There are about 4,000 plant compounds classified as flavonoid antioxidants. These are phyochemicals found to naturally occur in plant pigmentation. Flavonoid antioxidants are very beneficial and nutritious and are useful to promote and maintain optimum health of the human body. We actually partake of them every day in their natural form when we ingest fruits, vegetable, seeds, teas, wine, nuts and root vegetables and cacao beans.
Flavonoids are dispersed throughout the entire plant. They play a role in giving fruits and vegetables as well as flowers their color. It has also been determined that flavonoids help protect the plant from insects and damaging microbes. Flavonoids antioxidants help to produce natural enzymes in the body which reduces the incidence of age related diseases like heart disease and cancer. The health benefits of flavoniod antioxidants have been scientifically proven. They can help promote good oral health and prevent tooth decay as well as cut down your risk for contracting the flu and other viral infections because they help boost the immune system.
Antioxidants also play a major role in preventing damage done to our cells by free radicals. They can lower the incidence of free radical damage caused by low density lipoprotein oxidation. They prevent the clumping together of blood platelets and help keep blood vessels flexible and able to dilate so as to prevent hypertension. Flavonoid antioxidants also have anti-bacterial properties.
Some well known flavonoid antioxidants include quercetin, rutin and resveritrol. Resveritrol is commonly found in blueberries, red beans, red wine, cranberries and blackberries. A study of 3,072 adults who had macular changes and who increased their intake of red wine consumption during the study proved that the flavonoid antioxidant, resveritrol, could protect against the progression of macular degeneration. Oxidative stress is now thought to be a leading cause of macular degeneration.
All kinds of teas are good sources of the flavonoids called catechin, epicatechin, epigallocatechin, epicatechin gallate as well as quercertin. It does not matter if the tea is green, white or black. The flavonoid antioxidants in onions are kaempferol and myricertin as well as quercetin. Onions are actually a major source for quercetin. Quercetin can be found in honey and is one of the antioxidants that can help lower blood pressure naturally. Quercitin is beneficial to help your body handle inflammation of various forms. Apples are another good source of quercitin.
Rutin actually works together with quercitin to help prevent bruising and excessive bleeding when injuries occur. Rutin also help the body to use vitamin C and collagen properly. It is also very useful to bring about optimum blood circulation in the body.
People only need a small amount of flavonoid antioxidants each day to maintain good overall health. You can get enough in the common foods that you eat if you eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. There is no recommended daily allowance that has been determined yet. More studies need to be done on the subject regarding the average daily allowance recommendations for flavonoids. Most nutritional experts agree that you should get your main source of flavonoid antioxidants from the foods that you eat rather than by taking supplements. The amount of flavonoids in each plant can be affected by the soil it is grown in and the time of harvest.
It is very important to make sure you eat fruits and vegetables on a daily basis so that you will always have these flavonoids circulating in the body to clean up free radicals. Flavonoid antioxidants will keep you healthier on the cellular level and can greatly slow down the aging process. Making sure you have a generous supply of flavonoids in your diet is the single most critical thing you can do to make the greatest favorable impact on health and well being.
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