People eating foods rich in a
variety of flavonoids -- plant products that act like antioxidants --
were less likely to have heart disease, stroke, and asthma. Type 2
diabetes also appeared to be less common in this group. Plus, men that
ate flavonoids had less lung and prostate cancers, says lead
researcher Paul Knekt, PhD, of the National Public Health Institute in
Helsinki, Finland.
Flavonoids come from a
variety of foods. In this study, the flavonoids that the researchers
were studying are most abundant in oranges, apples, grapefruit,
onions, white cabbage, berries, and juices. Flavonoids are also found
in tea and wine, but the researchers didn't study these two items.
Flavonoids are effective in
stopping oxidation -- the process in which cell-damaging substances
called free radicals accumulate. Apples and onions were found to have
the highest concentration of flavonoids.
