If eat more flavonoids

If eat more flavonoids

New research suggests a simple dietary change—increasing flavonoid-rich foods—can help older adults stay stronger, sharper, and more resilient as they age.

The benefits of flavonoid intake were strongest in women - while higher flavonoid-rich food consumption reduced the risk of frailty, poor mental health and physical impairment in women, men only showed a significant association with improved mental health, indicating potential gender effects.

In a recently published study inThe American Journal of Clinical NutritionResearchers evaluated associations between flavonoid intake and flavonoid-rich foods and aging outcomes in older adults.

Aging results from the accumulation of cellular and molecular damage, resulting in a gradual reduction in physical and mental capacity, greater susceptibility to disease, and death. While life expectancy has increased over time, the proportion of these added years of good health has been constant. Identifying the determinants of healthy aging is critical for evidence-based strategies aimed at longer and healthier lifespans.

Flavonoids represent a group of bioactive compounds found in plant-based foods and have gained significant attention for their effects on healthy aging. Flavonoids are present in apples, tea, citrus fruits, berries, red wine and dark chocolate, flavonoids exhibit oxidative stress-reducing, anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties, suggesting that these foods may help alleviate the physiological decline associated with aging.

About the study

Red wine, tea and blueberries stood up in men's mental health - in the HPFS cohort, moderate red wine consumption, tea intake and increased blueberry consumption were associated with a lower risk of poor mental health, although other flavonoid-rich foods showed weaker associations.

In the present study, researchers examined associations between flavonoid intake and flavonoid-rich foods with aging outcomes. They used data from two large cohorts: the Nurses' Health Study (NHS) and the Health Professions Follow-up Study (HPFS). The NHS recruited female nurses aged 30 to 55 years, while the HPFS recruited male dependents aged 40 to 75 years.

Participants completed questionnaires about their medical history and lifestyle. Based on the questionnaire data, NHS and HPFS subjects were followed from 1990 to 2014 and 2006 to 2018, respectively. Participants with missing data or extreme energy intake levels were excluded; Only those aged 60 and over were included in the analyses. Participants completed food frequency questionnaires (FFQs) at baseline and every four years.

Time-updated and changes in intake of a Flavodiet Score (FDS) that aggregates intake of key flavonoid-rich foods and beverages (tea, apples, oranges, blueberries, strawberries, grapefruit, and red chevrons from FFQs from FFQs, from FFQs. Additionally, participants completed a short-form health survey (SF-36).

Frailty was assessed by SF-36 using the frailty scale, which takes into account five criteria: weight loss ≥ 5%, reduced aerobic capacity, fatigue, poor strength and the presence of five or more chronic diseases. Mental health was assessed using multiple tools including SF-36, the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15), and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CESD-10), and not just SF-36. Physical function was assessed from SF-36. The team used multivariable adjusted Cox proportional hazards models to assess associations with incident vomiting, poor mental health and physical impairment.

Results

Strawberries and citrus fruits were linked to better mental health - while blueberries and apples showed in several health domains, strawberries, oranges and grapefruit were particularly linked to lower risk of poor mental health in women.

The analytical sample included 62,743 NHS and 23,687 HPFS subjects. During follow-up there were 11,369, 8,944 and 22,419 cases of frailty, poor mental health and physical impairment in the NHS. There were 1,957, 1,669 and 4,165 cases of frailty, poor mental health and physical impairment in the HPFs.

In the NHS, subjects with the highest FDs were never smokers, more physically active, took multivitamins more frequently, and had lower alcohol consumption but higher energy intake than those with the lowest values. Likewise, HPFS subjects showed similar trends, except that those with the highest FD had lower body mass index (BMI) and body weight, higher alcohol consumption, and were less likely to have hypertension.

The highest FDs in the NHS were associated with a 15% reduced risk of frailty, a lower risk of poor mental health and a 12% lower risk of physical impairment than those with the lowest FDs. The highest intake of total flavonoids was associated with a 14% reduced risk of frailty and a lower risk of poor mental health and physical impairment. However, in the HPFs the associations were weaker, with the strongest association being between higher FD and reduced risk of poor mental health.

The highest intakes of flavonoid-rich foods (particularly tea, apples, blueberries and red wine) in the NHS were associated with lower risk of all outcomes. Fewer associations were observed in men (HPFs), but tea and blueberries and moderate red wine intake were associated with a reduced risk of poor mental health. In contrast to women, no significant associations were found between flavonoid intake and frailty or physical impairment in men.

In the NHS, the highest intakes of each flavonoid subclass were associated with reduced risks of all outcomes. There were consistently fewer associations for flavonoid subclasses in the HPFs. Furthermore, an increase in FDs of three servings per week in the NHS was associated with an 8% lower risk of poor mental health, a lower risk of frailty and a 7% lower risk of physical impairment.

In contrast, a seven serving per week decrease in FDs was associated with an 18% increased risk of frailty and a 7% increased risk of physical disability in women. In men, a decrease in FDs of at least seven servings per week was associated with a 60% increased risk of poor mental health. Conversely, an increase in FDs of three servings per week was associated with a 15% lower risk of poor mental health in men.

Conclusions

Tea intake played a strong protective role - daily tea consumption was one of the most consistent predictors of better health outcomes, with regular tea drinkers showing a lower risk of frailty, physical impairment and poor mental health in both cohorts.

In conclusion, habitually high Flavodiet levels (FDs) and increasing flavonoid-rich dietary intake were associated with modestly reduced risks of physical impairment, poor mental health, and frailty in women. However, in men, the primary benefit observed was a reduced risk of poor mental health, rather than improvements in frailty or physical function.

The results show that flavonoid-rich foods such as tea, apples, blueberries and red wine could be a simple strategy to support healthy aging. Importantly, the study suggests that maintaining or increasing flavonoid intake over time, rather than just habitual intake, may be critical to preventing mental and physical decline, particularly in women.

An important public health implication of this research is that increasing flavonoid-rich dietary intake through three servings per day may result in a 6–11% reduction in the risks of frailty, physical impairment and poor mental health in women and a 6–11% reduction in the risk of mental health in men. This highlights a practical and achievable nutritional strategy to support healthy aging.

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