What are Flavonoids?
Flavanoids are labeled as vitamin P. They are metabolites that enhance vitamin C’s functions by protecting it from oxidation and improving how vitamin C is absorbed. Flavonoids are important in plant pigmentation. It helps produce the yellow, red or blue that you see in plant petals. Flavonoids also help to protect plants from insect and fungal attacks. Flavonoids are also found in nuts, grains and leaves. Some of the herbs that contain Flavonoids are hawthorn, echinacea, bilberry and milk thistle. Good sources of Flavonoids can be found in all citrus fruits, berries, parsley, green and white teas, and dark chocolate. Red wine even contains high amounts of Flavonoids. This is why a high intake of red wine would show that there are less coronary disease rates.
One of the most common classes of Flavonoids is phytonutrients. Phytonutrients are components that help promote health. Nutrients like protein, fat, minerals and vitamins are essential for life unlike phytonutrients. Phytonutrients help to protect against diseases by enhancing your immune system response, killing cancerous cells converting to vitamin A and serving as antioxidants. Flavonoids help with many of the body’s processes and are beneficial to the heart, liver and kidneys. As a result of this, many consumers as well as food manufacturers have become interested in flavonoids. Flavonoids mediate the body’s effect for diets that are rich in fruits and vegetables to assist in the prevention of colorectal cancer. They have a profound growth effect on colonic tumor cells also. Soy flavonoids are used to help ease the symptoms of menopause.
