Healing foods are often rich in flavonoids, a group of natural substances found in wine, tea, flowers, stems, roots, bark, grains, vegetables, and fruits. There are over 4,000 varieties of flavonoids identified so far that account for the beautiful colors of fruits, flowers and many leaves. They also exert powerful health benefits in the body and turn many foods into food cures.
In 1930, a new chemical isolated from oranges was designated as “vitamin P,” but it later turned out to be a
flavonoid (rutin). This major discovery stirred interest among scientists to conduct research on various flavonoids and to find out the health benefits from vegetable- and fruit-rich diets, in particular, the Mediterranean diet.
There are six major types of flavonoids found in our diets: anthocyanidins, flavanols, flavanones, flavones, flavonols and isoflavones. Note the sometimes very similar spellings of these flavonoids. Here is a look at what foods are highest in them:
— Anthocyanin-rich foods include the following: blackberries, blueberries, red grapes, red raspberries, strawberries, red wine, plums, red cabbage, red onions, and blood orange juice
— Flavanol-rich foods include the following: green and black teas, dark chocolate, red apples, and apricots
— Flavanone-rich foods include the following: fresh orange, fresh grapefruit, fresh orange juice, fresh grapefruit juice, and fresh lemon juice
— Flavone-rich foods include the following: chili peppers, oregano, celery, fresh thyme, and fresh parsley
— Flavonol-rich foods include the following: broccoli, leek, kale, and yellow onion
— Isoflavone-rich foods include the following: soybeans, natto, and split peas
The U.S. daily intake of flavonoids is between 150 to 200 milligrams. Quercetin, primarily from the consumption of apples and onions, is the major contributor in the estimated dietary intake of flavonoids.
You can also find these powerfully healthy substances in supplement form:
— Anthocyanins: mixed berry, red grape, blueberry, black currant, elderberry, bilberry extracts
— Flavanols: green tea, black and oolong tea extracts
— Flavanones: hesperetin (hesperidin), naringenin (naringin) eriodictyol (eriocitrin)
— Flavones: citrus, bioflavonoid
— Flavonols: aglycone, quercetin, rutinoside, sophorin, citrus bioflavonid
Why should you know about flavonoids? Well, over the last 50 years, scientists have begun to unravel the ways that flavonoids exert many beneficial health effects in our bodies. Flavonoids could:
— Lower cholesterol levels
— Reduce platelet adhesiveness
— Improve blood vessel health
— Reduce inflammation in arteriesEdit
— Inhibit tumor cell invasion and proliferation
— Help fight infections
— Lower blood pressure by relaxing the smooth muscle in arteries
— Increase bone density