One in Five Consume Enough Flavanols for Heart-Protective Benefits: Study

A large, international study from the University of Reading, Harvard Medical School, University of California Davis, and Mars Inc. found that choosing the right vegetables and fruits, rather than simply eating more of them, may be more important for supporting cardiovascular health, as just under 20% of people globaly consume enough heart-protective flavanols. The findings were published in Food and Function.

Choices like blackberries, plums, apples, fava beans, cherries, and green tea can dramatically increase flavanol intake, the authors noted. Even individuals who ate the recommended five daily servings of fruits and vegetables often failed to meet the target flavanol intake associated with lowered heart disease risk.

The researchers analyzed dietary data from more than 30,000 people in the United Kingdom and the United States, along with biomarker measurements, to assess flavanol intake.

“Flavanols can significantly reduce the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, but only if you consume enough of them,” said Javier Ottaviani, PhD, lead author. “Most people assume that eating plenty of fruit and vegetables covers this, but what this research shows is that the specific choices you make matter far more than the total amount. Including a handful of blackberries, a whole apple, or having a cup of green tea alongside your meal could make a real difference to how much of these beneficial compounds you actually consume and absorb from the diet.”

Earlier research, including the COSMOS study, the largest clinical trial examining flavanols, concludes that 500 mg of flavanols per day significantly lowers the risk of heart disease mortality. Most people, however, remain well below that level, even when following standard healthy eating recommendations. Therefore, the results raise questions about whether nutrition recommendations can do a better job helping people obtain certain beneficial compounds.

The authors identified the following foods as some of the riches sources of dietary flavanols per serving:

• Plums (500g, roughly one punnet): ~450mg of flavanols
• Cranberries (250g, roughly one punnet): ~300mg of flavanols
• Blackberries (200g, roughly one punnet): ~250mg of flavanols
• Green tea (one 250ml cup): ~200mg of flavanols
• Broad beans/fava beans (80g, a small handful): ~140mg of flavanols
• Cherries (400g, roughly one punnet): ~130mg of flavanols
• Apples with skin (200g, one medium apple): ~110mg of flavanols
• Strawberries (200g, roughly one punnet): ~90mg of flavanols
• Blueberries (150g, roughly one punnet): ~80mg of flavanols
• Pinto beans (40g, two tablespoons dry): ~70mg of flavanols

“Five-a-day is the right message, but we may need to think more carefully about which five,” said Gunter Kuhnle of the University of Reading. “Different fruits and vegetables offer very different nutritional benefits beyond vitamins and minerals, and as our understanding of these compounds grows, there is a real opportunity to make dietary guidance more specific and more effective. This research is a step toward understanding what that might look like in practice.”