Victoria Beckham may be considered too slim, but she could outlive all of us, if recent research is to be believed. Recently she declared that she loves nothing more than a couple of glasses of red wine, followed by strawberries. Had she added chocolate, she would have been spot-on.

Research on 34,000 women, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, reveals that these are some of the top “antiageing” foods. Those who consumed them regularly were less likely than others to die from coronary heart or coronary vascular disease – a finding that the researchers suggested was due to a family of “supernutrients” called flavonoids.

Back in the 1980s, following the F-Plan diet meant chomping your way through endless bowls of fibre, such as All-Bran and baked potatoes. Today it means tucking into flavonoid-rich foods, which include strawberries, chocolate, apples, pears, onions, broccoli, tomatoes and cups of tea.

So far more than 4,000 flavonoids have been discovered in foods made from edible plants. They help to protect the health, longevity and reproduction of growing plants, and are responsible for (among many other things) the red and blue colours of berries, the bold “bite” of grapefruit and the astringency of tea. They have a huge variety of effects on the human body, relaxing blood vessels, reducing the stickiness of blood and helping to prevent “bad” cholesterol from sticking to artery walls. They may help to hold back the outward signs of ageing, too.

Strawberries
One reason for wrinkles is that the fibres that give our skin its elasticity and “bounce” – collagen and elastin – are damaged over the years by sunlight, pollution and other factors. Strawberries and raspberries contain flavonoids that help to slow down this process, and lots of vitamin C, which also helps to keep skin fibres in good condition. Not only that, but the particular cocktail of supernutrients in strawberries may even help to slow ageing in our brains, so we feel younger, too.

Chocolate
The flavonoids in chocolate seem to have a mild blood-thinning effect, helping the circulation. This is good for our hearts and also means that more nutrients can reach the skin, hair follicles and nail beds. Chocolate also gives us some copper, which is needed to make the skin pigments that help to reduce sun damage and keep hair from going grey. It seems that you can obtain the good effects of flavonoids by regularly eating a few squares of chocolate that contains 70 per cent cocoa.

Red wine
Both red wine and red grape juice are full of hundreds of antioxidants, including flavonoids, which work together to help keep our blood vessels in great shape and blood pressure in check. This could help to reduce the risk of little broken veins under our skin and in our eyes. Remember, though, that women are advised to drink no more than 1-2 units of alcohol a day, and that one unit is equivalent to a 125ml glass of wine that is 9 per cent alcohol by volume.

Tea
While certain flavonoids in “normal” black tea seem to help lower cholesterol, others found in green tea apparently help to prevent tooth decay and gum problems.

Beans and lentils
Chickpeas, lentils, pinto, haricot and – particularly – soya beans contain a particular type of flavonoid known as isoflavones. You can use canned beans if you don’t fancy soaking and cooking dried ones. Not only do isoflavones seem to help to protect skin from damage, but they also mimic oestrogen, the hormone that we need to maintain hydration and moisture in our skin.

Apples
The flavonoids in apples sit just under the skin (so don’t peel the fruit). They seem to help to fight inflammation, which is a major factor in ageing, and the pectin they contain helps to keep blood sugar levels steady – another factor in skin ageing.

Oranges and grapefruit
These and other citrus fruits give us hesperetin, a flavonoid that helps to regenerate vitamin C, allowing it to play its part in deactivating free radicals produced through exposure to ultraviolet light and pollutants.

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