Eating a diet rich in flavonoids, antioxidants found in foods like apples and berries, may support healthier aging, a new study suggests

Tea, Berries, and Other Flavonoid-Rich Foods May Help You Age Better, Study Finds Here's why, plus simple ways to consume more flavonoids

Eating a diet rich in flavonoids, antioxidants found in foods like apples and berries, may support healthier aging, a new study suggests

A new study found a link between flavonoid-rich foods and healthier aging.
Flavonoids are antioxidants in foods like apples, citrus fruits, tea, and berries.
More research is needed, but experts still recommend adding high-flavonoid foods to your diet.

An apple a day might keep signs of aging away—and so might a cup of tea, a handful of berries, or a serving of citrus fruit.

A new study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that eating foods rich in flavonoids—such as black tea, berries, citrus fruits, and apples—could help lower the risk of specific elements of unhealthy aging, including frailty, impaired physical function, and poor mental health.

According to study author Nicola Bondonno, PhD, a postdoctoral research fellow at the School of Medical and Health Sciences at Edith Cowan University in Australia, this research builds on previous studies showing a link between higher consumption of flavonoids, antioxidant compounds found in many plant-based foods, and a reduced risk of chronic conditions like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and dementia.

“Our latest research adds to this by showing that high flavonoid intake is also linked to a lower risk of physical frailty, poor mental health, and reduced physical function as people age,” Bondonno told Health. “In real life, this means staying mobile, independent, and mentally sharp for longer, making the experience of aging much more positive and less burdensome for both individuals and their families.”

A Flavonoid-Rich Diet and Aging

Bondonno’s team used data from the Nurses’ Health Study (NHS) and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (HPFS), which have been running since the 1970s and ’80s, respectively. Participants fill out diet questionnaires every four years and add information about whether they’ve developed any new diseases.

For their new study, Bondonno and her colleagues looked at people aged 60 or older tracked by the NHS from 1990 to 2014 and HPFS from 2006 to 2018. Ultimately, this gave them data on over 62,000 women and 23,000 men.

To analyze the impact of flavonoids on aging in this population, the researchers noted how often people consumed flavonoid-rich foods like tea, apples, oranges, grapefruits, blueberries, strawberries, and red wine.

They then created a “flavodiet score” based on how many servings of these foods people ate daily. “This helps translate research into real-world advice and shows how whole diets, not just nutrients in isolation, support healthy aging,” Bondonno explained.

Once researchers determined flavodiet scores, they could compare them with self-reported health information, including experience of increased frailty, physical impairment, and poor mental health.

The higher people’s flavodiet scores, the lower their risks of poor age-related outcomes.

Women with the highest flavonoid intakes had a 15% lower risk of frailty, a 12% lower risk of impaired physical function, and a 12% lower risk of poor mental health compared to those with the lowest intakes.

And though researchers found fewer associations between flavonoids and aging in men, those with the highest flavodiet scores did have a lower risk of poor mental health. (Bondonno explained that sex differences might be due to differences in how long each group was followed rather than an actual biological imbalance.)

Despite the encouraging results, the research does come with some caveats.

“This is an observational study based on food questionnaires every four years,” board-certified surgeon and longevity expert Darshan Shah, MD, told Health. “Observational studies show no causality, just an association.”

According to Shah, other variables, such as higher physical activity levels, could be the actual cause of better age-related health outcomes among flavonoid consumers.

He also said it’s difficult to rely on self-reported dietary information. “Food frequency questionnaires ask people to generally remember how much they ate by memory, and as we know, our memory does not always serve us correctly,” he said.

How Flavonoids Support Healthy Aging

If flavonoids do boost healthy aging, what’s the key to their helpfulness?

Like other antioxidants, flavonoids fight inflammation, which may help stave off disease. But, according to Kathryn Piper, RDN, LD, NBC-HWC, of The Age-Defying Dietitian, flavonoids may have a unique edge over other antioxidants.

“Research suggests flavonoids support a process called autophagy,” she told Health. “Think of autophagy as the body’s way of cleaning house, getting rid of old, harmful cells to make way for new, healthy ones.”

Because of this work of cellular renewal, foods rich in flavonoids may contribute to a healthier body and mind during the aging process, she said.

Bondonno added that flavonoids also help reduce oxidative stress, support healthy blood vessels, and may even play a role in maintaining muscle mass.

“These combined effects can influence many systems in the body at once,” she said. “As research continues, we’re learning that flavonoids may have even more benefits than we currently understand.”

Should You Add More Flavonoid-Rich Foods to Your Diet?

According to Shah, more research is needed before high-flavonoid foods are labeled a fountain of youth.

However, other experts said adding more of these foods to your diet is still smart for healthy aging.

“Everyone should consider including more flavonoid-rich foods in their diet to thrive in older adulthood,” Maggie Moon, MS, RD, author of The MIND Diet: 2nd Edition, told Health.

Moon and Piper’s suggestions for incorporating more high-flavonoid foods into your day include:

Starting your day with a cup of green tea
Making a smoothie that includes blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries
Enjoying a small glass of 100% orange, concord, or wild blueberry juice with a balanced breakfast
Snacking on apples and peanut butter
Treating yourself to an occasional dessert of dark chocolate (70% or higher)
Flavoring your meals with flavonoid-packed herbs like parsley and oregano

The sooner you start these diet habits, the better. “Start early and be consistent, ideally in midlife or sooner, to allow the protective effects to build up over time,” Piper said.

Edited by Health with a background in health, science, and investigative reporting. Previously, she wrote full time about parenting issues for the app Parent Lab. Before that, she worked as a reporter for National Geographic covering wildlife crime and exploitation." tabindex="0" data-inline-tooltip="true"> Jani Hall

Jani Hall Jani Hall is a news editor for Health with a background in health, science, and investigative reporting. Previously, she wrote full time about parenting issues for the app Parent Lab. Before that, she worked as a reporter for National Geographic covering wildlife crime and exploitation. learn more Read more: