Flavonoids – what they are, benefits, and contraindications!

Flavonoids can be consumed through a wide variety of foods and dietary supplements and are important for the body. If you still don’t know the benefits of flavonoids , then we will clear your doubts about what this substance is and what its benefits are, what foods we can find them in and what are the possible side effects.

What are flavonoids?

Flavonoids are a type of food pigment, also called quercetin , abundant in foods like green tea , apples, onions , grapes, and even red wine. In general, foods with very strong coloring are rich.

This substance is used in medicine. After all, it has the power to help in various areas of our body, such as preventing and treating inflammation, helping the respiratory system, improving allergy symptoms and also having an important action against cancer cells.

What are flavonoids for ?

They act as an antihistamine and an anti-inflammatory, and may help protect against heart disease and cancer . Flavonoids can also help stabilize the cells that release histamine in the body. Therefore, they have an anti-inflammatory and skin effect .

Flavonoids can also be used to:

• Reduce interstitial cystitis (a painful condition that affects the bladder);
• Prevent cancer ;
• Lower  hypertension ;
• To pass the headache ;
• Strengthen our immune system (prevent even HIV replication);
• Make the nausea disappear;
• Dealing with asthma .

Foods rich in flavonoids :

Foods that have a strong red, purple, and green color are the most abundant in flavonoids . It is no wonder that we have always heard that red wine can be beneficial for our health, since this benefit has a lot to do with its presence in its composition.

The exact amount of flavonoids can be difficult to pinpoint, as it will depend on the soil where the food was grown, how the food is prepared, etc. But, we averaged the amount found in some foods:

Side effects of flavonoids :

Flavonoids are present in nature and their supplements have a very low amount of side effects. But despite this, it is important to remember that you are not exempt from being able to determine the appearance of drug interactions.

Its use is not recommended for pregnant or breastfeeding women, because at the moment we have no information on any effects on the fetus and child. It should also not be taken by people with kidney disease, or by people who are taking anticoagulant drugs and who are undergoing a course of chemotherapy, because in both cases the effects of the drug can be increased risk of being life-threatening.

Contraindications of flavonoids :

Pregnant women, or nursing mothers (the risks they would take on the above are not yet fully known). So, people with kidney disease (especially if the dosage exceeds one gram per day). Individuals who are taking anticoagulants, or who are undergoing cycles of chemotherapy (in either case, it could increase the drug’s effects, putting patients’ lives at risk).

Conclusions:

Studies of flavonoids have mainly been carried out in animals or in vitro. In fact, some beneficial effects still need to be studied before it can be said that this supplement is effective.

It currently holds promise for the prevention of cardiovascular disease, while for other conditions (eg prostate or allergies) it does not appear to be particularly effective at the moment.

The results obtained in relation to athletic performance are practically nil, so, in the current state, we can say that they  are very likely useless for athletes. As an antioxidant, it is preferable to use other more reliable supplements, such as vitamin E.