Adding foods like blueberries, plums, blackberries, broad beans and cherries to your daily diet, especially when paired with green tea, could be a simple way to support heart health, according to new research.

A large international study led by scientists from the University of Reading, Harvard Medical School, the University of California Davis, and Mars, Inc., found that most people are not consuming enough flavanols, natural compounds linked to a lower risk of heart disease.

The researchers discovered that fewer than 20 percent of people reached the flavanol intake level associated with heart health benefits. Even many individuals who regularly ate the recommended five daily servings of fruits and vegetables failed to meet that target.

Published in the journal Food and Function, the study analyzed dietary data from more than 30,000 people in the United Kingdom and the United States using 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 Dr. Javier Ottaviani, the study’s 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.”

The findings suggest that simply increasing fruit and vegetable intake may not be enough. The specific foods people choose seem to play an important role in determining how many flavanols they actually consume.

Earlier research, including the COSMOS study, the largest clinical trial to examine flavanols, found that consuming 500 milligrams of flavanols per day significantly lowered the risk of death from heart disease.

The new study indicates that most people remain well below that level, even when following standard healthy eating recommendations such as the NHS Eatwell Guide.

Researchers identified the following foods as some of the richest dietary sources of flavanols per serving:

• Plums (500 g): ~450 mg of flavanols
• Cranberries (250 g): ~300 mg of flavanols
• Blackberries (200 g): ~250 mg of flavanols
• Green tea (one 250 ml cup): ~200 mg of flavanols
• Broad beans/fava beans (80 g): ~140 mg of flavanols
• Cherries (400g): ~130 mg of flavanols
• Apples with skin (200 g, one medium apple): ~110 mg of flavanols
• Strawberries (200 g): ~90 mg of flavanols
• Blueberries (150 g): ~80 mg of flavanols
• Pinto beans (40 g, 2 tablespoons dry): ~70 mg of flavanols

The results also raise questions about whether current nutrition recommendations could do a better job of helping people obtain beneficial compounds such as flavanols.

“Five-a-day is the right message, but we may need to think more carefully about which five,” said Professor 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 towards understanding what that might look like in practice.”

The researchers say the findings highlight an important point. While eating plenty of fruits and vegetables remains a cornerstone of a healthy diet, the types of produce chosen may have a significant impact on heart health benefits.

For more information, visit www.reading.ac.uk.