Molecules

108 molecules — fibers, polyphenols, vitamins, and what holds them back: what they do, and which plants to find them in.

Resistant starches

Resistant starch RS1Starch trapped in a structure that digestion does not open: whole grain, intact seed, uncrushed legume.
Resistant starch RS2A raw starch granule, so dense that enzymes cannot get in. It disappears with cooking.
Resistant starch RS3Retrograded starch: as it cools after cooking, it rearranges into crystals that digestion does not reopen.

Fermentable fibers

ArabinoxylansThe main fiber of cereal bran. Fermented slowly, it travels far into the colon, where few substrates still arrive.
Cereal beta-glucansThe viscous fiber of oats and barley: it thickens the food bolus and slows everything that passes through it.
Mushroom beta-glucansFiber from the cell wall of mushrooms, much studied for its dialogue with the immune cells of the gut.
Fructans (inulin, FOS)Chains of fructose that the small intestine does not touch: they reach the colon whole.
GOS (galacto-oligosaccharides)The galactose sugars of legumes — raffinose, stachyose, verbascose. The ones that cause bloating, and the ones that feed.
PectinsThe cement of plant cell walls, gelling and highly fermentable. It is what makes quince jelly set without adding anything.
MucilagesGels of soluble fibers that swell on contact with water and coat the intestinal wall.
GlucomannanThe most viscous fiber in the plant world: it absorbs up to fifty times its weight in water.
Seaweed polysaccharidesAlginates, fucoidans, carrageenans, ulvans: fibers that no land plant carries.

Polyphenols

AnthocyaninsThe red, purple and blue pigments. They are what color blueberries, red cabbage and black rice.
EllagitanninsLarge polyphenols of pomegranate, seeded berries and walnuts. They do not cross the intestinal wall as they are.
LignansPolyphenols of seeds and bran, precursors of molecules that loosely resemble estrogens.
Flavanols and procyanidinsCatechins and their assemblies: the bitterness of cocoa, tea and grape skin.
FlavanonesHesperidin and naringin: the polyphenols specific to citrus fruits, and to them alone.
Flavonols (quercetin)The most widespread polyphenol in the diet, and the most studied of the pale yellows.
IsoflavonesPolyphenols specific to soy and a few legumes, similar in shape to estrogens.
Phenolic acidsChlorogenic acid from coffee and artichoke, ferulic acid attached to cereal bran.
Stilbenes (resveratrol)The molecule the vine makes to defend itself, concentrated in grape skin.
CurcuminoidsThe yellow of turmeric, and just about the only thing that colors it.
Secoiridoids (oleocanthal)The bitterness and the tingling at the back of the throat from a good olive oil: it is the molecule that scratches.
TheaflavinsThe russet pigments of black tea: they are born from the oxidation of the green leaf's catechins.
EugenolThe scent of clove, and the antiseptic dentists have always used.
Rosmarinic acidThe polyphenol of the mint family — rosemary, mint, sage, basil — and one of the few that withstands drying.

Carotenoids

Beta-carotene (vitamin A)The orange pigment, which the body converts into vitamin A as needed and no further.
Lutein and zeaxanthinThe only two carotenoids that the eye accumulates, at the center of the retina.
LycopeneThe red of tomato and watermelon.
Beta-cryptoxanthinThe carotenoid of persimmon and mandarin, also converted into vitamin A.
FucoxanthinThe golden-brown pigment of the large seaweeds, which masks their chlorophyll.

Specific molecules

PhycocyaninThe blue pigment of spirulina — a color no other food provides.
ErgothioneineA sulfur amino acid the human body cannot make, but for which it has a dedicated transporter — which is rare, and says it values it.
BetalainsThe red-purple of beet and prickly pear — a pigment that has nothing to do with anthocyanins despite the color.
BetaineA molecule the plant makes to withstand salt and drought; in us it takes part in the methyl cycle.
Vegetable nitratesThe nitrate of green leaves, transformed into nitric oxide, which relaxes blood vessels.
SpermidineA polyamine involved in cellular recycling, much studied over the last fifteen years.
FalcarinolThe compound that gives a carrot its bitterness, which the plant makes against soil fungi.
AvenanthramidesPolyphenols that only oats produce, in no other known food.
Gingerols and shogaolsThe warm heat of ginger. Drying turns gingerols into shogaols, even more pungent.
ThymoquinoneThe active principle of the nigella seed, the “black seed” of ancient medicines.
Gamma-oryzanolA mix of sterols specific to rice bran — the only common oil that provides it.
CapsaicinThe molecule that burns, and which acts on a heat receptor — not on a taste bud.
SaponinsThe molecules that foam: they are what whitens the cooking water of chickpeas.
PiperineThe alkaloid that stings in black pepper — and nothing but pepper contains it.
Thymol and carvacrolThe terpenes that make the smell of thyme and oregano, and that hinder the growth of many bacteria.
Vitamin K2 (menaquinones)The form of vitamin K made by bacteria, not by plants.
PhytosterolsThe cholesterol of plants — similar enough to ours to take its place at absorption.
ChlorophyllThe green pigment, and the only indicator visible to the naked eye.
CholineRelated to the B vitamins, it serves cell membranes and a neurotransmitter, acetylcholine.
LimoneneThe essential oil of citrus peel — the scent that squirts when you bend a zest.
Crocin and safranalThe two compounds of saffron: crocin, a water-soluble carotenoid — the only one of its family to color a broth —, and safranal, which carries the scent.
AnetholeThe taste of anise, and 80 to 90% of the essential oil of anise and star anise. It is what relaxes the smooth muscle of the gut — the effect of after-dinner herbal teas.
CitralGeranial and neral, the duo that makes the lemony scent without the lemon: 70 to 80% of the essential oil of lemongrass.
SanshoolsThe tingling molecule of Sichuan and Timut peppers. It is nothing like heat: it activates TOUCH receptors, and the vibration felt has been measured at around 50 hertz.
PhthalidesSedanolide and 3-n-butylphthalide: the smell of celery, and the only family of compounds specific to it.
InositolA sugar alcohol of the B-vitamin group, plentiful in citrus, legumes and whole grains.

Sulfur compounds

Glucoraphanin → sulforaphaneThe dormant molecule of broccoli, which only becomes sulforaphane the moment it is broken.
Glucobrassicin → I3CThe other great glucosinolate of cabbages, the one that gives indole-3-carbinol.
Pungent glucosinolatesSinigrin and gluconasturtiin: what goes up your nose with horseradish, wasabi and black radish.
Allium sulfur compoundsAllicin, ajoene, S-allyl cysteine: what stings in cut garlic and makes you cry with onion.

Live micro-organisms

Lactic bacteriaLactobacilli and their cousins: the ferments of brined vegetables and fermented milks.
Fermentation yeastsThe yeasts of live fermented drinks — kefir, kombucha, beers on lees.
Bacillus subtilisThe natto bacterium, which forms spores capable of crossing the stomach intact.
Fungal ferments (koji)Aspergillus oryzae and Rhizopus: the noble molds of miso, tempeh and sake.

Vitamins

Vitamin CThe vitamin the body does not store: what is not used during the day leaves in the urine.
Folates (B9)The vitamin of leaves — its name comes from folium. Essential for making DNA.
Vitamin K1The vitamin K of plants, made in green leaves, which serves in clotting.
Vitamin EThe tocopherol of seeds and oils: it protects fats from oxidation, in the food as in the body.
Vitamin B1 (thiamine)It serves to draw energy from sugars — it is what is missing when one eats only white rice.
Vitamin B6It takes part in almost every transformation of amino acids, and in making several neurotransmitters.
Vitamin B2 (riboflavin)It serves to draw energy from fats and proteins, and to recycle other vitamins.
Vitamin B3 (niacin)At the heart of hundreds of energy reactions; the body can also make it from tryptophan.
Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid)It enters coenzyme A, without which almost no energy reaction takes place.
Vitamin B8 (biotin)It takes part in making fatty acids and glucose.
Vitamin DLess a vitamin than a hormone, made by the skin in sunlight.

Minerals & trace elements

Plant ironThe iron of plants, in a form the body absorbs far less well than that of meat.
ZincIt serves hundreds of enzymes, immunity and taste.
MagnesiumAt the heart of chlorophyll in the plant, and of more than three hundred reactions in us.
CalciumThe calcium of crucifers, sesame and almonds.
PotassiumThe counterweight of sodium: it is the ratio between the two that counts, not salt alone.
SeleniumA trace element whose content in plants depends entirely on the soil they grew in.
IodineEssential to the thyroid, and almost absent from land plants.
CopperIt works with iron: without it, iron is not put in place correctly.
ManganeseA trace element of antioxidant enzymes, abundant in whole grains and tree nuts.
PhosphorusThe partner of calcium in bone, and the P of ATP — the energy currency of every cell.
Sodium (salty foods)The salt of preserves, brines and fermented condiments.
MolybdenumIt activates a few enzymes that neutralize sulfur compounds and uric acid.

What slows things down

PhytatesThe phosphorus reserve of seeds. It binds to the iron, zinc and calcium of the same meal and carries them away.
OxalatesSalts that some plants accumulate, and that bind to calcium all the way to the kidneys.
GoitrogensCompounds of crucifers, soy and a few roots that hinder the uptake of iodine by the thyroid.
Tannins (iron brake)The same polyphenols as the flavanol family, seen from the other side: they bind to the plant iron of the meal.
Biogenic aminesHistamine and tyramine, formed by micro-organisms during fermentation and ripening.
LectinsProteins that stick to the sugars of the intestinal wall — the most famous of the misunderstood molecules.
PurinesComponents of cell nuclei that the body turns into uric acid.
CoumarinsThe cut-hay aroma of cinnamon — and the only molecule in the catalog where the variety changes everything.

Macronutrients

Insoluble fibersCellulose and lignin: the fiber that hardly ferments. It makes bulk and speeds up transit.
ProteinThe amino acid supply from legumes, seeds, nuts and grains.
LysineThe amino acid that grains lack and that legumes abound in.
MethionineThe mirror of lysine: scarce in legumes, abundant in grains and seeds.
TryptophanThe precursor of serotonin — most of which is made in the gut, not in the brain.
Omega-6 (linoleic acid)The essential fatty acid of seeds and common oils.
Plant omega-3 (ALA)The omega-3 fatty acid of seeds and nuts, which the body cannot make.
Monounsaturated fatty acidsThe oleic acid of olive, avocado and tree nuts.

What plants do not provide

Vitamin B12The only vitamin that no plant makes — not vegetables, not grains, not seaweed.
Omega-3 EPA and DHAThe long-chain omega-3s, those of the neuron membrane and the retina.
CreatineAn immediate energy reserve of muscle and brain.
TaurineA sulfur amino acid concentrated in the heart, the retina and the muscles.