You've heard it a million and one times...an apple a day keeps the doctor away.

Well now we may know a little bit better why this old adage is true.

Apples are a rich source of a potent flavonoid called quercetin. It is a pigment with antioxidant properties and found in not only apples, but red wine, red grapes, cherries, and raspberries.

Notice that all of these fruits have dark pigment. You've probably heard by now that red wine, for example, is healthier than white wine. This is in part due to the higher flavonoid content.

However, quercetin can also be found in non-red pigmented fruits and veggies such as broccoli, a variety of leafy greens, citrus fruits, and more.

Visit the page benefits of quercetin to learn about two other excellent sources of this flavonoid.

Health Benefits

Quercetin has been ascribed a wide range of benefits. Although a lot of this research is in its preliminary phases, some of the possible health benefits include:

• neutralizing free radicals before they damage cells because of its antioxidant properties
• helping combat prostate cancer
• alleviatie bruising, varicose veins, and improve fragile capillaries
• enhancing cardiovascular health by countering the oxidation of bad cholesterol
• improve lung functioning and a host of respiratory diseases (ex: bronchitis, asthma, emphysema, etc)

Quercetin is not the only flavonoid known to have benefits. Others worthy of mention are: hesperidin and rutin. All three are often combined together in quality nutritional supplements for synergistic effects.

Quercetin and Bromelain

Quercetin and bromelain are often searched for together too.

Bromelain is a beneficial digestive enzyme derived from pineapple.

Other beneficial enzymes in this class include: lipase and protease, which are often combined together in quality supplement.

Precautions and Side Effects

Various studies with quercetin have not shown any side effects to date. However, research into quercetin is in its early stages so if you are considering using this supplement do not use mega-doses.

Efficacy and safety for such dosages has not yet been established.

Always talk to your doctor before beginning supplementation of any kind.

Now that you're armed with this information, your next step is to learn how to choose a quality quercetin supplement.

This is important because the supplement market is unregulated and many products have been shown to not even contain what's stated on the label.