Changes in Intake and Major Food Sources of Flavonoids among U.S. Adults between 1999‐2002 and 2007‐2010

Abstract

Epidemiologic evidence has implicated that dietary flavonoids or flavonoid rich foods are associated with a reduced risk of certain chronic diseases. However, incomplete food composition data and changes in diet over time likely affect the accuracy of flavonoid intake estimates. The current study was conducted to: 1) demonstrate an updated method of combining food consumption data and USDA flavonoid database; 2) estimate the current intake and major food sources of dietary flavonoids of US adults; and 3) determine if dietary intake and sources of flavonoids changed during the past decade. Differences over time in the average daily intake and food sources of flavonoids were estimated using 24‐hour dietary recall data from NHANES 1999‐2002 (n = 8,833) and 2007‐2010 (n = 9,801). The total flavonoid intake of US adults aged 蠅19 years was similar between 1999‐2002 (201.8 mg/d) and 2007‐2010 (199.9 mg/d) with tea being the major food source of flavonoids. However, intake of anthocyanidins increased during this period, which was mostly attributable to greater consumption of berries and wine in 2007‐2010 (p < 0.001) and coincided with per capita food consumption from USDA food availability data. This study demonstrates temporal trends in the dietary sources and intake of flavonoids in the US over the past decade and provides a basis for further research on the health effects of flavonoid consumption.