Flavonoids are highly beneficial anti-oxidant compounds
found in many fruits and vegetables, as well as tea, red
wine and even beer, and it's now well established that a
plentiful intake of anti-oxidants through foods, drinks and
supplements is vital for optimal human health.
Anti-oxidants operate to neutralise the activity of
so-called "free radicals"; compounds produced in the body
as by-products of normal biochemical reactions, but which
may nevertheless be highly damaging as they produce
oxidative reactions damaging to cell structures.
Ultimately this damage may contribute to the development of
degenerative diseases characteristic of ageing, including
cardiovascular disease, Parkinson's Alzheimer's and even
some cancers.
The best known anti-oxidant nutrients are vitamins C and E,
although these can only function properly when supported by
adequate supplies of a wide variety of micro-nutrients,
which include many of the flavonoids found in common fruits
and vegetables. These compounds may therefore be regarded
as important elements in the body's anti-oxidant defences,
but many of the more than 4,000 flavonoids identified have
also been hailed for their beneficial effects on the immune
system and anti-inflammatory properties.
From the point of view of incorporating flavonoids into a
daily health regime, the good thing is the ease with which
this can be achieved. Flavonoids are very widely found in
fruits, vegetables, and even drinks normally regarded, for
other reasons, as unhealthy. So even a diet ordinarily
well provided with common fruits and vegetables may provide
anything up to 800mg of various flavonoids.
Authoritative research has indicated that this level of
flavonoid consumption may help protect against coronary
heart disease and hardening of the arteries
(atherosclerosis), an important precursor of both heart
disease and stroke. These remain two of the major causes
of premature mortality and disability in the Western world,
and to this extent the UK government and health advisors'
frequent advice to consume five servings of fruit and
vegetables each day is well founded.
The most potent of all the anti-oxidant flavonoids is
believed to be a compound called quercetin, which is widely
found in common or garden vegetables. The consumption of
fruits with their skins on, such as apples, pears, grapes,
bilberries, tomatoes etc will also provide a good supply.
But perhaps the richest source is onions, a foodstuff also
known since ancient times as a powerful anti-bacterial,
anti-viral and anti-inflammatory agent.
There's no doubt that a diet including plentiful supplies
of fresh fruit and vegetables can only be beneficial to
health. But the anti-oxidant properties of the flavonoids
found in many common, even supposedly unhealthy, beverages
should not be neglected.
For example, the anti-oxidant properties of the catechin
polyphenols found in black and green tea and red wine are
now well known and attested. But, as remarkable as it may
sound, there is now evidence that even beer may contain
unique anti-oxidants equal in potency to vitamin E. The
flavonoid compounds, xanthohumol and isoxanthumol appear to
be found only in beer and the hops that flavour it and
although they have not been studied directly, there is
speculation that they may be responsible for the remarkable
and counter-intuitive finding that lager type beers may be
more effective as anti-oxidants than red wine, grape juice
or even green tea. Obviously there are other reasons, not
least its high calorific value, why you wouldn't want to
depend on a high consumption of lager for your
anti-oxidants, but in moderation it may indeed be
beneficial.
In fact studies suggest that these particular flavonoid
anti-oxidants may have a particular role in combatting the
oxidation of low density lipids (LDLs), the so-called "bad
cholesterol", which is a known risk factor for the
development of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease.
The other main fat-soluble anti-oxidant which fights this
process is vitamin E, and although there is evidence that
the anti-oxidant potential of xanthohumol and isoxanthumol
may be comparable with that of the vitamin, it is also
clear that each of the three compounds functions best in
the presence of each of the others.
Whilst orthodox medicine concedes, in fact insists, that
further research is necessary, the implications of these
findings are exciting; suggesting that there may be many
more as yet undiscovered benefits of flavonoids. As
always, however, the holistic functioning of the body means
that maximum benefits will only be obtained by the
consumption of the widest possible variety of all these
compounds. As flavonoids are not yet widely available as
supplements, this consumption is best achieved through the
foodstuffs and beverages which combine them as nature
intended. Such a flavonoid rich diet can only be of
benefit to the action of the better known anti-oxidants,
such as vitamins E and C, which are more readily obtainable
in supplement form.
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Steve Smith is a freelance copywriter specialising in
direct marketing and with a particular interest in health
products. Find out more at
http://www.sisyphuspublicationsonline.com/LiquidNutrition/In
formation.htm
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