Take note! Fruits and berries bring extreme health benefits via their polyphenolic, anthocyanin compounds known as “flavonoids”.
What are Flavonoids?
Flavonoids provide much of the deep colors in the plant kingdom, especially fruits and berries.
What Do They Do?
Flavonoids trigger genetic signaling that promotes human health and disease prevention. Flavonoids exhibit some of the strongest antioxidant activity known and are well-respected for their anti-inflammatory effects. They protect many tissues from inflammatory damage and the degenerative changes of aging.
Studies Showing Preventative Health Benefits
In the past few years so much scientific evidence has accumulated from the research studies to support the preventive health benefits of these flavonols in relation to cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, inflammatory diseases, and Alzheimer's disease.
Studies Showing Anti-aging and Disease Reduction
In numerous studies, their dietary intake is directly related to improved longevity and disease reduction. More recently, research has focused on their anticancer and cancer prevention capabilities.
Studies Demonstrating Cancer Prevention Qualities of Flavonoids
An impressive body of information exists on the antitumor action of plant flavonoids. In vitro work has concentrated on the direct and indirect actions of flavonoids on tumor cells, and has found a variety of anticancer effects. In vivo studies have demonstrated dietary flavonoids to have the power to block the ability of cancerous tumors to generate their own blood supply (angiogenesis). This ultimately results in the death of the tumor cells and restriction of the tumor’s growth. Furthermore, experimental animal studies indicate that certain dietary flavonoids possess clear antitumor activity.
A considerable amount of evidence indicates that the development of cancer is associated with inflammation. Nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappa B), a master regulator of infection and inflammation, has been identified as a key modulator in which inflammation could develop into cancer. Known for their anti-inflammatory actions, many dietary flavonoids have been shown to have marked inhibitory effects on the activation of NF-kappa B. This may be one of the major ways in which flavonoids prevent the development of various human cancers.
What Should YOU Do With This Information?
Eat a colorful diet rich in fruits and berries of all kinds especially cranberries, blackberries, blueberries, cherries, raspberries, strawberries, currents, grapes, elderberries, pomegranates, and plums. Consider also supplementing your diet with various berry concentrates. These are great added to yogurt.
Berry Concentrates and Supplements Using Berry-derived Flavoioids
References
Mol Nutr Food Res. 2007 Jun;51(6):675-83
In Vivo. 2005 Sep-Oct;19(5):895-909
J Agric Food Chem. 2008 Feb 13;56(3):630-5
J Agric Food Chem. 2006 Dec 13;54(25):9329-39
J Agric Food Chem. 2004 May 5;52(9):2512-7
J Nutr. 2007 Jan;137(1 Suppl):186S-193S
Nutr Cancer. 2009 Nov;61(6):811-5
Nutr Cancer. 2009 Nov;61(6):807-10
Dr. Donovan is a Naturopathic Physician, author, educator, and a professor of clinical medicine at Bastyr University's Natural Health Clinic. In 2010 he was voted by his professional peers as one of Seattle’s Top Doctors in the Seattle Metropolitan Magazine. Dr. Donovan writes and lectures on the transformational process of healing and believes a person’s healing journey is ultimately a quest for his/her identity, purpose and meaning. He has more than 35 years of patient care experience as a Registered Nurse (RN) and a Naturopathic Physician (ND), representing a wide range of clinical settings from hospital-based surgical and intensive care as a registered nurse to outpatient primary care as a physician.
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