Eating apples and onions daily sounds like a strange mixture, but recent studies suggest that these foods along with other fruits and vegetables are good for keeping fat off of your body. It’s pretty common to see new findings about different foods and their potential benefits, and this study published in The BMJ discusses further details about flavonoids. Let’s take a look at what may be beneficial for you to eat.
The Benefits of Certain Flavonoids
There are over 6,000 flavonoids found within fruits and vegetables, and the most common one thought of in terms of weight loss is found within green tea, which has the flavonoid known as flavan-3-ol. Previous studies on dietary flavonoids were not monitored very well and used only a small group to study.
The new research group looked at more than just flavan-3-ol (although this was their primary focus) such as flavonols, anthocyanins, and flavonoid polymers. This was done to further establish a better understanding of the foods we can consume to help prevent excessive body fat. Just to keep you aware of modern times; excessive body fat can lead to diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, cancer, and obesity. All of which have the possibility of causing early death.
Anthocyanins are found within foods such as blueberries and strawberries. Flavonols are found in a higher abundance within onions and tea. Then you have flavan-3-ol found in tea and apples. These are just a short list of the most common foods you probably consume or at least see within the market.
The specific flavonoids provided are found to be beneficial for reducing fat gains and lowering the amount already formed on the body.
What the Study on Flavonoids Shows
This particular study was pretty large scale and involved over 124,000 men and women between the ages 27-65. From the years 1986-2011 these individuals were required to take a 4 year marker questionnaire that asked about the types of foods they ate. This was to give them an idea on how much of what flavonoid was being consumed to distinguish any weight loss benefits.
Medical News Today reported these findings from the study:
“Anthocyanins, flavonoid polymers and flavonols were associated with the least weight gain; every additional 10 mg of anthocyanins, 138 mg of flavonoid polymers and 7 mg of flavonols consumed daily were associated with 0.16-0.23 Ibs less weight gained each 4 years.”
In short, the foods previously discussed allowed lesser amounts of fats to form on the body if routinely consumed throughout the week. The entire study is not solid proof that these flavonoids do much for your body and weight loss, but the findings do allow you to make a better decision in the foods you consume to gain some benefits from them even if they are only slightly useful.
On another note, green tea is beneficial for fat loss not just because of flavonoids, but also because it contains caffeine and antioxidants to support your immune system and help push unwanted fat out.
Caffeine works different because it gives your body natural energy and thermogenesis, which means your metabolism increases with your body temperature to burn more calories i.e. fat loss is possible. There are quality green tea extract supplements that enter your bloodstream directly for better results, but drinking green tea is just as beneficial and more natural.
