Benefits of flavonoids, antioxidants to ward off a myriad of chronic diseases

Flavonoids are one type of antioxidant that is found in chocolate. Antioxidants themselves work to ward off free radicals in the body. Free radicals are suspected to be the cause of various chronic diseases. Are you curious about the benefits of flavonoids, and where can you get these antioxidants? The following is the review.

Myriad benefits of flavonoids for body health

As explained above, flavonoids are part of the antioxidants found in food. If allowed to continue to accumulate, free radicals can cause damage to DNA and healthy cells, causing balance disorders in the body.

This damage can then lead to various diseases. Starting from arthritis, heart disease, atherosclerosis, stroke, hypertension, stomach ulcers, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, cancer, to cause premature aging. Antioxidants work to neutralize the damaging properties of free radicals so they can prevent these diseases.

In addition to the various benefits above, there are a myriad of other flavonoid benefits that are equally extraordinary for your body, including:

Helps the body absorb vitamin C better
Help prevent and / or treat allergies, viral infections, arthritis, and certain inflammatory conditions.
Can repair cells damaged by free radicals.
Able to increase mood fluctuations caused by mood disorders to depression.
Reducing the risk of death from cardiovascular disease, but this still requires further research.

List of foods that contain flavonoids

Fruits and vegetables are great food sources of flavonoids. Then, what food sources contain lots of flavonoid compounds?

Rosella. Rosella extract is believed to be good for treating high cholesterol, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes.
Apple. Apples contain a flavonoid called quercetin which can prevent heart attacks, prevent cataracts, control asthma, and speed up the recovery of acid reflux.
Red winerich in flavonoids which can reduce the risk of heart disease. If you don't drink alcohol, you can get the same benefits of flavonoids from consuming fresh purple grapes. The content of these flavonoids is found in grape skins.
Soursop. Soursop fruit is rich in phenol (a type of flavonoid), potassium, vitamin C, and E which are said to be efficacious for treating several diseases such as cancer and hypertension. The antioxidants in soursop can also help ward off free radicals.
Starfruithigh in Vitamin C, oxalic acid, tannins, amino acids, and flavonoids which are believed to be useful in treating hypertension, high cholesterol, cancer, and diabetes. But be careful not to overuse starfruit because this fruit contains a lot of oxalic acid which can trigger kidney stones or worsen the condition of acute kidney failure if consumed too much.
Soybeans. One source of high flavonoids is soybeans. Several studies have suggested that soybeans are thought to be beneficial for preventing breast cancer, helping to lower high blood sugar levels, reducing cholesterol, and helping relieve menopausal symptoms. However, the benefits of this one flavonoid still need further investigation.

In addition, flavonoids are also found in other food or beverage sources such as green tea, oranges, bitter melon, spices, and seeds.

It is better to consume flavonoids from fresh food rather than through medicinal supplements

The benefits of flavonoids will be more influential if consumed in their natural form, not in supplement form. There is not enough solid medical evidence to support that flavonoid supplements are beneficial.

Moreover, a fairly high dose of flavonoids in most supplement products can actually harm health, especially for pregnant and lactating women and children. Levels of flavonoids that are outside normal limits can enter the placenta which can have a negative impact on the growth and development of the fetus in the womb. To be safer, consult your doctor first before trying to take any supplements during pregnancy.

Even so, regardless of what form of flavonoids you get (whether natural form from food or from supplements), you still need to be careful when taking certain medications. Flavonoid compounds can interact with several drugs. For example, the flavonoid content of naringenin in grapefruit has been shown to interfere with drug performance.

Consult further with your doctor for the best advice.