Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 9/26/12.  You should consult your doctor if you are taking any medications.

Diet high in total antioxidants associated with lower risk of myocardial infarction in women - Science Daily, 9/21/12 - "a diet rich in antioxidants, mainly from fruits and vegetables, can significantly reduce the risk of myocardial infarction ... Total antioxidant capacity measures in a single value all antioxidants present in diet and the synergistic effects between them ... followed 32,561 Swedish women aged 49-83 from September 1997 through December 2007 ... The women were categorized into five groups of total antioxidant capacity of diet ... Women in the group with the highest total antioxidant capacity had a 20% lower risk, and they consumed almost 7 servings per day of fruit and vegetables, which was nearly 3 times more than the women with the least antioxidant capacity, who on average consumed 2.4 servings"

Vitamin D in Pregnancy May Be Key for Baby's Brain - WebMD, 9/20/12 - "researchers measured the vitamin D levels of pregnant women mainly during their second trimester. At 14 months, their babies underwent an approximately hour-long battery of standardized tests that measured their mental development and their psychomotor skills, or their ability to control their physical movements ... babies whose mothers had an optimal level of vitamin D scored slightly higher than babies of mothers who were D deficient ... Even here in L.A., where it’s often sunny, people don’t get enough sun, because of smog, because they stay indoors, or because they use a lot of sunblock" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Nutrient in eggs and meat may influence gene expression from infancy to adulthood - Science Daily, 9/20/12 - "Consuming greater amounts of choline -- a nutrient found in eggs and meat -- during pregnancy may lower an infant's vulnerability to stress-related illnesses, such as mental health disturbances, and chronic conditions, like hypertension, later in life ... More choline in the mother's diet led to a more stable HPA axis and consequently less cortisol in the fetus ... Pressman joined a team led by Marie Caudill, Ph.D., R.D., professor in the Division of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell, in studying 26 pregnant women in their third trimester who were assigned to take 480 mg of choline per day, an amount slightly above the standard recommendation of 450 mg per day, or about double that amount, 930 mg per day. The choline was derived from the diet and from supplements and was consumed up until delivery" - See citicholine at Amazon.com.

Dietary Antioxidants May Keep Dementia at Bay - Medscape, 9/19/12 - "Dietary antioxidants, specifically vitamin C and beta-carotene, may protect older adults against dementia ... evaluated serum levels of vitamin C, vitamin E, beta-carotene, lycopene, and coenzyme Q10 in 74 adults with mild dementia (Mini–Mental State Examination score of 24 or lower) and 158 cognitively healthy age- and sex-matched control participants. The average age of study participants was 78.9 years ... those with dementia had significantly lower blood vitamin C and beta-carotene levels" - See Garden of Life, Radical Fruits Antioxidant Complex at Amazon.com.

Cord Blood Vitamin D Linked to Air Pollution - Medscape, 9/19/12 - "Associations between estimated maternal air pollution exposure and newborn serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) levels were significant in all trimesters, but especially so in the third ... It is not clear how in utero exposure to urban air pollutants might contribute to subsequent vitamin D deficiency in cord blood serum. High levels of air pollution, by reducing the amount of ultraviolet B solar radiation reaching the ground, could reduce cutaneous vitamin D synthesis" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Sesame & Rice Bran Oil, Yogurt Help Blood Pressure - WebMD, 9/19/12 - "The first study showed a sesame and rice bran oil blend reduced blood pressure almost as well as a commonly used medication. And the second study found that people who routinely eat yogurt are less likely to develop high blood pressure ... In the yogurt study, about 2,000 adults without high blood pressure were followed for 14 years. The researchers found that participants were 31% less likely to develop high blood pressure if more than 2% of their daily calories came from yogurt" - See sesame seed oil at Amazon.com and rice bran oil at Amazon.com.  See my yogurt recipe at the top of my yogurt page.

A Little-Known Benefit for Aging Veterans - NYTimes.com, 9/19/12 - "That seems to be the story with a Department of Veterans Affairs benefit called the Aid and Attendance and Housebound Improved Pension benefit, known as A&A, which can cover the costs of caregivers in the home (including sons and daughters who are paid to be caregivers, though not spouses) or be used for assisted living or a nursing home ... The benefit is not insignificant: up to $2,019 monthly for a veteran and spouse, and up to $1,094 for the widow of a veteran"

Lack of sleep affects bone health and bone marrow activity - Science Daily, 9/18/12 - "Drs. Everson and Toth, together with Anne Folley present exciting results indicating that sleep deprivation in rats arrests new bone formation, decreases fat within the red marrow and increases platelet levels. If true in humans, and I expect that it may be, this work will have great impact on our understanding of the impact of sleep deprivation on osteoporosis and inability to repair bone damage as we age"

Abstracts from this week's Doctor's Guide Nutrition/Dietetics plus abstracts from my RSS feeds (Click here for the journals, the PubMed ones at the top):

Impaired Fasting Glucose and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease in Korean Men and Women: The Korean Heart Study - Diabetes Care. 2012 Sep 21 - "evaluated the relationship between IFG and CVD or IHD among Korean men and women ... IFG was categorized as grade 1 (fasting glucose 100-109 mg/dL) or grade 2 (110-125 mg/dL) ... Incidence rates of CVD (per 100,000 person-years) were 2,203 for diabetes. Age-adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) for CVD were 1.17 (95% CI 1.13-1.20) for grade 1 IFG, 1.30 (1.24-1.35) for grade 2 IFG, and 1.81 (1.75-1.86) for diabetes"

Arterial Stiffness Is Inversely Related to Plasma Adiponectin Levels in Young Normotensive Patients With Type 1 Diabetes - Diabetes Care. 2012 Sep 21 - "Data from 80 patients (age 27.1 +/- 6.1 years, BMI 24.2 +/- 3.1 kg/m(2), HbA(1c) 7.5 +/- 1.6%, 39 men, adiponectin 13.9 +/- 6.7 μg/mL, and PWV 5.6 +/- 0.9 m/s) were analyzed. Log adiponectin inversely correlated with age-adjusted PWV (r = -0.291, P = 0.009) and waist circumference (r = -0.427, P < 0.001). In a fully adjusted model, age, expiration/inspiration index, and log adiponectin were independently associated with PWV, explaining 39.6% of its variance ... Arterial stiffness is inversely related to adiponectin concentration in young patients with type 1 diabetes without major complications"

Nutraceutical pill containing berberine versus ezetimibe on plasma lipid pattern in hypercholesterolemic subjects and its additive effect in patients with familial hypercholesterolemia on stable cholesterol-lowering treatment - Lipids Health Dis. 2012 Sep 22;11(1):123 - "Although statins (STs) are drugs of first choice in hypercholesterolemic patients, especially in those at high cardiovascular risk, some of them are intolerant to STs or refuse treatment with these drugs. In view of this, we have evaluated the lipid-lowering effect of a nutraceutical pill containing berberine (BBR) and of ezetimibe, as alternative treatments, in monotherapy or in combination, in 228 subjects with primary hypercholesterolemia (HCH), with history of STs intolerance or refusing STs treatment ... In HCH subjects the nutraceutical pill resulted more effective than EZE in lowering LDL cholesterol (-31.7% vs -25.4%, P < 0.001) and better tolerated. On treatment, LDL-C level below 3.36 mmol/L (<=130 mg/dl) was observed in 28.9% of subjects treated with the nutraceutical pill and 11.8% of those treated with EZE (P <0.007). In the group treated with EZE the subjects carrying the G allele of the g.1679 C > G silent polymorphism of NPC1L1 gene showed a higher response to EZE than homozygous for the common allele (GG + CG: LDL-C -29.4+/-5.0%, CC -23.6+/-6.5%, P <0.001). Combined treatment with these drugs was as effective as STs in moderate doses (LDL cholesterol -37%, triglycerides -23%). In HeFH patients the addition of BBR resulted in LDL cholesterol reductions inversely related to those induced by the stable therapy (r = -0.617, P <0.0001), with mean 10.5% further decrease" - See berberine products at iHerb.

A 12-week double-blind randomized clinical trial of vitamin D3 supplementation on body fat mass in healthy overweight and obese women - Nutr J. 2012 Sep 22;11(1):78 - "In a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel-group trial, seventy-seven participants (age 38+/-8.1 years, BMI 29.8+/-4.1 kg/m2) were randomly allocated into two groups: vitamin D (25 mug per day as cholecalciferol) and placebo (25 mug per day as lactose) for 12 weeks ... Among healthy overweight and obese women, increasing 25(OH) D concentrations by vitamin D3 supplementation led to body fat mass reduction" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Higher endogenous estrogen levels in 70-year-old women and men: an endogenous response to counteract developing atherosclerosis? - Menopause. 2012 Sep 17 - "Low androgen levels, high aromatase enzyme activity (estrone [E1]/androstenedione and estradiol [E2]/testosterone), high E2/E1 ratio, and high estrogen levels (E1, E2, estriol, and E2/sex hormone-binding globulin) were consistently associated (often significantly) with a more unhealthy artery wall (thick intima, thin media, and high IMT ratio) in both sexes. Consistently strong associations were found between the aromatase index E2/testosterone and intima, media, and the IMT ratio. For IMT ratio, in both men (rs = 0.52) and women (rs = 0.58), P was <0.001 for both and remained significant after adjustment for cardiovascular disease risk factors and the Framingham risk score (both P < 0.01)" - Note:  I'm not a doctor but it seems like taking a quarter tablet of letrozole every second or third day as I'm doing would control this.  See letrozole at International Anti-aging Systems.

Potassium citrate supplementation results in sustained improvement in calcium balance in older men and women - J Bone Miner Res. 2012 Sep 18 - "The dietary acid load created by the typical Western diet may adversely impact the skeleton by disrupting calcium metabolism ... 52 men and women (mean age 65.2 + 6.2 years) were randomly assigned to potassium citrate 60 mmol, 90 mmol or placebo daily with measurements of bone turnover markers, net acid excretion, and calcium metabolism including intestinal fractional calcium absorption and calcium balance obtained at baseline and six months. At six months, net acid excretion was significantly lower in both treatment groups compared to placebo and negative, meaning subjects' dietary acid was completely neutralized (-11.3 mmol/day, 60 mmol/day; -29.5 mmol/day, 90 mmol/day, P < 0.001 compared to placebo). At 6-months, 24-hour urine calcium was significantly reduced in persons taking potassium citrate 60 mmol (-46 +/- 15.9 mg/day) and 90 mmol (-59 +/- 31.6 mg/day) daily compared with placebo (p < 0.01). Fractional calcium absorption was not changed by potassium citrate supplementation. Net calcium balance was significantly improved in participants taking potassium citrate 90 mmol/day compared to placebo (142 +/- 80 mg/day, 90 mmol vs. -80 +/- 54 mg/day, placebo; p = 0.02). Calcium balance was also improved on potassium citrate 60 mmol/day, but this did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.18). Serum C-telopeptide decreased significantly in both potassium citrate groups compared to placebo (-34.6 +/- 39.1 ng/L, 90 mmol/d, p = 0.05; -71.6 +/- 40.7 ng/L, 60 mmol/day, p = 0.02) while bone specific alkaline phosphatase did not change. Intact parathyroid hormone was significantly decreased in the 90 mmol/day group (p = 0.01). Readily available, safe, and easily administered in an oral form, potassium citrate has the potential to improve skeletal health" - See potassium citrate products at iHerb.

Acute effect of calcium citrate on serum calcium and cardiovascular function - J Bone Miner Res. 2012 Sep 18 - "In summary, the acute increase in serum calcium following calcium supplement administration is associated with reduced arterial wave reflection and a marker of increased myocardial perfusion. If maintained long-term, these changes would be expected to reduce cardiovascular risk" - See potassium citrate products at iHerb.

Niacin Administration Significantly Reduces Oxidative Stress in Patients with Hypercholesterolemia and Low Levels of High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol - Am J Med Sci. 2012 Sep 17 - "Oxidative stress has been implicated in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disorders, including atherosclerosis. In pharmacological doses, niacin (vitamin B3) was proven to reduce total cholesterol, triglyceride, very-low-density lipoprotein, and low-density lipoprotein levels, and to increase high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels ... Subjects with lower HDL-C levels exhibited higher oxidative stress compared with subjects with normal HDL-C levels. Niacin treatment in hypercholesterolemic patients caused a significant increase in HDL-C and apolipoprotein A1 levels, and a decrease in triglyceride levels. Niacin also significantly reduced oxidative stress ... These results indicate an additional beneficial effect of niacin beyond its ability to affect the lipid profile" - See niacin at Amazon.com.

Effects of metformin on markers of oxidative stress and antioxidant reserve in patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes: A randomized clinical trial - Clin Nutr. 2012 Aug 21 - "Baseline values of the oxidative stress markers did not differ significantly between the two groups. In cases, after three months treatment, there was a significant reduction in AOPP [Advanced Oxidation Protein Products] (137.52 +/- 25.59, 118.45 +/- 38.42, p < 0.001), and AGE [advanced glycation end-products] (69.28 +/- 4.58, 64.31 +/- 8.64, p = 0.002) ... Use of metformin is more effective in reducing oxidative stress compared with lifestyle modification alone" - See metformin at The Antiaging Store.

Treatment of Metabolic syndrome by combination of physical activity and diet needs an optimal protein intake: a randomized controlled trial - Nutr J. 2012 Sep 17;11(1):72 - "During the treatment based on restricted diet and exercise in senior people with metabolic syndrome, the lower threshold intake for protein must be set at 1.2 g/kg/day to maintain blood protein homeostasis" - Note:  160 pounds is 72.5 kilograms which would be 87 grams of protein per day.

Neat Tech Stuff / "How To's":

1. These are the pictures that I posted on Amazon of the way I make and slice gluten-free bread:
   1. http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-media/permalink/mo183EOBVG8M95E/B000G32H84/?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&linkCode=ur2&tag=qualitycounts
   2. http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-media/permalink/moT7RHA54RAPXF/B000G32H84/?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&linkCode=ur2&tag=qualitycounts
   3. http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-media/permalink/mo2N6BL1RJ95EPI/B000G32H84/?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&linkCode=ur2&tag=qualitycounts
   4. http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-media/permalink/mo1C1KUVQ6LDVJD/B000G32H84/?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&linkCode=ur2&tag=qualitycounts

Health Focus (Flavonoids):

Related Topics:

• blueberry / bilberry / quercetin / hesperidin / green tea / grape seed extract / ginkgo / hawthorn / isoflavones / phytochemicals / curcumin/turmeric / carotenoids / antioxidants

Specific Recommendation:

• bioflavonoids at Amazon.com
• rutin at Amazon.com
• blueberry extract at Amazon.com
• Garden of Life, Radical Fruits Antioxidant Complex at Amazon.com

News & Research:

• Dark chocolate, cocoa compounds, may reduce blood pressure - Science Daily, 8/14/12 - "The researchers reviewed evidence from short-term trials in which participants were given dark chocolate or cocoa powder daily and found that their blood pressure dropped slightly compared to a control group ... Cocoa contains compounds called flavanols, thought to be responsible for the formation of nitric oxide in the body. Nitric oxide causes blood vessel walls to relax and open wider, thereby reducing blood pressure. The link between cocoa and blood pressure stems from the discovery that the indigenous people of San Blas Island in Central American, who drink flavanol-rich cocoa drinks every day, have normal blood pressure regardless of age ... Flavanol-rich chocolate or cocoa powder reduced blood pressure on average by 2-3 mm Hg" -  [Abstract] - Note:  I'm betting that this formula will cover most of those flavanols: Garden of Life, Radical Fruits Antioxidant Complex at Amazon.com.
• Cocoa May Sharpen Aging Brain - WebMD, 8/13/12 - "included 90 elderly people who already had mild cognitive impairment (MCI) ... For eight weeks, they drank a cocoa drink that had high, medium, or low amounts of antioxidants called flavanols. Those who got high and medium levels of flavanols in their drink did better on tests of attention and other mental skills, compared to people who got low amounts of flavanols"
• Flavonoid compound found in foods and supplements may prevent the formation of blood clots, study suggests - Science Daily, 5/8/12 - "It's not always fully appreciated that the majority of Americans will die as the result of a blood clot in either their heart or their brain ... The study focused on protein disulfide isomerase (PDI) which is found in all cells. Investigators in BIDMC's Division of Hemostasis and Thrombosis had previously shown that PDI is rapidly secreted from both platelets and endothelial cells during thrombosis, when a clot forms in a blood vessel, and that inhibition of PDI could block thrombosis in a mouse model ... Among the more than 5,000 compounds that were screened, quercetin-3-rutinoside (rutin) emerged as the most potent agent ... Surprisingly, studies of the rutin molecule demonstrated that the same part of the molecule that provides rutin with its ability to inhibit PDI also prevents the compound from entering cells ... "That finding explained how this compound can be both a potent inhibitor of PDI and a safe food supplement," ... Rutin proved to be the most potently anti-thrombotic compound that we ever tested in this model ... This discovery suggests that a single agent can treat and prevent both types of clots" - See rutin at Amazon.com.
• Evidence for a Protective Effect of Polyphenols-containing Foods on Cardiovascular Health - Medscape, 4/5/12 - "There is supportive clinical evidence for the beneficial effects of some flavonoids-rich foods or supplements on multiple endpoints of cardiovascular risk, the more convincing being reduction in BP and improvement in endothelial function ... In addition to their identified beneficial impact on BP and endothelial function, flavonoid-rich dietary sources might also favourably modulate arterial stiffness" - See grape seed extract at Amazon.com.
• Eating flavonoids protects men against Parkinson's disease, study finds - Science Daily, 4/4/12 - "This latest study is the first study in humans to show that flavonoids can protect neurons against diseases of the brain such as Parkinson's ... male participants who ate the most flavonoids were shown to be 40 per cent less likely to develop the disease than those who ate the least. No similar link was found for total flavonoid intake in women ... a sub-class of flavonoids called anthocyanins may have neuroprotective effects ... In this study the main protective effect was from higher intake of anthocyanins, which are present in berries and other fruits and vegetables including aubergines, blackcurrants and blackberries. Those who consumed the most anthocyanins had a 24 per cent reduction in risk of developing Parkinson's disease and strawberries and blueberries were the top two sources in the US diet" - See blueberry extract at Amazon.com.
• Skip the carrots. Chocolate improves eyesight, too - MSNBC, 8/8/11 - "They took the tests twice, once after eating a dark chocolate bar, and once after eating a white chocolate bar. The difference between the two chocolate bars was the amount of flavanols -- a natural compound in cocoa -- they contained. Of course, the dark chocolate bar contained loads of cocoa flavanols, the white chocolate bar only a trace ... the study participants did perform better on the vision tests and on some of the brain function tests after eating the dark chocolate ... They attribute their findings to cocoa flavanol’s known ability to increase blood flow to the brain, and they speculate that the stuff might also increase blood flow to the retina of the eye"
• Eating berries may lower risk of Parkinson's - Science Daily - Science Daily, 2/13/11 - "Flavonoids are found in plants and fruits and are also known collectively as vitamin P and citrin. They can also be found in berry fruits, chocolate, and citrus fruits such as grapefruit ... participants were followed for 20 to 22 years ... the top 20 percent who consumed the most flavonoids were about 40 percent less likely to develop Parkinson's disease than the bottom 20 percent of male participants who consumed the least amount of flavonoids. In women, there was no relationship between overall flavonoid consumption and developing Parkinson's disease. However, when sub-classes of flavonoids were examined, regular consumption of anthocyanins, which are mainly obtained from berries, were found to be associated with a lower risk of Parkinson's disease in both men and women" - See blueberry extracts at iHerb and bilberry products at iHerb.
  • Dietary Anthocyanin-Rich Bilberry Extract Ameliorates Hyperglycemia and Insulin Sensitivity via Activation of AMP-Activated Protein Kinase in Diabetic Mice - J Nutr. 2010 Jan 20 - "Blueberries or bilberries contain large amounts of anthocyanins, making them one of the richest sources of dietary anthocyanin"
• Chocolate eaters may have healthier hearts: study - MSNBC, 11/8/10 - "The authors found that women older than 70 who ate chocolate at least once per week were 35 percent less likely to be hospitalized or die from heart disease over the course of the study, and nearly 60 percent less likely to be hospitalized or die from heart failure ... The danger is that many people will start eating more of it than is necessary, without cutting back in calories from other snacks, which will result in weight gain and will counteract any beneficial effects of chocolate ... Flavonoids are thought to reduce the risk of heart disease, the leading cause of death in many industrialized countries, by helping to increase nitric oxide, which in turn helps boost the functioning of blood vessels and lower blood pressure"
• Cocoa flavanols improve vascular and blood pressure measures for coronary artery disease patients - Science Daily, 7/6/10 - "The findings indicate that foods rich in flavanols -- such as cocoa products, tea, wine, and various fruits and vegetables -- have a cardio-protective benefit for heart disease patients ... The study found a protective effect from a cocoa drink with 375 mg of flavanols, but according to researchers, a standard or recommended dosage has not yet been defined to achieve optimal health benefit ... In the current study, the benefit seen from the two-fold increase in circulating angiogenic cells was similar to that achieved by therapy with statins and with lifestyle changes such as exercise and smoking cessation"
• Dark chocolate lowers blood pressure, research finds - Science Daily, 6/28/10 - "Flavanols have been shown to increase the formation of endothelial nitric oxide, which promotes vasodilation and consequently may lower blood pressure. There have, however, been conflicting results as to the real-life effects of eating chocolate. We've found that consumption can significantly, albeit modestly, reduce blood pressure for people with high blood pressure but not for people with normal blood pressure ... The pressure reduction seen in the combined results for people with hypertension, 5mm Hg systolic, may be clinically relevant -- it is comparable to the known effects of 30 daily minutes of physical activity (4-9mm Hg) and could theoretically reduce the risk of a cardiovascular event by about 20% over five years"
• Flavonols may slash stroke risk in women: Study - Nutra USA, 2/9/10 - "the researchers noted that a high intake of flavonols, predominantly from tea in the Dutch population and from tea, onions, apples, and broccoli in US studies, was associated with a 20 per cent reduction in stroke risk" - [Abstract]
• Chemicals Found In Fruit And Vegetables Offer Dementia Hope - Science Daily, 7/19/09 - "a new concept is emerging that suggests flavonoids do not act simply as antioxidants but exert their biological effects through other mechanisms. A small number of recent studies carried out in models of Alzheimer’s disease have found that oral administration of green tea flavonoids or grape flavonoids reduces brain pathology and, in some cases, improves cognition. Dr Williams and colleagues have focused their own cellular studies on a flavonoid called epicatechin, which is abundant in a number of foodstuffs, including cocoa ... epicatechin protects brain cells from damage but through a mechanism unrelated to its antioxidant activity and shown in laboratory tests that it can also reduce some aspects of Alzheimer’s disease pathology" - See Jarrow Formulas, OPCs + 95, 100 mg, 100 Capsules at iHerb.
• Citrus-derived Flavonoid Prevents Obesity, Study Suggests - Science Daily, 7/14/09 - "Naringenin corrected the elevations in triglyceride and cholesterol, prevented the development of insulin resistance and completely normalized glucose metabolism. The researchers found it worked by genetically reprogramming the liver to burn up excess fat, rather than store it ... Furthermore, the marked obesity that develops in these mice was completely prevented by naringenin ... These studies show naringenin, through its insulin-like properties, corrects many of the metabolic disturbances linked to insulin resistance and represents a promising therapeutic approach for metabolic syndrome" - See naringenin products at iHerb.
• Chemopreventive Agents In Black Raspberries Identified - Science Daily, 1/8/09 - "anthocyanins, a class of flavonoids in black raspberries, inhibited growth and stimulated apoptosis in the esophagus of rats treated with an esophageal carcinogen" - [Nutra USA]
• Flavonoids’ heart health benefits in the blood vessels: Study - Nutra USA, 10/10/08 - "A daily dose of quercetin or (-)-epicatechin led to improvements in endothelial function, a key marker of cardiovascular health" - [Abstract]
• Isoflavones and Flavonols Reduce Ovarian Cancer Risk - oncologystat.com, 8/22/08 - "Women with the highest flavonoid intake had a 37% lower risk of ovarian cancer than those with the lowest intake. A high intake of isoflavones, in particular, was associated with a 49% decreased ovarian cancer risk"
• Cocoa for Diabetes? - WebMD, 5/27/08 - "Researchers caution that the high-dose flavonol cocoa used in their study greatly exceeds the typical U.S. dietary intake of 20 to 100 milligrams daily, and you can't buy the extra-strength version in stores. Rather, they are optimistic that flavonol-containing diets offer an innovative approach to preventing heart disease"
• Plant Flavonoid In Celery And Green Peppers Found To Reduce Inflammatory Response In The Brain - Science Daily, 5/20/08 - "The new study looked at luteolin (LOO-tee-OH-lin), a plant flavonoid known to impede the inflammatory response in several types of cells outside the central nervous system ... Those cells that were also exposed to luteolin showed a significantly diminished inflammatory response. Jang showed that luteolin was shutting down production of a key cytokine in the inflammatory pathway, interleukin-6 (IL-6). The effects of luteolin exposure were dramatic, resulting in as much as a 90 percent drop in IL-6 production in the LPS-treated cells ... Inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-6 are very well known to inhibit certain types of learning and memory that are under the control of the hippocampus, and the hippocampus is also very vulnerable to the insults of aging ... If you had the potential to decrease the production of inflammatory cytokines in the brain you could potentially limit the cognitive deficits that result" - See luteolin at Amazon.com.
• Plants' Flavonoids Have Beneficial Effect On Alzheimer's Disease, Study In Mice Suggests - Science Daily, 5/7/08 - "Researchers administered molecules called flavonoids, which are found in certain fruits and vegetables, to a mouse model genetically programmed to develop Alzheimer's disease. Using two of these molecules, luteolin and diosmin, they were able to reduce the levels of a protein called amyloid-beta, which forms the sticky deposits that build up in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's"
• Flavonoid intake and the risk of ischaemic stroke and CVD mortality in middle-aged Finnish men: the Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study - Br J Nutr. 2008 Apr 1;:1-6 - "men in the highest quartile of flavonol and flavan-3-ol intakes had a relative risk of 0.55 (95 % CI 0.31, 0.99) and 0.59 (95 % CI 0.30, 1.14) for ischaemic stroke, respectively, as compared with the lowest quartile. After multivariate adjustment, the relative risk for CVD death in the highest quartile of flavanone and flavone intakes were 0.54 (95 % CI 0.32, 0.92) and 0.65 (95 % CI 0.40, 1.05), respectively"
• Flavonoid intake and liver cancer: a case-control study in Greece - Cancer Causes Control. 2008 Mar 19 - "hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) ... Flavone intake, mostly derived from spinach and peppers, was inversely associated with both virus positive (P-trend, 0.049) and virus negative (P-trend, 0.084) HCC"
• Could foods prevent ovarian cancer? - MSNBC, 3/14/08 - "Kaempferol — a flavonoid found in tea, broccoli, kale and spinach — and luteolin — which is provided by peppers, carrots, cabbage and celery — were both identified as cancer protective. Women who consumed the most of these two flavonoids were 40 percent and 34 percent less likely, respectively, to develop ovarian cancer compared to women who consumed the least ... A 2007 study published in the British Journal of Nutrition linked greater consumption of carotenoid phytochemicals with a 67 percent lower risk of ovarian cancer. This included not only beta-carotene, the oft-cited carotenoid in deep-orange vegetables and fruits, but also alpha-carotene, beta-cryptoxanthin, lutein and zeaxanthin — carotenoids found in a wide range of red, orange, yellow and green vegetables" - See Jarrow Formulas, CarotenALL, Mixed Carotenoid Complex at Amazon.com.
• Citrus flavanones show neuroprotection potential - Nutra USA, 1/21/08 - "These results first demonstrate that the citrus flavanones hesperidin, hesperetin, and neohesperidin, even at physiological concentrations, have neuroprotective effects against H2O2-induced cytotoxicity in PC12 cells ... These dietary antioxidants are potential candidates for use in the intervention for neurodegenerative diseases ... One such disease that is mentioned Alzheimer's disease" - [Abstract] - See hesperidin at Amazon.com.
• Chemical In Red Wine, Fruits And Vegetables Counters Unhealthy Effects Of High-fat Foods - Science Daily, 1/2/08 - "consuming polyphenols (natural compounds in red wine, fruits, and vegetables) simultaneously with high-fat foods may reduce health risks associated with these foods"
• Flavonoid-rich Diet Helps Women Decrease Risk Of Ovarian Cancer - Science Daily, 11/19/07 - "the researchers found a 40 percent reduction in ovarian cancer risk among the women with the highest kaempferol intake, compared with women with the lowest intake. They also found a 34 percent reduction in the risk of ovarian cancer among women with the highest intake of luteolin, compared with women with the lowest intake"
• Antioxidants may stop fat cells formation, says study - Nutra USA, 11/12/07 - "These results suggest that o-coumaric acid and rutin targeted for adipocyte functions could be effective in improving the symptoms of metabolic syndrome" - [Abstract]
• Dark Chocolate Fights Heart Woes - WebMD, 11/5/07 - "After two weeks, coronary circulation significantly improved in participants who ate dark chocolate. There was no change among those who ate white chocolate ... Cacao polyphenol contains four times as many disease-fighting flavonoids per serving than red wine or tea"
• Antioxidants May Fight Fat - WebMD, 11/2/07 - "Those antioxidants didn't kill fat cells or slash the number of fat cells in the test tubes. Instead, they made fat cells cut their production of triglycerides, which are a heart hazard. The antioxidants did that by curbing an enzyme needed to make triglycerides ... That particular enzyme was most effectively reduced by the phenolic acid o-coumaric acid and the flavonoid rutin"
• Flavonoids Govern Cell Processes, Enhance Health - Science Daily, 10/11/07
• Apples and onions may slash pancreatic cancer risk - Nutra USA, 10/1/07 - "Of the three individual flavonols, they report that kaempferol was associated with the largest risk reduction (22 per cent) across all participants"
• Flavonoids In Orange Juice Make It A Healthy Drink, Despite The Sugar - Science Daily, 7/18/07
• Flavonoids in Orange Juice Make It a Healthy Drink, Despite the Sugar - Doctor's Guide, 7/17/07 - "the two types of flavonoids in orange juice -- hesperetin and naringenin -- inhibited ROS generation by 52% and 77%, respectively ... Our data are relevant to patients with diabetes ... because stress from ROS and inflammation are increased significantly in this population and may contribute to development of atherosclerosis"
• Tea, Chocolate Chemical May Boost Memory - WebMD, 5/30/07 - "studied epicatechin, which is a type of antioxidant called a flavonol, in female mice ... The mice that consumed epicatechin did better at memorizing the maze than the mice that got no epicatechin. The mice that consumed epicatechin and also ran on their running wheels had the best results of all"
• Red Wine Protects The Prostate - Science Daily, 5/25/07 - "men who drink an average of four to seven glasses of red wine per week are only 52% as likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer as those who do not drink red wine ... when white wine was compared with red, red had the most benefit ... But much of the speculation focuses on chemicals—including various flavonoids and resveratrol—missing from other alcoholic beverages"
• Flavonol-rich diet may slash pancreatic cancer risk - Nutra USA, 4/16/07
• Science stacks up for flavonoids for heart health - Nutra USA, 3/12/07
• Studies Force New View On Biology Of Flavonoids - Science Daily, 3/5/07
• Flavonoids linked to colorectal cancer protection - Nutra USA, 8/9/06 - "A diet rich in certain flavonoids, from eating plenty of fruit and vegetables, could reduce the risk of colorectal cancer by over 40 per cent, says a large observational study from Italy"
• Researchers Reveal Apples' Protective Ways: Molecular Mechanism Of Flavonoid-rich Fruit Discovered - Science Daily, 5/18/06 - "the flavonoids in apples and apple juice can inhibit signals in this pathway that would otherwise damage or kill cells in the body"
• Food Antioxidants, Vitamin D Fight Breast Cancer - HealthDay, 4/7/06 - "postmenopausal women who consumed high levels of flavonoids, a class of antioxidants found in plants, had a 45 percent lower risk of breast cancer ... Those who had the highest levels of intake of kaempferol had a 38 percent decrease in the incidence of ovarian cancer compared to women with the lowest levels of this flavonoid ... those with the highest blood levels of a vitamin D metabolite known as 25-hydroxyvitamin D had a 50 percent reduced risk of breast cancer" - [Science Daily]
• Grapefruit flavonoid could repair DNA, may protect against cancer - Nutra USA, 2/15/06 - "Naringenin, a flavonoid found in grapefruit and oranges, helped to repair damaged DNA in cancer cells"
• Flavonoids reduce exercise-induced oxidative stress - Nutra USA, 1/30/06
• Heart-healthy Compound In Chocolate Identified - Science Daily, 1/20/06 - "epicatechin, one of a group of chemicals known as flavanols, was directly linked to improved circulation and other hallmarks of cardiovascular health"
• Why Cocoa May Help Heart Health - WebMD, 1/18/06 - "cocoa's antioxidants -- called flavonoids -- coax the body into making more nitric oxide, which relaxes the blood vessels"
• Anticancer Agent in Veggies Shows Promise - WebMD, 10/21/05
• Flavonoids May Inhibit Prostate Cancer - Science Daily, 10/21/05 - "Our findings suggest that apigenin could be developed as a promising agent against prostate cancer"
• Chocolate May Help Smokers' Blood Vessels - WebMD, 9/29/05
• Flavanols Key To Potential Chocolate Benefits - Science Daily, 9/29/05
• Cocoa Is The New Red Wine: Shows Benefits For Coronary Heart Disease - Science Daily, 8/12/05
• Dark Chocolate May Cut High Blood Pressure - WebMD, 7/18/05 - "With dark chocolate, 24-hour systolic blood pressure dropped 12 points; diastolic blood pressure dipped 8.5 points ... Insulin sensitivity and LDL cholesterol also improved with dark chocolate ... the dark chocolate we used had a high level of flavonoids"
• In Chocolate, More Cocoa Means Higher Antioxidant Capacity - Science Daily, 4/23/05
• Chocolate compound stops cancer cell cycle in lab - Nutra USA, 4/18/05 - "the breast cancer cells stopped dividing when treated with pentamer and that all four proteins were inactivated ... the novel aspect here is that a pattern of several regulatory proteins are jointly deactivated, probably greatly enhancing the inhibitory effect compared to targeting any one of the proteins singly"
• Is chocolate good for you? - MSNBC, 4/1/05 - "One study that compared the total antioxidant activity in single servings of cocoa, green tea, black tea and red wine scored cocoa markedly higher than the rest"
• Grapes May Stop Cancer Cells - WebMD, 3/31/05 - "grapes (and lots of other fruits and vegetables) are rich in antioxidant compounds called flavonoids ... We are getting direct evidence that these components in grapes work synergistically in fighting cancer"
• Flavonoids work together to inhibit cancer cells - Nutra USA, 3/30/05 - "Components in grapes, including some newly identified ones, work together to dramatically inhibit an enzyme crucial to the proliferation of cancer cells"
• Cocoa, Flavanols and Cardiovascular Risk - Medscape, 11/29/04
• Chocolate Said To Help Blood Vessels - Intelihealth, 8/30/04
• A Dark Chocolate a Day Keeps the Doctor Away - WebMD, 6/1/04
• Chocolate - Food of the Gods? - Dr. Murray's Natural Facts, 3/31/04
• Hot Cocoa May Prevent Heart Disease - WebMD, 11/6/03 - "Hot cocoa has more disease-fighting antioxidants than tea or red wine ... black tea, green tea, red wine, and cocoa are "major" sources of antioxidants called phenols and flavonoids -- antioxidant chemicals found naturally in foods that can help prevent chronic diseases such as heart disease and cancer" - Yeah, but what about the sugar and calories.  See green tea extract at Amazon.com. - Ben
• Disease-Fighting Benefits of Organic Foods - WebMD, 3/6/03 - "Recent evidence suggests that these micronutrients play important roles in preventing cancer and heart disease ... organic berries and corn had significantly more flavonoids than those grown by conventional methods. And a third method -- called sustainable farming -- yielded even higher flavonoid levels"
• Plant Compound May Prevent Lung Cancer - WebMD, 2/19/03 - "deguelin is found in several different types of plant species and is part of a class of compounds in the flavonoid family ... deguelin appeared to target the cancerous and precancerous cells, stopping their growth, while having minimal effects on the normal, healthy cells ... deguelin is highly specific and seems to work by zeroing in on a particular molecular pathway associated with lung cancer ... the findings are especially interesting because there have been so few agents that have shown potential to stop the progression of lung cancer"
• Flavonoids found in chocolate may help reduce risk of heart disease - HealthScout, 2/13/03 - "the main flavonoids in cocoa -- flavan-3-ols -- are associated with a decreased risk of cardiovascular disease ... Also, a third of the fat in chocolate is made up of oleic acid. That's a monosaturated fat, also found in olive oil, that's been shown to benefit heart health"
• Which Chocolate Is Healthiest for Heart? - WebMD, 1/31/03
• Some Chocolate a Treat for the Heart - WebMD, 11/20/02
• Garlic, Chives Reduce Prostate Cancer - WebMD, 11/5/02 - "filling your diet with garlic and scallions can help reduce the chance of this potentially deadly cancer ... Garlic and scallions, along with onions, leeks, chives, and shallots, are rich in flavonols, substances in plants that have been shown to have antitumor effects. All of these vegetables have previously been linked to lower risks of cancers of the stomach, colon, esophagus, and perhaps breast ... although fruits and vegetables slightly reduced prostate cancer, the lower risk associated with allium vegetables was much more pronounced"
• Apple a Day Gets Rid of Doctor and More - WebMD, 9/13/02 - "People eating foods rich in a variety of flavonoids -- plant products that act like antioxidants -- were less likely to have heart disease, stroke, and asthma. Type 2 diabetes also appeared to be less common in this group. Plus, men that ate flavonoids had less lung and prostate cancers"
• Say Cheers: White Wine May Aid Lungs - Doctor's Guide, 5/21/02
• The Lungs Favor White Wine - WebMD, 5/20/02 - "those studies have shown that a daily dose of 1 to 3 glasses of red wine can improve cardiovascular health ... We found that white wine intake was strongly associated with better [lung] function ... One glass of wine per day equaled a 1.5% higher lung function, adding one or two more years to the person's lifetime; 3 glasses a day improved lung capacity by 3% ... He speculates that white wine drinkers have higher levels of vitamin antioxidants in their blood" - Also see grape seed extract/Pycnogenol.
• Drinking Tea May Help Prevent Heart Attacks - Doctor's Guide, 5/9/02 - "Drinking more tea and increasing flavonoid intake may help primary prevention of ischaemic heart disease ... The intake of the dietary flavonoids quercetin, kaempferol and myricetin was significantly associated inversely with fatal myocardial infarction only in upper tertiles of intake"
• Tea Prolongs Survival After Heart Attack - WebMD, 5/6/02 - "Researchers say the findings add to a growing notion that the antioxidant-rich flavonoids found in black and green teas prevent heart disease. But this is the first study to suggest that drinking tea can actually protect the heart after damage has already occurred"
• Cocoa: The Next Health Drink? - WebMD, 2/15/02
• Got Anthocyanins? - Nutrition Science News, 12/01
• The Wizard is Oz - Life Extension Magazine, 11/01 - "Best-selling author and nutritional guru to the rich and famous, Oz Garcia is singing the praises of the Life Extension Foundation and its products in his newest book, The Healthy High Tech Body, published in September 2001 ... Supplements at the top of Garcia's list of recommendations ... DHA ... NADH ... Alpah Lipoic Acid ... Acetyl-L-Carnitine ... An expanded list of his recommendations includes lycopene, gamma tocopherol, vinpocetine, SAMe, folic acid, carnosine, glutathione, DMAE, Huperzine A, probiotics, MSM, secretagogues, arginine pyroglutamate, IP-6, bioflavonoid formulas and grape skin/seed extracts"
• Chocolate Boosts 'Good' Cholesterol And Protects Against Heart Disease - Intelihealth, 10/25/01
• Chocolate Is Good for the Heart - WebMD, 10/23/01 - "chocolate ... has loads of antioxidants in the form of flavonoids, which are known to reduce cardiovascular risk ... certain cocoas and chocolates -- taken in small, regular doses -- seem to raise HDL, or the "good" cholesterol, while lowering the "bad" variety called LDL, which can clog the arteries ... half the group ate a "typical American diet" that was purposely low in flavonoids. The other half ate the "experimental diet," which essentially was the typical American diet plus cocoa powder (3/4 of an ounce) and dark chocolate (half an ounce) ... They found that LDL cholesterol was oxidized 8% more slowly -- and that HDL cholesterol increased by 4% -- after the people ate chocolate"
• Pomegranates a Top Antioxidant - Nutrition Science News, 3/01 - "pomegranate juice exhibits three times greater antioxidant activity than other bioflavonoids such as red wine or green tea"
• Dieticians get sweet words on chocolate - CNN, 10/17/00
• Natural COX-2 Inhibitors The Future of Pain Relief - Nutrition Science News, 8/00
• Good News For Chocoholics - WebMD, 7/17/00
• Researchers Suggest Daily Tea May Fortify Bones Of Elderly Women - Intelihealth, 4/7/00
• Wine or Welch's? Grape juice provides health benefits without alcohol - CNN, 3/31/00
• Flavonoids may help fight cancer, study finds - CNN, 3/30/00
• Cancer Prevention Diet - Nutrition Science News, 8/99
• Will wine help your heart? - CNN, 7/6/99
• Second Sight - Nutrition Science News, 4/99
• Scientists See Anti-Aging, Cancer-Fighting Properties In Wild Blueberries - Doctor's Guide, 9/23/97
• Orange, Grapefruit Juice A Powerful Anti-Cancer Tool? - Doctor's Guide, 7/28/97
• Study Reveals New Antioxidant; More Potent than C, E and Beta-Carotene - Doctor's Guide, 4/8/97

Abstracts:

• Habitual flavonoid intakes are positively associated with bone mineral density in women - J Bone Miner Res. 2012 May 1 - "The aim of this observational study was to examine the association between habitual intake of flavonoid sub-classes with bone mineral density (BMD) in a cohort of female twins. 3160 women from the TwinsUK adult twin registry participated in the study. Habitual intakes of flavonoids and sub-classes (flavanones, anthocyanins, flavan-3-ols, polymers, flavonols, flavones) were calculated from semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaires using an updated and extended USDA database ... total flavonoid intake was positively associated with higher BMD at the spine but not at the hip ... total flavonoid intake was positively associated with BMD, with effects observed for anthocyanins and flavones at both the hip and spine supporting a role for flavonoids present in plant-based foods on bone health"
• Habitual intake of dietary flavonoids and risk of Parkinson disease - Neurology. 2012 Apr 10;78(15):1138-45 - "We identified 805 participants (438 men and 367 women) who developed PD during 20-22 years of follow-up. In men, after adjusting for multiple confounders, participants in the highest quintile of total flavonoids had a 40% lower PD risk than those in the lowest quintile (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.60; 95% confidence interval 0.43, 0.83; p trend = 0.001). No significant relationship was observed in women (p trend = 0.62) or in pooled analyses (p trend = 0.23). In the pooled analyses for the subclasses, intakes of anthocyanins and a rich dietary source, berries, were significantly associated with a lower PD risk (HR comparing 2 extreme intake quintiles were 0.76 for anthocyanins and 0.77 for berries, respectively; p trend < 0.02 for both)" - See Jarrow Formulas OPCs + 95 at Amazon.com.
• Flavonoid intake and cardiovascular disease mortality in a prospective cohort of US adults - Am J Clin Nutr. 2012 Jan 4 - "Men and women with total flavonoid intakes in the top (compared with the bottom) quintile had a lower risk of fatal CVD (RR: 0.82; 95% CI: 0.73, 0.92; P-trend = 0.01). Five flavonoid classes-anthocyanidins, flavan-3-ols, flavones, flavonols, and proanthocyanidins-were individually associated with lower risk of fatal CVD (all P-trend < 0.05). In men, total flavonoid intakes were more strongly associated with stroke mortality (RR: 0.63; 95% CI: 0.44, 0.89; P-trend = 0.04) than with ischemic heart disease (RR: 0.90; 95% CI: 0.72, 1.13). Many associations appeared to be nonlinear, with lower risk at intakes above the referent category.Conclusions: Flavonoid consumption was associated with lower risk of death from CVD. Most inverse associations appeared with intermediate intakes, suggesting that even relatively small amounts of flavonoid-rich foods may be beneficial"
• Inhibition of advanced glycation end-product formation on eye lens protein by rutin - Br J Nutr. 2011 Aug 25:1-9 - "Formation of advanced glycation end products (AGE) plays a key role in the several pathophysiologies associated with ageing and diabetes, such as arthritis, atherosclerosis, chronic renal insufficiency, Alzheimer's disease, nephropathy, neuropathy and cataract. This raises the possibility of inhibition of AGE formation as one of the approaches to prevent or arrest the progression of diabetic complications. Previously, we have reported that some common dietary sources such as fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices have the potential to inhibit AGE formation. Flavonoids are abundantly found in fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices, and rutin is one of the commonly found dietary flavonols. In the present study, we have demonstrated the antiglycating potential and mechanism of action of rutin using goat eye lens proteins as model proteins. Under in vitro conditions, rutin inhibited glycation as assessed by SDS-PAGE, AGE-fluorescence, boronate affinity chromatography and immunodetection of specific AGE. Further, we provided insight into the mechanism of inhibition of protein glycation that rutin not only scavenges free-radicals directly but also chelates the metal ions by forming complexes with them and thereby partly inhibiting post-Amadori formation. These findings indicate the potential of rutin to prevent and/or inhibit protein glycation and the prospects for controlling AGE-mediated diabetic pathological conditions in vivo" - See rutin products at iHerb.  AGE's are a major cause of aging.  See my AGE page.
• Luteolin induces apoptosis in multidrug resistant cancer cells without affecting the drug transporter function: involvement of cell line-specific apoptotic mechanisms - Int J Cancer. 2011 Jul 25 - "These results suggest that luteolin possesses therapeutic potential to control the proliferation of MDR cancers without affecting the physiological function of drug transporters in the body tissues"
• Naringin Protects against Kainic Acid-Induced Status Epilepticus in Rats: Evidence for an Antioxidant, Anti-inflammatory and Neuroprotective Intervention - Biol Pharm Bull. 2011;34(3):360-5 - "The effect of naringin, a bioflavanoid, with potent antioxidant activity was studied on kainic acid (KA)-induced seizures, cognitive deficit and oxidative stress. Rats were administered KA (10 mg/kg intraperitoneally (i.p.)) and observed for behavioral changes and incidence and latency of convulsions over 4 h. The rats were thereafter sacrificed and oxidative stress parameters like malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione (GSH) were estimated in the brain. The level of proinflammatory cytokine, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α was also determined in the rat brain. It was observed that pretreatment with naringin (20, 40, 80 mg/kg, i.p.) significantly (p<0.001) increased the latency of seizures as compared to the vehicle treated-KA group. Naringin (40, 80 mg/kg) also significantly prevented the increase in MDA and fall in GSH levels due to KA. In addition, naringin dose-dependently attenuated the KA-induced increase in the TNF-α levels of brain. The pretreatment with naringin also significantly increased retention latency in the passive avoidance task. This shows that naringin reduced the cognitive deficit induced by KA. The results of our study suggest that naringin has therapeutic potential since it suppresses KA-induced seizures, cognitive impairment and oxidative stress in the brain. These neuroprotective effects are a result of its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity" - See naringin products at iHerb.
• Flavanol-rich cocoa ameliorates lipemia-induced endothelial dysfunction - Heart Vessels. 2010 Dec 8 - "Consumption of flavanols improves chronic endothelial dysfunction. We investigated whether it can also improve acute lipemia-induced endothelial dysfunction. In this randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, crossover trial, 18 healthy subjects received a fatty meal with cocoa either rich in flavanols (918 mg) or flavanol-poor. Flow-mediated dilation (FMD), triglycerides, and free fatty acids were then determined over 6 h. After the flavanol-poor fat loading, the FMD deteriorated over 4 h. The consumption of flavanol-rich cocoa, in contrast, improved this deterioration in hours 2, 3, and 4 without abolishing it completely. Flavanols did not have any influence on triglycerides or on free fatty acids. Flavanol-rich cocoa can alleviate the lipemia-induced endothelial dysfunction, probably through an improvement in endothelial NO synthase"
• Flavonoids, proanthocyanidins, and cancer risk: a network of case-control studies from Italy - Nutr Cancer. 2010 Oct;62(7):871-7 - "Total flavonoids, flavanones, and flavonols were inversely related to oral and laryngeal cancers (ORs, respectively 0.56 and 0.60 for total flavonoids; 0.51 and 0.60 for flavanones; and 0.62 and 0.32 for flavonols). Flavanols were also inversely related to laryngeal cancer (OR = 0.64), whereas flavanones were inversely related to esophageal cancer (OR = 0.38). A reduced risk of colorectal cancer was found for high intake of anthocyanidins (OR = 0.67), flavonols (OR = 0.64), flavones (OR = 0.78), and isoflavones (OR = 0.76). Inverse relations with breast cancer were found for flavones (OR = 0.81) and flavonols (OR = 0.80). Flavonols (OR = 0.63) and isoflavones (OR = 0.51) were inversely associated to ovarian cancer, whereas flavonols (OR = 0.69) and flavones (OR = 0.68) were inversely associated to renal cancer. No association between flavonoids and prostate cancer emerged. We found inverse associations between proanthocyanidins and colorectal cancer. These associations appeared stronger for proanthocyanidins with a higher degree of polymerization (OR = 0.69 for ≥ 10 mers)"
• Flavonoids, proanthocyanidins, and the risk of stomach cancer - Cancer Causes Control. 2010 Jun 3 - "Strong inverse relations were found for proanthocyanidins. The OR was 0.44 (95% CI, 0.25-0.76) for monomers and dimers combined and 0.36 (95% CI, 0.21-0.63) for polymers with three or more mers. Further adjustment for fruit and vegetables, or vitamin C, did not materially change these associations. This is the first epidemiological study to suggest that dietary proanthocyanidins have a favorable role on gastric cancer risk"
• Dietary flavonoid intake and colorectal cancer: a case-control study - Br J Nutr. 2009 Sep 7:1-8 - "We concluded that flavonols, specifically quercetin, obtained from non-tea components of the diet may be linked with reduced risk of developing colon cancer" - See quercetin at Amazon.com.
• Dietary Flavonol Intake May Lower Stroke Risk in Men and Women - J Nutr. 2010 Jan 20 - "A high intake of flavonols compared with a low intake was inversely associated with nonfatal and fatal stroke with a pooled relative risk of 0.80"
• Impact of cocoa flavanol consumption on blood pressure responsiveness to exercise - Br J Nutr. 2010 Jan 19:1-5 - "randomised to consume single servings of either a high-flavanol (HF, 701 mg) or a low-flavanol (LF, 22 mg) cocoa beverage in a double-blind, cross-over design ... the BP response to exercise (area under BP curve) was attenuated by HF compared with LF. BP increases were 68 % lower for DBP (P = 0.03) and 14 % lower for mean BP (P = 0.05). FMD measurements were higher after taking HF than after taking LF (6.1 (se 0.6) % v. 3.4 (se 0.5) %, P < 0.001). By facilitating vasodilation and attenuating exercise-induced increases in BP, cocoa flavanols may decrease cardiovascular risk and enhance the cardiovascular benefits of moderate intensity exercise in at-risk individuals"
• Flavonoid intake and disability-adjusted life years due to Alzheimer's and related dementias: a population-based study involving twenty-three developed countries - Public Health Nutr. 2010 Jan 11:1-7 - "Flavonols and combined flavonoids (all five combined) intakes were the only two parameters with significant (P < 0.05) negative dementia correlations. Multiple linear regression models confirmed this relationship, and excluded confounding from some other dietary and non-dietary factors. Similar analyses with non-dementia, neurological/psychiatric diseases did not yield significant correlations. CONCLUSIONS: At a global level, and in the context of different genetic backgrounds, our results suggest that higher consumption of dietary flavonoids, especially flavonols, is associated with lower population rates of dementia in these countries"
• Pure dietary flavonoids quercetin and (-)-epicatechin augment nitric oxide products and reduce endothelin-1 acutely in healthy men - Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Oct;88(4):1018-25 - "Dietary flavonoids, such as quercetin and (-)-epicatechin, can augment nitric oxide status and reduce endothelin-1 concentrations and may thereby improve endothelial function"
• Luteolin reduces IL-6 production in microglia by inhibiting JNK phosphorylation and activation of AP-1 - Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008 May 19 - "Luteolin consumption reduced LPS-induced IL-6 in plasma 4 h after injection. Furthermore, luteolin decreased the induction of IL-6 mRNA by LPS in hippocampus but not in the cortex or cerebellum. Taken together, these data suggest luteolin inhibits LPS-induced IL-6 production in the brain by inhibiting the JNK signaling pathway and activation of AP-1 in microglia. Thus, luteolin may be useful for mitigating neuroinflammation"
• Dietary flavonoid intake and risk of cancer in postmenopausal women: The Iowa Women's Health Study - Int J Cancer. 2008 May 19 - "After multivariable adjustment, lung cancer incidence was inversely associated with intakes of flavanones (HR = 0.68; 95% CI: 0.53-0.86, all results highest vs. lowest quintile) and proanthocyanidins (HR = 0.75; 95% CI: 0.57-0.97). Among current and past smokers, those with intakes in the highest quintile for flavanones (HR = 0.66; 95% CI: 0.50-0.86), and proanthocyanidins (HR = 0.66; 95% CI; 0.49-0.89) had significantly lower lung cancer incidence than those in the lowest quintile. Similar associations were not seen in never smokers. Isoflavone intake was inversely associated with overall cancer incidence (HR = 0.93, 95% CI: 0.86-1.00). This study provides further support for a beneficial effect of flavonoid intake on lung cancer risk, especially among current and past smokers"
• Flavonoids and ovarian cancer risk: A case-control study in Italy - Int J Cancer. 2008 May 19 - "In logistic regression models including study center, education, year of interview, parity, oral contraceptive use and family history of ovarian or breast cancer or both, an inverse relation with significant trend in risk was found between ovarian cancer and flavonols [odds ratio (OR), 0.63; 95% confidence intervals (CI) 0.47-0.84] as well as isoflavones (OR, 0.51; 95% CI, 0.37-0.69), comparing the highest versus the lowest quintile. Further adjustment for fruit and vegetable intake did not modify these associations, suggesting that isoflavones and flavonols may have a distinct role in explaining the effect of fruit and vegetable against ovarian cancer. On the basis of our findings and the relevant literature, we infer that isoflavones, and perhaps flavonols, may have favorable effects with respect to ovarian cancer risk"
• Serum C-reactive protein concentrations are inversely associated with dietary flavonoid intake in u.s. Adults - J Nutr. 2008 Apr;138(4):753-60 - "Among the flavonoid compounds investigated, quercetin, kaempferol, malvidin, peonidin, daidzein, and genistein had inverse associations with serum CRP concentration"
• Neuroprotective Effects of the Citrus Flavanones against H2O2-Induced Cytotoxicity in PC12 Cells - J Agric Food Chem. 2008 Jan 12 - "the citrus flavanones hesperidin, hesperetin, and neohesperidin, even at physiological concentrations, have neuroprotective effects against H 2O 2-induced cytotoxicity in PC12 cells. These dietary antioxidants are potential candidates for use in the intervention for neurodegenerative diseases" - See hesperidin at Amazon.com.
• Effects of flavonoids and phenolic acids on the inhibition of adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 adipocytes - J Agric Food Chem. 2007 Oct 17;55(21):8404-10 - "These results suggest that o-coumaric acid and rutin targeted for adipocyte functions could be effective in improving the symptoms of metabolic syndrome"
• Flavonoids and the risk of renal cell carcinoma - Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2007 Jan;16(1):98-101 - "After adjustment for major recognized confounding factors and total energy intake, the odds ratios for subjects in the highest versus the lowest quintile of intake were 0.80 [95% confidence interval (95% CI), 0.58-1.11] for total flavonoids, 0.76 (95% CI, 0.56-1.03) for isoflavones, 0.94 (95% CI, 0.60-1.47) for anthocyanidins, 0.77 (95% CI, 0.56-1.06) for flavan-3-ols, 0.90 (95% CI, 0.67-1.21) for flavanones, 0.68 (95% CI, 0.50-0.93) for flavones, and 0.69 (95% CI, 0.50-0.95) for flavonols"
• Flavonoids and laryngeal cancer risk in Italy - Ann Oncol. 2007 Mar 19 - "Significant inverse relations were found for the highest versus the lowest quintile of intake for flavan-3-ols (OR = 0.64), flavanones (OR = 0.60), flavonols (OR = 0.32) and total flavonoids (OR = 0.60)"
• Treatment of metastatic melanoma B16F10 by the flavonoids tangeretin, rutin, and diosmin - J Agric Food Chem. 2005 Aug 24;53(17):6791-7 - "The greatest reduction in the number of metastatic nodules (52%) was obtained with diosmin"
• Flavonoid-rich dark chocolate improves endothelial function and increases plasma epicatechin concentrations in healthy adults - J Am Coll Nutr. 2004 Jun;23(3):197-204 - "Flavonoid-rich dark chocolate improves endothelial function"
• Grape juice, but not orange juice or grapefruit juice, inhibits human platelet aggregation - J Nutr. 2000 Jan;130(1):53-6
• Inhibition of aromatase activity by flavonoids - Arch Pharm Res. 1999 Jun;22(3):309-12