THE POWER OF FLAVANOLS!
THE POWER OF FLAVANOLS!
Check out this article from CNN.com about the health benefits of flavanols, a group of naturally occurring compounds found in plants. Flavanols are a subgroup of flavonoids, which are found in foods such as tea (mainly green but also black) and fruits such as apples, pears and berries.
CNN Health: Flavanols — found in tea, berries and apples — may reduce blood pressure, study finds
“People who consume a diet rich in flavanol-heavy food — such as berries, tea and apples — tend to have lower blood pressure, according to a new study.”
“The researchers found that the difference in blood pressure between the people with the lowest 10% of flavanol intake and those with the highest 10% of intake was between 2 and 4 mmHg. This is a “relatively small” effect…However, the study said it was comparable to changes in blood pressure observed in those following the Mediterranean diet or Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet or moderately reducing salt intake.”
“Tea, apples, berries, nuts and many other plant based foods contain flavanols, (and) these are bioactive food components well known to be associated with lower risk factors for cardiovascular disease as shown in this large and very well conducted study,” Ada Garcia, a senior lecturer in Public Health Nutrition at the University of Glasgow who wasn’t involved in the research, told the Science Media Centre in London.
“Investing in research that provides better estimates of diet intake such as the surrogate biomarkers used in this study is a great step forward to a better understanding of the interplay between diet and disease.”
If you or someone you know would like to get on the road to healthier eating and learn how powerful food as medicine can be, please contact us today. We have a fantastic team including a registered dietitian, nurse practitioner, and behavioral counselor here to help support the use of whole foods in your diet, investigate laboratory abnormalities, and help you develop lifelong habits for improving your health and optimizing the state of your gut microbiome.
Call us at 224.407.4400 or visit our website www.compgihealth.com to request an appointment with any of our providers to get started! TELEMEDICINE visits are available now!