Eating More Flavonol-Rich Foods Helps Lower Your Risk of Frailty With Age, New Research Finds

When it comes to overall health, researchers are coming to find that a major piece of the nutritional puzzle goes far beyond macronutrients—carbs, fat, and protein—and even the top micronutrients like vitamins and minerals. Many of the latest, impressive, evidence-based health findings are actually linked with a lesser-known sector of micronutrients: plant compounds (also called phytonutrients, plant chemicals, polyphenols, or phenolic compounds), which are found naturally in many plant foods.

Study Links Higher Flavonol Intake to Reduced Risk of Frailty

New research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition has linked an increased intake of one particular type of plant compound called flavonols to a lower risk of age-related frailty.

This prospective cohort study with individuals from the Framingham Heart Study evaluated the relationship between flavonol dietary intake and frailty. The Framingham Heart Study is a decades-long research group looking to transform heart disease healthcare and in the process has discovered far more about the body than just the relationship between lifestyle and heart health (like the association of plant compounds to frailty, for example).

The study found that increased intake of flavonol-rich foods, especially those high in quercetin, was associated with reduced risk of frailty onset. In fact, the results showed that an additional 10 milligrams (mg) of flavonols daily, resulted in a 20 percent lower risk of frailty.

What Are Flavonols?

Seeing as there are over 8,000 plant compounds known to date, classification is the name of the game. Flavonols are a subclass of the flavonoid class, which is the most abundant group of plant chemicals found in the diet. And within the flavonol subclass is a list of buzzworthy plant compounds you may have heard of, including quercetin and kaempferol, due to their impressive health benefits (more on this later).

What Is Frailty?

While there is no set medical definition of frailty, healthcare professionals are starting to come up with their own as emerging data is showing that this condition is actually linked to more serious health conditions and decreased overall longevity. Generally, frailty in this context is associated with a state of increased vulnerability related to aging that yields an individual less resilient to both normal and acute stressors in life.

Health researchers created the frailty index consisting of five criteria that, when at least three are met, qualify a person as clinically frail. These include generalized weakness, exhaustion, slowness in daily activities, weight loss, and lack of activity. Because of the negative health consequences that can be associated with frailty, it has become a more pressing public health concern for older individuals.

Health Benefits of Flavonols

Beyond their effectiveness in reducing the risk for age-related conditions like frailty, flavonols are robust health boosters on a multitude of fronts all throughout the body. This is primarily due to their antioxidant properties, which work to reduce inflammation and disease-causing free radicals in the body and help bolster our immune systems. Free radicals and oxidative stress are intimately tied in the body. These unstable molecules, when able to accumulate in large amounts, are associated with chronic illness like heart disease, diabetes, and neurodegenerative disorders, among many others.

The research on flavonols, and some of the specific phytonutrients found within this subclass, is downright impressive. All flavonoids, including flavonols, are known to be robust anti-cancer agents in the body with therapeutic potential for nearly every type of this pervasive diagnosis. Meanwhile, the compound quercetin (within the flavonol subclass of flavonoids) has been linked to decreased risk for heart disease, diabetes, neurodegenerative disorders, bacterial infections, and even arthritis. Another well-researched flavonol, kaempferol, offers many of these same benefits with the addition of gut and respiratory health protective mechanisms.

How much of these flavonols should you eat each day? 

Despite these powerful benefits, there’s not yet an official daily intake recommendation for flavonols as there is for nutrients like, say, B vitamins or fiber. 

That said, some healthcare professionals make the general recommendation for Americans to consume at least five to nine servings collectively per day, based on daily fruit and vegetable servings, which are the primary and most abundant sources of flavonols in the diet.

How to Eat (and Drink) More Flavonols Every Day

While you’re likely to get at least some flavonols from most every piece of produce you grab, some options stand above the rest. Adding more of these foods into your daily diet can help you reap all the incredible health benefits of flavonols, including maintaining and supporting strength and robustness with age.

Here are some of the best places to find flavonols in food and drinks, including some unexpected picks:

• Top Flavonol Fruit Sources: Grapes, watermelon, cherries, apricots, apples, berries, citrus fruits, kiwis, peaches
• Top Flavonol Vegetable Sources: Kale, spinach, onion, broccoli, tomatoes (technically a fruit), lettuce, celery, artichokes, cabbage, fennel, leeks, peppers, watercress, arugula, endive, asparagus
• Top Flavonol Herb and Spice Sources: Chives, dill, oregano, parsley, thyme, cinnamon, capers, scallions, garlic
• Top Flavonol Nut and Seed Sources: Pistachios, almonds
• Other Great Sources: Green tea, red wine (and associated products like red wine vinegar), buckwheat

With these options you can let your culinary prowess run wild, creating so many delicious plant-forward dishes. A punchy puttanesca can employ the healing flavonol power of capers, garlic, and tomatoes while a zesty Greek salad can highlight artichokes, lettuce, tomatoes, oregano, and red wine vinegar. It’s tough to beat a refreshing fruit salad as the hot summer days approach, as is an iced green tea for an afternoon pick-me-up. Homemade cinnamon applesauce is also a high-flavonol dish for your little ones (and grown-up loved ones, who are we kidding?). 

The oft-forgotten, gluten-free grain, buckwheat cooks up similarly to quinoa for the perfect grain bowl base whether you put a Greek, Italian, Mexican, or Asian spin on it. There are also some satisfying snack options here, like pistachios, almonds, and apples.

Regardless of your age, the latest research findings on flavonols and frailty is exciting. The higher our intake of this prominent plant compound when we’re younger, older, or anywhere in between, the less likely we are to have to worry about frailty and all the health impacts that often come along with it.