Any chemical that’s called a flavonoid has to taste good. That’s what you’d think, anyway. But some flavonoids are actually famous for their bitter taste, and can cause astringency — the dry, sometimes numbing sensation that’s created in the mouth when we consume certain foods and beverages.

But flavonoids aren’t all bad. They’re anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-carcinogenic. And a new study shows that that’s not the extent of their health benefits, either.

Appearing in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the study suggests that tasty flavonoid-filled foods and beverages — like black tea, berries, citrus, and apples — could contribute to healthy aging. Specifically, it found that higher consumption of flavonoids could reduce our risk of frailty, poor physical function, and poor mental health as we age.

“The goal of medical research is not just to help people live longer but to ensure they stay healthy for as long as possible,” said Nicola Bondonno, a study author and a lecturer at Edith Cowan University, according to a press release. “Our research shows that people who consume more flavonoids tend to age better.”

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Aging Better with Black Tea or Berries

As the human lifespan is extended, it is important to ensure that the human healthspan is extended, too. That’s the amount of time that we live happily and healthily, and it’s highly tied to our nutrition. Indeed, our nutrition — and particularly our intake of plant-based foods and beverages — is a crucial factor that contributes to our health as we age, and among the chemical compounds in those foods and beverages that are most implicated in healthy aging are flavonoids.

“We know from previous research that people who have a higher flavonoid intake tend to live longer, and they are also less likely to get any of the major chronic diseases such as dementia, diabetes, or heart disease,” Bondonno said in the release.

But despite what studies say about flavonoids’ broader health benefits, whether they’re connected to certain aspects of aging, including frailty, poor physical function, and poor mental health, isn’t well researched.

Studying past survey responses from over 80,000 female and male participants, Bondonno and a team of researchers took a closer look at this potential connection. The participants’ responses, which were collected periodically over the course of 24 years, included information about their intake of flavonoid-filled foods and beverages and their physical and mental health as they aged.

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Flavonoid Benefits for Females and Males

The team’s analysis showed that the consumption of flavonoid-filled foods and beverages was associated with a reduced risk of frailty, poor physical function, and poor mental health. Specifically, females who consumed the most flavonoids were 15 percent less likely to experience frailty than those who consumed the least, and were also 12 percent less likely to experience poor physical function and poor mental health. Meanwhile, males who consumed more flavonoids saw a reduced risk of poor mental health.

“Flavonoids are well known for reducing oxidative stress and inflammation, supporting blood vessel health, and even helping to maintain skeletal muscle mass — all of which are important for preventing frailty and maintaining physical function and mental health as we age,” said Aedin Cassidy, another study author and a professor at Queens University Belfast, according to the release.

Though clearer connections were found in females than in males, the study stresses that the potential benefits of flavonoids for aging should not be dismissed by either demographic. That’s because the differences between the associations of females and males may not be the result of a sex-specific distinction, but of a study-specific one, connected to the timing of the survey follow-ups.

“Overall, these findings underscore the potential for simple dietary modifications to impact overall quality of life and contribute to the [optimization] of healthy aging,” said Eric Rimm, another study author and a professor at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, according to the press release.

This article is not offering medical advice and should be used for informational purposes only.

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Article Sources

Our writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:

Sam Walters is a journalist covering archaeology, paleontology, ecology, and evolution for Discover, along with an assortment of other topics. Before joining the Discover team as an assistant editor in 2022, Sam studied journalism at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.