🩺 Do you think you are following a healthy diet? You may be missing this heart-protective nutrient
A recent international study indicates that the majority of people do not get enough flavanols, which play an important role in protecting the heart by reducing the risk of heart disease. These findings open new horizons for understanding the importance of choosing specific types of fruits and vegetables in the daily diet to better promote heart health.
🧬 What are flavanols and why do they matter to the heart?
Flavanols are natural compounds belonging to the flavonoid group, found especially in some fruits, vegetables, and green tea. These compounds are associated with reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease through several biological mechanisms.
Previous studies, such as the COSMOS trial, showed that consuming 500 milligrams daily of flavanols can significantly reduce death rates caused by heart disease.
🧠 International study findings: despite eating fruit, flavanols do not reach the level of protection needed
Research teams from leading universities such as the University of Reading, Harvard Medical School, and the University of California, Davis led a study involving more than 30,000 participants in the United Kingdom and the United States.
The researchers used biomarker measurements to track how much flavanols individuals received each day. They found that fewer than 20% of participants reached the flavanol level associated with heart health benefits. This applies even to many who consume the recommended servings of fruit and vegetables.
This means that simply eating five servings a day of vegetables and fruit does not guarantee that you will get enough flavanols; choosing specific types of foods plays a key role.
🌱 The best dietary sources of flavanols
The study identified a group of flavanol-rich foods that can be included in the diet to promote heart health, including:
- Plums (500 grams): contain about 450 milligrams of flavanols.
- Cranberries (250 grams): provide about 300 milligrams.
- Blackberries (200 grams): contain around 250 milligrams.
- Green tea (250 ml cup): contains nearly 200 milligrams.
- White beans (80 grams): provide about 140 milligrams.
- Cherries (400 grams): contain 130 milligrams.
- Apples with the skin (200 grams): provide about 110 milligrams.
- Strawberries (200 grams): contain 90 milligrams.
- Blueberries (150 grams): around 80 milligrams.
- Pinto beans (40 grams): about 70 milligrams.
Incorporating these foods into the daily diet, especially when consuming them alongside supplements such as green tea, can make a difference in the amount of flavanols the body receives.
🧪 Should current dietary recommendations be updated?
The researchers indicate that the health message “eat five servings of fruits and vegetables daily” is a correct message, but it may not be sufficient as guidance for people to achieve the maximum benefit from nutrients such as flavanols.
Professor Gunter Kuhnle from the University of Reading explains that dietary guidelines need to take into account the qualitative differences between sources of fruits and vegetables. Some fruits, despite being abundant, do not contain flavanols in the same amount as other choices provide.
Therefore, focusing on certain types of flavanol-rich foods can help produce clearer and more effective dietary recommendations that support heart health.
🩺 Health summary
- Flavanols are natural compounds that promote heart health and significantly reduce the risks of heart disease when consumed in sufficient amounts.
- Less than 20% of participants in the large study consumed the daily amount of flavanols needed.
- Diversity and quality in choosing fruits and vegetables matter more than simply the quantity consumed.
- Plums, berries, green tea, and cherries are among the best known sources of flavanols.
- There is a need to update and improve dietary recommendations to guide people toward eating these foods more specifically.
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