Flavonoids.

For those who follow my series Health and Beauty, they will have read in most of the deliveries, the word flavonoids, however many people are not familiar with that term and do not know what it is really about.

It has also happened to me, I know something basic about what Flavonoids are, so today I decided to investigate more about this topic and this was what I found most interesting, since the subject is quite broad.

They are an extensive group of phytonutrients, characterized mainly by being excellent sources of antioxidants that strengthen and protect the immune system, and that we can find in fruits, vegetables and flowers.

There are thousands of flavonoids, they represent the largest class of polyphenols, which are classified into 6 sub-groups: flavonols, flavones, flavanones, flavanols, anthocyanidins and isoflavonoids.

Flavonoids are those that give the particular color to fruits and vegetables, since these chemical compounds can absorb visible light, giving flowers and fruits a yellow-orange, red, violet and blue color, present in common flowers and fruits like blueberry, raspberry, grape, mallow and hibiscus.

Benefit the Blood Vessels:

The first beneficial effect of flavonoids was found scientifically at the level of blood vessels and circulation, and numerous compounds containing flavonodos, both medicinal specialties and supplements, are still widely used, for the well-being of blood vessels.

Flavonoids act as savers of vitamin C (a powerful antioxidant that plays a fundamental role in collagen biosynthesis), protecting it from oxidation and improving its activity, which is why flavonoid-based medications and supplements are undoubtedly those related to disorders venous and microcirculation, among these we have venous insufficiency, varicose veins, hemorrhoids, etc., as well as disorders related to capillary fragility and retinopathy.

Flavonoids exert a vasoprotective action and act by regulating vascular permeability, increasing vascular tone and causing venous contraction that ensures that blood does not stagnate, therefore, they help improve circulation and, on the other hand, reduce capillary permeability and increase their resistance, in doing so, the action of flavonoids results in a reduction in the passage of fluids from the blood vessels to the surrounding extravascular tissues, thus preventing the appearance of edema.

Anti-inflammatory Action:

They have a natural anti-inflammatory and anti-platelet action (they dilute the blood), they act on the one hand with a strong antioxidant activity that blocks free radicals and on the other they block the cyclooxygenase system, therefore, stops inflammation, inhibiting the production of mediators inflammatory chemicals such as prostaglandins and leukotrienes.

Anti-cancer action:

Flavonoids have also demonstrated antitumor activity, due to their strong antioxidant and antiproliferative activity, which prevents or retards cell oxidation.

Hepatoprotective action:

Another important property of flavonoids is the hepatoprotective, which is beneficial for the liver. In particular, the flavonoids that act at the liver level are those contained in milk thistle, known together as silymarin.

Silymarin, performs numerous beneficial functions at the liver level, in addition to the powerful antioxidant activity, is widely used in the treatment of a large number of liver disorders such as cirrhosis, alcoholic steatosis, liver poisoning or viral hepatitis.

Source

According to the group that corresponds, we can know which food we can eat to benefit from its properties. Then I leave a table that I got and I found it useful. I obtained the data here