Talk to any doctor and he'll likely suggest eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables. These plant-based foods provide many of the vitamins, minerals and other nutrients essential to your health. But most fruits and vegetables have an added benefit of flavonoids, which are compounds associated with the ability to reduce your risk of chronic diseases. They're also linked to the modulation of cell-signaling pathways that could affect digestion, particularly to the release of enzymes used to digest carbohydrates.
Flavonoids
Flavonoids are compounds typically found in fruits and vegetables. They fall within six basic subclasses: flavones, flavanols, flavonols, flavanones, isoflavones and anthocyanidins. Foods that are rich in one or more of these flavonoids include berries, grapes, apples, oranges, grapefruit, lemons, onions, scallions, kale, broccoli, celery and most legumes. Even teas and herbs, like parsley and thyme, contain flavonoids.
Digestive Process
Upon ingestion, most flavonoids move through the upper digestive tract relatively intact. It isn't until they hit the small intestines where a large portion of them are absorbed and metabolized to form metabolites. Other flavonoids, however, are left untouched and aren't metabolized until reaching the colon, needing bacteria found in the large intestines to facilitate their breakdown and subsequent absorption.
Effects on Digestion
Until recently, flavonoids were thought to act as antioxidants in the body. However, the bioavailability of flavonoids changes when metabolized into metabolites. In their metabolite form, they often have a lower antioxidant activity, reports the Linus Pauling Institute. Instead, flavonoids appear to have some control over cell-signaling pathways, including those responsible for releasing enzymes into the body. In fact, an article published in the May 2008 "Journal of Medicinal Chemistry" explains that certain flavonoids may inhibit the release of a-amylase, an enzyme responsible for breaking down starch into sugar. With less amylase in your system, the digestion of carbohydrates could slow, thereby lessening the sharp increase in blood glucose typically seen after a meal.
Benefit
Although further research is needed, the potential for certain flavonoids to affect the digestion of starches means that foods containing these compounds could help better control blood glucose levels, which is of great benefit for people living with diabetes. Those that appear to have the most influence over carbohydrate digestion fall within the subclass of either flavones or flavonols, such as quercetagetin, fisetin, quercetin, myricetin, scutellarein, luteolin and eupafolin. These are found in parsley, thyme, celery, hot peppers, yellow onions, scallions, kale, broccoli, apples, berries and teas.
