PLANT POWER: Flavonoids in plants lower risk for cancer and cardiovascular death
August 26, 2019 • 1 min read
-- Tea, chocolate, red wine, citrus fruits, berries, apples and broccoli – all good sources of flavonoids, which help you live longer.
So says health data collected from 56,048 Danes over a 23-year stretch.
The group in the highest one-fifth for flavonoid intake had a 17% reduced risk for all-cause mortality, a 15% reduced risk for cardiovascular disease death, and a 20% reduced risk for cancer mortality, compared to the people in the lowest one-fifth for flavonoid consumption.
The association peaked at about 500 milligrams of flavonoids a day, and was stronger for smokers, heavy drinkers, and the obese.
One cup of tea, one apple, one orange, and three-and-a-half ounces each of blueberries and broccoli supplies more than 500 milligrams of flavonoids.
Lead researcher Nicola Bondonno, a postdoctoral fellow at Edith Cowan University in Perth, Australia, said participants with higher flavonoid intake also tended to have a healthier diet overall.
“But flavonoids were still associated with a lower risk of death after adjusting for other dietary components, as well as within the group of participants with the highest fruit and vegetable intakes,” she said.
Eat plants and prosper.