What do red grapes, white onions, green and black teas, and black-eyed peas have in common? In addition to vitamins and minerals, the foods are rich in disease-battling compounds called flavonoids.

Now, you can find out the flavonoid contents of your favorite foods on the federal government's updated flavonoid database.

Some healthy eaters may find the Database for the Flavonoid Content of Selected Foods a little too technically dense and dripping in statisticalese, definitely not something you want to take with you to read at the beach.

But once you get the hang of it, you'll find facts and figures on 393 foods - from beer to oolong tea - and their contents of 26 different flavonoids, Joanne Holden, head of the federal government's Nutrient Data Laboratory, told Nubella News.

"I think its a matter of becoming better informed about the broader composition of foods beyond the essential vitamins, minerals, proteins, fats, and carbohydrates," she said. "Foods are complex mixtures, and scientists are learning more about the other components that occur in foods.

"Some of these components may have bioactive properties that can help us maintain and enhance a healthy body and an active lifestyle."

Preventing damage, providing brilliant shades

Flavonoids are natural substances, or phytochemicals, found in many fruits, vegetables, and beverages. Nutritionists believe the compounds, which number more than 6,000, are powerful antioxidants that may help prevent damage to your DNA and protect against heart disease and other conditions. 

They also are responsible for the brilliant shades of yellow, orange and red in fruits and vegetables.

Nutritionists, dietitians and other health experts will have a field day combing the database for nuggets of information to evaluate associations between dietary flavonoid intake and risk factors for various chronic diseases, Holden said.

"With today's dietary recommendations to increase the servings of fruits and vegetables in our diets the interested consumer, reporter or educator can see that these foods contain amounts of these naturally occurring compounds," she said. "There are many types of information in the marketplace, and some of them are based on hype or myths or other inaccurate information.

"The USDA strives to provide accurate and informative food composition information to the public and scientific community to increase awareness, help consumers make healthy and varied food choices, and support ongoing public health research."

The flavonoid database complements the USDA's National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, generally regarded by many health experts as the major authority on food composition information in the United States.

Other databases for disease-battling food chemicals include ones for proanthocyanidins and isoflavones.

For more information

•  Phytochemicals and Cardiovascular Disease

•  Linus Pauling Institute, Oregon State University

•  Have You Had Your Flavonoids Today?

•  Flavonoids: Antioxidants Help the Mind

Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture

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