Butterfly pea flower helps lose weight and prevent cancer? Rich in antioxidant anthocyanins, 3 tips for consumption

There are a wide variety of weight loss and cancer prevention products on the market. There is a rumor online that "Butterfly Pea Flower can help you lose weight and prevent cancer!" which has attracted great attention from the public. Nutritionists say that there is currently no scientific evidence to prove that butterfly pea flowers have slimming and cancer prevention effects, but what is certain is that butterfly pea flowers contain anti-inflammatory and antioxidant substances, and drinking them as tea can assist in maintaining health.

Chen Bingchen, a nutritionist at Changhua Christian Hospital, pointed out that butterfly pea (Clitoria ternatea) is native to tropical and subtropical countries. Its main feature is the blue petals that resemble butterflies. It is often used as a natural food coloring. Different pH levels can be used to create gradient butterfly pea flowers, making it one of the most popular beverages in recent years.

Butterfly pea flower is rich in flavonols and anthocyanins

In traditional Ayurvedic medicine, butterfly pea flowers are believed to have the functions of enhancing memory and cognitive abilities, relieving stress, calming emotions, resisting anxiety, anti-inflammatory, and relaxing vascular smooth muscles. Recent studies have also found that butterfly pea flowers are rich in triterpenoids, flavonols, and anthocyanins, and have biological activities such as inhibiting platelet aggregation, promoting vasodilation, improving diabetes, and anti-oxidation.

At the same time, after analyzing the components of butterfly pea petals, it was found that in the mineral content analysis, the calcium, magnesium and potassium ions in butterfly pea petals were relatively high. In terms of other antioxidant substances, butterfly pea flowers are rich in active substances such as anthocyanins (Ternatin Anthocyanins), quercetin glycosides (Quercetin Glycosides), inositol (mome inositol), etc., which have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, and even have the potential to be developed into anti-cancer products.

Butterfly pea flower has antioxidant properties. 3 tips for eating

A journal published this year conducted a randomized controlled trial on healthy subjects who took butterfly pea flower extract powder and sucrose to observe the changes in blood sugar and antioxidant capacity in plasma. The results showed that the antioxidant capacity in plasma of subjects who took 50 grams of sucrose solution and butterfly pea flower extract powder at the same time was significantly higher than that of the group who took 50 grams of sucrose alone, and the changes in insulin concentration were also more stable.

In addition, the antioxidant capacity of butterfly pea flower is certain, but its mechanism of regulating insulin is still unclear. Nutritionist Chen Bingchen emphasized that the bright blue color of butterfly pea flowers comes from the fact that they contain 10 times more anthocyanins than other plants. They are not only anti-inflammatory and promote blood circulation, but also have the effect of lowering blood pressure. However, there are three small tips to keep in mind:

1. A large amount of anthocyanins will inhibit the aggregation function of platelets. Patients who are preparing for surgery, taking anticoagulants and pregnant women should avoid drinking it.

2. Anthocyanins are sensitive to temperature, so you must pay attention to the brewing temperature when brewing. Brewing with water temperature below 60 degrees C can avoid the loss of anthocyanin nutrients.

3. After picking butterfly pea flowers, they should be stored in a dry, dark environment to avoid deterioration.

Butterfly pea flower drinks contain sugar, so don't drink too much to prevent blood sugar from getting out of control

Nutritionist Chen Bingchen also reminded that since butterfly pea flowers have no taste, if people buy butterfly pea flower drinks that have lemon added to make them purple, they should pay attention to whether there is additional fructose or sucrose added to them. If you are trying to lose weight, you must limit the sugar content in your tea to avoid consuming too many calories. In addition, when diabetic patients drink butterfly pea flowers, it is recommended that they buy sugar-free ones and then add sweeteners themselves to avoid affecting blood sugar control.

【Butterfly Pea Flower Lemon Drink】

Ingredients: (for 1 person), 2-3 butterfly pea flowers, half a lemon, 200ml 60°C hot water, 5ml honey, and appropriate amount of ice cubes.

practice:

• 1. Soak butterfly pea flowers in hot water until anthocyanins are released, then remove the petals.

• 2. Take an empty glass and pour honey into it as the bottom layer.

• 3. Squeeze lemon juice into the glass in step 2.

• 4. Pour ice cubes into the glass in step 2.

• 5. Slowly pour the brewed butterfly pea tea along the edge of the cup (be careful not to pour too fast to avoid destroying the layers).