Fisetin: The flavonoid that can add years to your life

Research says that fisetin, the flavonoid found in many fruits and vegetables can increase your lifespan by roughly 10 per cent. Apart from helping you live longer it offers multiple other health benefits.

As you age, your cells get damaged through oxidative stress and lose the ability to divide and reproduce. When you are young, your immune system successfully eliminates them. However, with age the immune system becomes weak and do not get rid of these damaged cells efficiently. So, there is a build up of these toxic cells in your body leading to inflammation and damage of the surrounding cells. The accumulation of these damaged cells can even increase your risk of cancer while hastening your ageing process. This is where fisetin comes as a saviour. This flavonoid, that gives the fruits and vegetables their pigment, has been shown to reduce the burden of these damaged cells in our body and increase our lifespan. According to a study conducted at the Mayo Clinic and The Scripps Research Institute, fisetin can add years to your life by roughly 10 per cent.

To get a healthy dose of this power-packed flavonoid, include these fruits and vegetables in your meal: Strawberry, apple, onion, grape, kiwi, peach, cucumber (with skin). It has been found that having 37 whole strawberries give you an optimal amount of fisetin. Fisetin is found mostly in the peels of these fruits and vegetables. So it's better to have them with their peels. For example, you can have cucumber, and apples with their peels. Moreover, in case of onion, you can peel them thinly so that you get maximum amount of fisetin. However, if having them raw worries you about pesticides, clean them well before having," says Delhi-based nutritionist and weight management consultant, Kavita Devgan.

Well, now that we know about the anti-ageing benefit of this component, let's take a look at the array of other health benefits fisetin offers.

Prevents inflammation: According to scientists, fisetin has the ability to suppress the production of inflammatory cytokines. Cytokines are cell signalling molecules that play the role of helping cell-to-cell communication in immune response. Fisetin has also been found to be effective in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease.

Inhibits the survival and growth of cancer cells: With its anti-inflammatory properties, fisetin plays an effective role in destroying the capacity of cancer cells to attack your healthy tissues. It obstructs the growth of various types of cancers including melanoma, pancreatic cancer, colon cancer, lung cancer and prostate cancer.

Safeguards your bones: Several studies have found that consumption of fisetin reduces the loss of bone density. Moreover, it stabilises the amount of resveratol in your body by slowing down its breakdown and metabolism in the liver. Resveratrol is a powerful anti-inflammatory polyphenol that is crucial for bone health.

Boosts your brain power: According to a study conducted at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, fisetin has the ability to prevent dementia, alzheimer s disease, and memory loss associated with age, even when genes of Alzheimer s disease are present in the body. It does so by protecting your nerve cells from oxidative damage and by regulating the pathways involved in age-related cognitive degeneration.

Stabilises blood glucose levels: Fisetin does so by increasing insulin sensitivity and regulating carbohydrate metabolism.

Keeps your blood pressure in check: According to a study published in the journal Biomolecules and Therapeutics, fisetin is effective in relaxing contraction of blood vessels triggered by certain drugs. That's how it lowers your blood pressure levels.