The Benefits of Bioflavonoids:
Nature's Oldest Healers

Everyone knows that eating lots of fruits and vegetables is a good idea. But it's not just because they're full of vitamins, minerals and fiber. It's also because they give you the benefits of bioflavonoids — the compounds that give them their color and taste.

Bioflavonoids number in the thousands. Bioflavonoids, or flavonoids for short, make up a large class of antioxidants, thousands in all. They are part of an even larger group of plant chemicals called phytochemicals.

I won't get needlessly detailed into all of the phytonutrients here, but if you want to learn about them in depth, I suggest you visit this website: phytochemicals.info.

There is still a lot we don't know about all of the possible benefits of bioflavonoids. We do know that it's important to get as many of them as possible by eating a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. Studies all indicate that a diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables, and thus, bioflavonoids, is the ticket to preventing cancer and heart disease.

One vegetable can have 40 different flavonoids. One reason there are so many flavonoids is that, typically, different plants have many different flavonoids in them. Onions, for example, contain over 40 different flavonoids, including most of the ones I'll mention here.

Systemic Benefits of Bioflavonoids

In general, all flavonoids are potentially useful as antioxidants, antivirals, and anti-inflammatories. Although flavonoids are not network antioxidants, they do interact with the network — for example, they regenerate vitamin C, which in turn, regenerates vitamin E. They work together with vitamin C and help maximize its benefits. They also help raise your levels of glutathione, the most abundant antioxidant in your body.

General Health Benefits of Bioflavonoids

As noted above, all flavonoids are potentially useful as antioxidants, antivirals, and anti-inflammatories. These properties provide you with the specific potential benefits of bioflavonoids such as:

• lower cholesterol level
• stronger blood vessels
• improved circulation
• relief from asthma
• relief from allergy symptoms

• protection against cancer
• protection against infections
• protection against cavities
• prevention of gum disease
• improved liver function
• improved brain function

• younger-looking skin
• relief from hemorrhoids
• treatment and prevention of menstrual disorders
• improved vision and prevention of eye diseases
• removal of heavy metals from your body

Specific Examples of Bioflavonoids

Individual flavonoids are categorized in a variety of ways, sometimes overlapping categories. Although they are all structurally related, they do different jobs. Here are the most well-known flavonoids and some of their uses. Click on the text links to get more details on any specific one:

Anthocyanins — good for circulation, vision and brain function. Abundant in acai berries, goji berries, mangosteen and noni.
Hesperidin — an antiviral flavonoid and effective histamine-blocker; works in tandem with vitamin C.
Rutin — good for circulation, younger-looking skin and a host of of other benefits; works in tandem with vitamin C.
Quercetin — a powerful antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, circulation booster and much more: works in tandem with vitamin C.
Curcumin — antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-carcinogenic nutrient; source of the spice turmeric.

Bioflavonoids are active ingredients in many herbal products. The medicinal properties of many herbal products comes from bioflavonoids. These include all of the following, plus many others:

Best Food Sources
for the Benefits of Bioflavonoids

Which foods are the best sources of flavonoids? At the top of the list is kale, then garlic, spinach, Brussels sprouts, broccoli and beets.

Bioflavonoids are also found in good quantities in the pulp and rinds of citrus fruits and other foods containing vitamin C. These include grapes, oranges, grapefruits, tomatoes, lemons, plums, papaya, cherries, apples, apricots and berries. Other excellent sources include tea, eggplant, flaxseed, and soybeans.

Which bioflavonoids are the most important? All of them, of course. That is why a diet that consists of a wide variety of fruits and vegetables is so important. There are many phytochemicals in plants that have not yet been identified, and may have health benefits that we don't know about yet.

Superfoods and Antioxidant Juices
are the Best Sources of Bioflavonoids

Superfoods can give you amazing health benefits from their bioflavonoid content. An entire industry has sprung up just around what are called "superfoods." These are specialized foods with an extremely high concentration of vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients, including flavonoids. Adding very small portions of these foods to your diet contributes huge nutritional benefits.

Some of the most popular foods used to formulate superfood products are:

• chlorella and spirulina
• wheat grass, barley grass and alfalfa grass
• acai berries, goji berries, mangosteen, noni and pomegranate
• maca root
• camu camu berries
• flax, chia and hemp seeds
• raw cacao
and many more...

These superfoods are often combined with each other and other valuable nutrients such as probiotics and enzymes to make foods that pack in many times the nutritional content of ordinary fruits and vegetables. They're so easy to add to your daily diet because the serving sizes are so small, usually about a tablespoon or two, that you don't have to completely change your diet to start enjoying the benefits.

People report that eating these foods on a regular basis often leads to miraculous improvements in health. Find out more about them at my page on Superfood Products

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