Thursday 28 Jan 2016 - 16:32 Makkah mean time-18-4-1437
Norwich, England (IINA) - An apple a day not only keeps the doctor at bay but also helps you shed the pounds, according to researchers.
Fruit and vegetables that contain high levels of flavonoids seem to stop people putting on weight, Mail Online health news reported.
Flavonoids are plant compounds found in berries, apples, pears, strawberries and radishes.
They have long been celebrated for their antioxidant effect, which is thought to help prevent cell damage. But experts also think that the compounds may also help reduce the energy - particularly from sugar that is absorbed from food.
Researchers at the University of East Anglia (UEA) and Harvard Medical School found that certain flavonoids were linked to maintaining a healthy weight, and even helped people lose a little.
Eating the flavonoids contained in an 80g (2.8oz) handful of blueberries every day for four years would help people lose about 2lb 10oz.
By comparison, the average woman in the same period would usually put on about 2lb 3oz, and the average man 4lb 6oz.
In the study, published in the British Medical Journal last night, experts examined data for 124,086 men and women in the U.S. over a 24-year period.
The research focused on three large groups of people one featuring women with an average age of 36 at the start of the study, another with women aged 48, and the 3rd for men with an average age of 47.
Professor Aedin Cassidy, from the UEA’s Norwich Medical School, said: ‘This is the first large study to examine the associations between consumption of all flavonoids and weight gain in middle-aged and older adults.
‘Most adults gain weight as they age and even small increases in weight can have a substantial impact on risk of high blood pressure, developing heart disease, cancer or diabetes so strategies to help individuals maintain a healthy weight in middle-age are needed.
‘We found that an increased consumption of most flavonoids was associated with weight maintenance, and even a modest weight loss. The results were found to be consistent across men and women, and different ages.
‘However losing even small amounts of weight, or preventing weight gain, can improve health and these modest effects were seen with a small, readily achievable increase in intake of many of these fruits.
‘Just a single portion of some of these fruits per day would have an important impact on health at a population level.’
Professor Cassidy said the strongest links were found for foods containing anthocyanin’s, which are found in blueberries, strawberries, cherries, blackberries, grapes, radishes and blackcurrants.
She said: ‘We also found that flavonoid polymers - found in tea and apples - were particularly beneficial, along with flavonols found in tea and onions.’
Experts last night welcomed the study, although they stressed that it had not proven that the flavonoids were responsible for any weight loss.
Dr Paul Kroon, of the Institute of Food Research, said: ‘It is important to understand that these types of studies can find associations between consumption of certain food bioactives with weight gain or other health benefits, but they cannot prove that by increasing your consumption of flavonoids you will put on less weight than if you didn’t.
‘The only way to prove that this is the case is by conducting long-term, well controlled dietary intervention studies, and so far no such trials have been reported in the scientific literature.’
But he added: ‘Nevertheless, there is considerable scientific evidence that consumption of flavonoids can cause beneficial changes in other biomarkers of health.’
Professor Naveed Sattar, of the University of Glasgow, said: ‘Is there anything magical about flavonoids? I am not convinced by this paper.
‘In truth, individuals who eat more high flavonoid foods have other habits which lead them to put in less weight or other effects of high flavonoid foods may be responsible, such as fibre content in fruits and vegetables.’
The research is the first to examine the relationship between the main subclasses of flavonoids - including anthocyanin’s, flavan-3-ols, flavanone, flavones and flavonols - and the risk of obesity.
Blueberries and strawberries were the main source of anthocyanin’s, and flavan-3-ols were mainly derived from tea and apples.
SM/IINA
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