Low total and cardiovascular mortality risk is associated with high intake of dietary flavonoids, particularly flavonones and flavonols.
This study investigated the correlation between the consumption of foods rich in flavonoids and lignans and mortality risk. Researchers at the Catalan Institute of Oncology in Spain tracked the diets and mortality records of more than 40,000 men and women recruited from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) Spain Cohort.
Researchers discovered that regular eating of foods high in flavonoids, especially flavonols and flavonones, decreased total and cardiovascular mortality risk. According to this study, habitual intake of foods loaded with lignans neither increase nor decrease mortality risk. Evidence from this study suggest that increase in the frequency of consumption of dietary flavonoids may help cut down an individual's chances of suffering deaths due to cardiovascular diseases and other causes.