Favour the flavonoid as a key to health

A DIET rich in fruit and vegetables has long been linked to maintaining a healthy body weight.

Hill St berries

A DIET rich in fruit and vegetables has long been linked to maintaining a healthy body weight.

Now a study reveals that those products containing high levels of molecules called flavonoids — including apples, pears and certain berries — may be associated with better weight control.

Hill Street West Hobart employee Loic Feral with fruit and vegetables containing flavonoids. Picture: SAM ROSEWARNE

The report, from the British Medical Journal, found that the flavonoid subclasses of anthocyanins, flavonoid polymers and flavonols were particularly beneficial for assisting in weight management.

Blueberries, strawberries, apples, orange juice, tea and onions were identified as being high in these antioxidant molecules, and the study’s authors suggested adults should consume two cups of fruits and two and a half cups of vegetables each day.

Natasha Meerding, Tasmanian spokeswoman for the Dietitian Association of Australia, said the study’s findings were particularly important for those entering middle age.

“The report was about preventing people gaining weight as opposed to weight loss, but that is very relevant to people in Australia and the developed world where most adults gain weight as they get older, particularly around middle age,” she said.

“And the problem with that is even small increases in weight can have a big impact on heart disease, cancer, diabetes and blood pressure.

“But this was an observational study, so we can only talk about association rather than causation.”

Another study has also found that eating fruit every day may also boost the chances of surviving skin cancer.

US researchers monitoring the diet and lifestyles of 250 patients diagnosed with melanoma for the past 10 years said fruit contained compounds that boosted the immune system to fight off cancer.