Do you know what flavonoids are? Flavonoids are a group of bioactive compounds that are commonly found in foods of plant origin. Flavonoids are similar to antioxidants, which have a variety of benefits for your body, such as being able to repair cells damaged by free radicals. Flavonoid supplements are also thought to reduce the risk of cancer, hypertension, and diabetes.
Fruits and vegetables are good sources of food for you. That's because, both vegetables and fruits are rich in flavonoids.
These Food Sources Contain Flavonoids
You probably already know the benefits of antioxidants, vitamin C, vitamin E, and beta carotene are good for your body, right? Just like antioxidants, flavonoids have benefits and a big role for your body's health.
Then, what food sources contain lots of these flavonoid compounds? Some foods and drinks are believed to contain this extraordinary compound, such as:
- Rosella
Rosella extract is believed to be good for treating high cholesterol, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes. However, the use of this herb as a treatment still needs further research because there are no adequate studies in humans to assess its safety, effective dosage, and side effects for health.
- Apple
Apples contain a flavonoid called quercetin. The content of these compounds allows you to not often visit the doctor for treatment. Quercetin is said to prevent heart attacks, prevent cataracts, control asthma, and speed up healing of your acid reflux. However, this research is still limited to animals. The effects of quercetin compounds on heart health in humans have not been studied and still require further study.
- Red wine
Red wine or red wine This is apparently rich in flavonoids which can reduce the risk of heart disease. If you are not a drinker, you can get these benefits by drinking purple grape juice. The content of these flavonoids is found in red wine skin dyes.
- soursop
This fruit, which grows a lot in the tropics, contains antioxidants such as phenol (a type of flavonoid), potassium, vitamins C, E. This content is said to be efficacious for treating several diseases such as cancer and hypertension. The antioxidants in soursop can also help reduce free radicals. Although it is considered good, further studies are still needed to determine the effect of treatment, effective dosage, and side effects of using this supplement in humans.
- Starfruit
Latin name fruit Averrhoa Bilimbi It is high in Vitamin C, oxalic acid, tannins, amino acids, and antioxidants such as flavonoids. This traditional plant is believed to be useful for treating hypertension, high cholesterol, cancer, and diabetes. However, this effect is still limited to animal studies. Therefore, further studies are needed to determine the effective dose and side effects of its use in humans. In addition, this fruit contains a lot of oxalic acid which if consumed in excess can aggravate the condition of acute kidney failure.
- Soybeans
One source of high flavonoids is found in soybeans. Several recent studies suggest that soybeans are thought to have benefits in preventing breast cancer, helping reduce blood sugar levels in diabetes, reducing cholesterol, and helping reduce menopausal symptoms. However, this fact still needs to be investigated further.
Currently, many studies have been carried out to determine the content of bioactive compounds, including flavonoids, in plants that previously had no conceivable benefits. In addition to those mentioned above, flavonoids are also found in other foods or drinks, such as matoa fruit, green tea, oranges, dates, celery, bitter melon, honey, spices, and seeds. Certain plants or herbal products, such as taro mice and brotowali, and propolis also contain lots of flavonoids.
Benefits and Risks of Flavonoids for You
Bioflavonoids or flavonoids which are included in this type of polyphenol have a variety of extraordinary benefits for your body. Some of these benefits include:
- As an aid to increase the effects of vitamin C and antioxidants that are very good for the body.
- May help treat allergies, viral infections, arthritis, and certain inflammatory conditions.
- Can repair cells damaged by free radicals.
- Suspected of being able to improve your mood caused by distraction moodirritability, irritability, and some of the signs of depression.
- Based on available data, consuming flavonoids is thought to reduce the risk of death from cardiovascular disease, but this still requires further research.
- Studies on the benefits of these flavonoids so far are still limited to animal studies. Data from research shows that this supplement may reduce the risk of developing cancer, heart disease, asthma, and stroke. But these data still need to be supported by further studies in humans.
Although it has benefits for the body, it is better if you consult a doctor first if you have certain medical conditions, such as; allergic to the content of flavonoid supplement products, or you who take certain drugs because the effects of drug interactions are not known. Until now, there has also been no research that guarantees the safety of using flavonoid supplements in infants, children, and pregnant or lactating women. Therefore, it is important to consult a doctor before taking flavonoid supplements.
In addition to providing benefits, apparently flavonoid compounds also have risks, such as:
- The content of flavonoid compounds apparently can interact with several types of drugs prescribed by doctors, this can be dangerous for your health. For example, the flavonoid naringenin, which can be found in grapefruit, has been shown to interfere with drug performance. It is not recommended to take drugs that are accompanied by grapefruit juice without the advice of a doctor.
- Don't just take supplements that contain flavonoids, without eating vegetables and fruits that contain other nutrients that are good for your body, such as vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
- Supplements containing flavonoids may have a higher dose of flavonoid content than the flavonoids found in vegetables and fruits. It's a good idea to get flavonoids by eating fruits and vegetables directly.
- Excessive consumption of flavonoid supplements is apparently not recommended. Flavonoids in high doses that enter your body are actually harmful, and the bad effects are more likely to occur than the benefits. Flavonoid compounds can also cross the placenta so that these substances have the potential to have an impact on the fetus. Be sure to follow the dosage and instructions for taking flavonoid supplements.
If you are interested in taking supplements containing flavonoids, make sure the product is suitable for consumption and has been registered with the Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM). If you are in doubt about the benefits and risks of flavonoid supplements for your health, don't hesitate to always consult your doctor for the best advice.