Table of contents:
- Find quercetin in the daily diet
- Quercetin benefits for better health
- 1. Against free radicals
- 2. Helps reduce allergy symptoms
- 3. Helps reduce cancer risk
- 4. Lowering blood pressure
- 5. Helps prevent brain damage
One of the pigments that are often found in vegetables and fruits is quercetin. Compounds that fall into this category of antioxidants offer a myriad of properties for your health. What are the benefits of quercetin?
Check out the reviews below to find out the answer.
Find quercetin in the daily diet
Before knowing what benefits you can get from quercetin, you should first identify which fruits and vegetables contain this good compound, such as:
- Tomato
- Apples and red wine
- Broccoli
- Green and black tea
- Red and white onions
- Cherry fruit
- Berries
- Cabbage
- Ripe asparagus
However, keep in mind that the quercetin content in each vegetable and fruit will be different, depending on how the plant is grown. For example, organic tomatoes contain 79% more quercetin than the tomatoes you usually find on the market.
Quercetin benefits for better health
Quercetin is a plant pigment that contains powerful antioxidant compounds, namely flavonoids. Usually, this plant pigment can be found in onions, grapes, berries, broccoli, and oranges.
As one of the strongest antioxidants, quercetin is believed to provide protection against tissue damaged by exposure to drugs.
So, you can get some of the benefits below thanks to quercetin.
1. Against free radicals
Counteract free radicals with antioxidants
One of the benefits that you can get from quercetin is that it helps the body fight free radicals.
As previously explained, quercetin contains flavonol compounds which are included in the category of antioxidants that are quite strong. According to an article from Pharmacognosy Review, antioxidants are able to inhibit oxidation reactions that can create free radicals.
Therefore, the antioxidants obtained from quercetin can be used to help reduce the dangers caused by free radicals, such as asthma and premature aging.
In fact, quercetin is also believed to protect the body from the dangers of free radicals caused by smoking. Tar produced from cigarettes is a source of free radicals that can damage erythrocyte membranes. However, thanks to the quercetin in the body, membrane damage can be avoided and the erythrocytes in the body are protected.
2. Helps reduce allergy symptoms
Apart from helping the body fight free radicals, another benefit of quercetin is that it helps reduce allergy symptoms.
Not only contains antioxidant compounds, quercetin also releases anti-inflammatory substances that can be used as anti-allergic drugs.
How it works by inhibiting the release of histamine from mast cells and other allergic compounds, so that quercetin acts as a natural antihistamine. By preventing these effects, it turns out that quercetin is believed to be used in treating asthma and bronchitis.
In fact, according to a study from the Jondi-Shapour University of Medical Sciences, consumption of quercetin supplements in mice can reduce anaphylactic reactions.
However, further research is still needed to determine whether the effect is equally effective in humans.
3. Helps reduce cancer risk
Quercetin is not only known as a good source of antioxidants, but also contains anti-cancer which can reduce the risk of cancer cell growth.
This is because the compound has a Latin name Quercetum it has quite strong anti-carcinogenic properties. These properties are believed to reduce tumor growth in the brain, liver, colon and other tissues and prevent the spread of cancer cells.
In fact, the benefits of quercetin can also be used as a preventive and drug for prostate cancer in mice. The results are promising, but research involving humans is still needed to see if the effects are the same or not.
4. Lowering blood pressure
For those of you who have high blood pressure, maybe you can take advantage of the compounds in quercetin to treat this condition.
This is because quercetin blocks the accumulation of platelets and improves the health of the endothelium, the thin layer that lines blood vessels, including the heart.
Not only that, these compounds that can be found in fruits and vegetables also reduce the risk of death from being a result low-density lipoprotein (LDL), which is a type of bad cholesterol.
5. Helps prevent brain damage
As previously explained, quercetin can reduce the risk of tumor growth in the brain, so the potential for brain damage is also reduced.
According to a study from the journal Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity, the antioxidant content in quercetin helps protect the body from brain disorders. For example, Alzheimer's disease and dementia.
This may be because the benefits of quercetin lead to increased neuroprotective effects. Quercetin has also been shown to have the ability to neutralize toxins that affect neurons due to oxidative stress and protect the nerves of the brain.
Therefore, consumption of vegetables and fruit is often associated with improved brain health due to the quercetin content in them.
Quercetin is indeed a source of flavonoids that are useful for health. Therefore, getting the benefits of quercetin can be done by regularly eating vegetables and fruit so that the body is healthier and protected from disease.
