#08- Flavonoids

The Sicilian Secret Diet

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Join Dr. Cammarata and Dr. Campanile on this week's episode about Flavonoids.
Flavonoids are naturally found in fruits, vegetables, wine, tea and chocolate.

Best known flavonoids:
Quercetin, kaempferol, catechins and anthocyanidins

Responsible for the rich colors of fruits and vegetables such as blueberries, raspberries, strawberries and blackberries.
There are over 6000 known flavonoids
Most Americans get flavonoids from:
Flavon-3-ols in black and green tea. It is recommended that we get 1000 mg of flavonoids per day which would be 6-10 servings of fruit and vegetables
– Most Americans get less than 250mg daily.

These are Antioxidants which prevent or slow damage to cells caused by free radicals that our bodies produce as a reaction to environmental stress such as radiation and pollution.

-Flavanols – Onions, Grapes, Red Wine, Tea, Peaches, Berries, Tomatoes, Broccoli, quercetin, kaempferol

-Flavon-3-ols – green and white tea (cathechins, gallocathechins, epicathechins and theaflavins), apples, blueberries, strawberries, cocoa

-Flavones – parsley, red peppers, chamomile, peppermint

-Flavanones – lemons, limes, oranges, grapefruit

-Isoflavones – soy, fava beans

-Anthocyanins – give red, purple and blue color such as red and purple grapes, red wine, cranberries, blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, etc.

Benefits:
Lower Blood Pressure – Multiple Studies

Reduce Risk of DM2 – a Meta Analysis in 2018 showed that a diet rich in flavonoids

reduce DM2

Anti-Cancer – Studies have shown that flavonoids help reduce the ability of cancers

to grow

Anti-Inflammatory – the can inhibit cyclo-oxygenase (COX) and lipoxygenase (LOX)

Heart – They reduce to production of oxLDL, which reduces atherosclerosis.

They also improve endothelial function – a study showed that by adding foods

rich in flavonoids

Such as oregano, rosemary, garlic and black pepper to a meal significantly

improved endothelial

Function after a meal.

They also have anti-platelet effects, reducing the risk of heart attacks and

strokes.

Brain Health – Flavonoids help reduce the risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease

Cancer – they probably help reduce the risk of all cancers, but there is good

evidence for breast and lung

Detox – they help both phase 1 and phase 2 detox

Fresh fruits and vegetables have a much higher flavonoid content than stored or transported produce – the closer to the time of harvesting the higher the flavonoid content.
(However, to get the heart health benefits, one must ingest 6-10 serving of vegetables plus fruit.)

Also, high or prolonged heat can reduce the flavonoid content – so steaming or brief sautéing is best – cooking for less than 8 minutes.
The skin typically has the highest content of flavonoids – so it is important to wash

the produce well and consume the skin or purchase organic foods.
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