Anthocyanin « Health Now, Wealth Forever

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By Nathan, on September 10th, 2012

What is anthocyanin?  Anthocyanin belongs to the Flavonoid group of nutrients.  Numerous studies have been done on this group of nutrients and the results have been well publicized by, most notably, Welch’s Grape Juice.  Flavonoids are necessary for full utilization of Vitamin C (Absorbic Acid) which is itself a necessary vitamin for the digestion of other vitamins and minerals that we need.  Flavonoids are the key to the health benefits (cancer prevention, anti-inflammatories and allergies, weight loss, heart health, etc) of all those vitamins and minerals you want to be ingesting.  But Anthocyanin is special.

In addition to all of the benefits of regular flavonoids, anthocyanin in tandem with a high fat diet inhibits the production of adipose tissue and weight gain.  Some studies suggest that anthocyanin as used in practical food ingestion can aid in the prevention of heart disease, diabetes and obesity.  They also have a powerful role in cognitive and motor functions and are critical to these functions in older adults, thus suggesting aiding against senility and Alzheimer’s disease.

A rule of thumb to finding foods that have a significant anthocyanin content is that the deeper and richer the color of the plant or fruit, the higher the anthocyanin content thus these (and more) have high anthocyanin content:

  • Blackberries
  • Blueberries
  • Red and black Grapes
  • Red Wine
  • Brown Chia seeds (not white Chia seeds)
  • Purple potatoes
  • Beets
  • Black Rice (although cooking anthocyanin and other flavonoid potency is diminished)
  • Red Rice
  • Raspberries
  • Red and Black Beans (See rice parentheses)
  • Strawberries
  • Red Cabbage
  • Red Onions (all onions are great sources of Flavonoids)
  • Blood oranges

It is fully possible to have every snack and meal satisfy cravings and yet have significant Super food content on virtually every budget.