People who supplement their diet with flavonoid foods and drinks, including tea, apples and berries, could become one, according to a study that used objective measures of the diet of thousands of UK residentslead to lower blood pressure. The findings, published in Scientific Reports, examined the diets of more than 25,000 people in Norfolk, UK. The researchers compared what the participants ate with their blood pressure.
Research beneficial flavonoid foods
Unlike most other studies examining links between diet and health, researchers did not rely on study participants reporting on their diet. Instead, they objectively measured food intake of flavonoids using dietary biomarkers. These are indicators of food intake, metabolism, or nutritional status that are present in the blood. The difference in blood pressure between those with the lowest 10% and those with the highest 10% of intake was between 2 and 4 mmHg. This is comparable to significant changes in blood pressure. Such may be seen in individuals following a Mediterranean diet or nutritional approaches to cessation of hypertension. Remarkably, such an effect was among participantswith high blood pressuremore pronounced.
Professor Gunter Kuhnle, a nutritionist at the University of Reading, led the study. Previous studies with large populations have always relied on self-reported data to draw conclusions. However, this is the first epidemiological study of this size to objectively examine the connection. The scientists are therefore pleased to see that there is also an important and significant connection between the consumption of flavonoid foods and lower blood pressure. The methodology of the study is of equal importance. This is one of the largest studies ever to use dietary biomarkers to investigate bioactive compounds. The use of dietary biomarkers to estimate intake of bioactive food compounds has long been considered the gold standard for research.
Study results
The development, validation and application of the biomarker was only possible due to the long-term commitment of all employees. Unlike self-reported dietary data, nutritional biomarkers can account for the enormous variability in food composition. Therefore, scientists can observe theCertain associations with flavonoid-rich foodsattribute. This suggests that if the general public's intake of flavan-3-ol is increased, the overall incidence of cardiovascular disease could decrease.
This studyprovides important insights into a growing body of evidence. In addition, these prove the benefits of flavonoid foods in health and nutrition. But even more exciting was the possibility of applying objective biomarkers. This allowed the team to avoid the significant limitations associated with previous approaches.
