Changing your diet may help give you a longer life. A new study suggests that adding the foods and beverages that contain the compounds called flavonoids could reduce the risk of dying from a heart disease and cancer.
Flavonoids can be found in almost all vegetables and fruits. These compounds are known for being an important antioxidant and for giving plants their health benefits.
The study, published in the journal Nature Communications, highlights the amount of flavonoids that an individual needs to have a healthier and longer life. Researchers suggested intake of at least 500 mg of flavonoid-rich foods daily to see benefits.
They noted such amount is already common in the diets of many people and is easy to achieve. The findings come from the analysis of the health and diet of more than 53,000 Danish adults aged 23 years and older.
Some common flavonoid-rich foods suggested by the team are:
- Fruits
- Dark chocolate
- Soya products
- Tea
The study stated having one cup of tea, one apple, one orange, 100 grams of blueberries and 100 grams of broccoli each day should give you the suggested intake of 500 mg of flavonoids.
“These findings are important as they highlight the potential to prevent cancer and heart disease by encouraging the consumption of flavonoid-rich foods, particularly in people at high risk of these chronic diseases,” lead researcher Nicola Bondonno said in a statement.
Such diet could also help improve the health of people who smoke cigarettes and drink more than two alcoholic beverages a day. However, flavonoid consumption has no effect to counteract the impact of smoking and alcohol, according to MarketWatch.
“These findings highlight the potential to improve population health through dietary recommendations to ensure adequate consumption of flavonoid-rich foods, particularly in these high-risk populations,” the researchers said.
The latest findings support a study released in 2014 that also found the health benefits of flavonoids.
The earlier study suggested regular consumption of the plant-based compounds could help reduce the risk of a number of chronic diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease and neurodegenerative disorders.
Source: Medical Daily