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List of High Pheloic Foods

If you are experiencing a seemingly allergic reaction to certain foods, but aren’t sure which ingredients are making you sick, you may be intolerant to the food’s phenolic content. Phenols are groups of synthetic and natural compounds that are found in foods and some cosmetics that form a benzene ring with one or multiple hydroxyl groups attached. Phenol intolerance is also linked to conditions like salicylate intolerance and phenylketonuria (PKU), which require lifelong dietary restrictions. Here is a list of highly phenolic foods that you should steer clear of.

  1. Colored Fruits

    • Apples, especially Fuji apples and Granny Smith apples are very high in phenols, and so are red grapes and other red or pink fruits like plums and peaches. These fruits also have a high salicylate content, and the chemicals are found right underneath the skin of the fruits, so you may find that your symptoms decrease significantly if you peel these foods before you eat them.

    Milk

    • Even though milk is not darkly colored, it contains a number of hydroxyl groups that are attached to the benzene ring. Several hydroxyl groups usually mean that a food has a number of nutrients in it, but for people that are sensitive to phenols, symptoms of lactose intolerance are not uncommon. If you experience fatigue, small facial rashes, or mood swings after having milk products, taking a lactose enzyme supplement may help your body to digest dairy a little easier. Reducing the amount of dairy in your diet by replacing milk with almond milk, rice milk or soy milk can alleviate your discomfort and give you more energy.

    Peanuts

    • While other nuts have a minimal or negligent amount of phenolic compounds (most people that are allergic to nuts are intolerant to the protein content) peanuts are highly phenolic, which is why many people that can eat other types of nuts have extreme adverse reactions to peanuts. Children are especially sensitive to peanuts, and may still have symptoms like wheezing and facial swelling even if an allergy test reveals that they are not ‘allergic’ to peanuts. Be sure to check the ingredients in packaged and processed food to make sure the food doesn’t contain peanuts, and use almond or cashew butter to make mock PB&J sandwiches.

    Salicylate Intolerance and PKU

    • People that are sensitive to salicylates or how have to follow a low-protein diet due to PKU will also be eliminating a number of phenolic foods from their diet. Eating natural foods that are free of harmful food dyes will alleviate digestion problems as well, since most dyes are high in phenol. Certain cosmetics, perfumes, shampoos and conditioners should also be avoided to successfully maintain a low phenol diet, and to reduce the risk of chronic fatigue syndrome and thyroid problems.

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