.

Pair with healthy fats

Many polyphenols are at least partly fat-soluble, so consuming them with sources of fat (e.g., extra-virgin cold pressed olive oil, avocado, nuts, seeds) improves the uptake in the small intestine.

Support gut microbiome (for colonic metabolism)

A large share of complex polyphenols reaches the colon, where gut microbes transform them into smaller, more bioavailable metabolites that drive many systemic effects.
To maximize this, emphasize prebiotic fibers (onions, garlic, leeks, asparagus, oats, legumes) and fermented foods if tolerated (yogurt, kefir, kimchi, sauerkraut), and avoid frequent or unnecessary broad spectrum antibiotics when possible.

Optimize food form and cooking

Chewing thoroughly and eating polyphenol‑rich foods in minimally processed forms improves release and absorption and also favors gut microbial metabolism.
Use gentle cooking: polyphenols are fairly heat‑stable, but boiling can leach them into water; steaming, sautéing, or using the cooking liquid in soups/stews preserves more.
Consuming polyphenol‑rich foods with meals slows gastric emptying and coordinates exposure with digestive enzymes, bile acids, and transporters that facilitate uptake.
This is particularly relevant for beverages like tea, coffee, and red wine: having them with or around meals may improve total bioavailability and reduce GI irritation.

Be cautious with very high-dose supplements

Different polyphenols have different preferred forms for absorption and isolated high doses can behave differently than food sources, with possible interactions at transporters and metabolizing enzymes.
For most health goals, the most effective and safest “absorption strategy” is a diverse, fiber‑rich, polyphenol‑dense diet plus healthy fats and microbiome support, rather than chasing maximal intake from pills.

I love to encourage all of you to eat a 'whole food as minimally processed diet' as possible and look for the research and reasons to be convincing. Hopefully this helps and proves how important it is to eat plenty of vegetables, nuts and seeds, berries, herbs and spices, and all paired with healthy fats and protein. Please reach out if you have any questions. I hope to see or hear you soon.

Spring is just around the corner…

With Love,

Silke