Not All Five-a-Day Are Equal: Study Reveals Most People Miss Heart-Protecting Flavanols Despite Following Dietary Guidelines
核心洞察
A large international study of over 30,000 participants found fewer than 20% of people reach flavanol intake levels linked to reduced cardiovascular mortality, even among those eating five daily servings of fruits and vegetables.
The COSMOS clinical trial previously demonstrated that consuming 500 mg of flavanols (搜索) per day significantly lowered the risk of death from heart disease, yet most individuals fall well short of this target.
Researchers identified plums, cranberries, blackberries, green tea, and broad beans as the richest dietary flavanol sources, emphasizing that specific food choices matter more than total fruit and vegetable quantity.
A major international study has found that fewer than one in five people consume enough flavanols (搜索)—natural plant compounds linked to a lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease (搜索)—even among those who regularly meet the recommended five daily servings of fruits and vegetables. The findings, published on June 8, 2026, in the journal Food and Function, challenge the assumption that simply eating plenty of produce guarantees heart-protective benefits.
The research, led by scientists from the University of Reading, Harvard Medical School, the University of California Davis (搜索), and Mars, Inc. (搜索), analyzed dietary data from more than 30,000 participants across the United Kingdom and the United States using biomarker measurements to assess flavanol intake.
Specific Food Choices Outweigh Total Quantity
Dr. Javier Ottaviani, the study's lead author, emphasized that the types of fruits and vegetables people select are far more consequential than the overall amount consumed. "Flavanols (搜索) can significantly reduce the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease (搜索), but only if you consume enough of them," Ottaviani said. "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 study builds on earlier research, including the COSMOS study—the largest clinical trial to examine flavanols (搜索)—which found that a daily intake of 500 milligrams of flavanols significantly reduced the risk of death from heart disease. The new data indicate that most people remain well below that threshold, even when adhering to standard healthy eating guidance such as the NHS Eatwell Guide.
The Richest Dietary Sources of Flavanols (搜索)
Researchers identified specific foods that deliver the highest flavanol content per serving. Plums topped the list, with approximately 450 mg of flavanols (搜索) per 500-gram punnet. Cranberries provided roughly 300 mg per 250-gram serving, while blackberries offered approximately 250 mg per 200-gram punnet. A single 250-milliliter cup of green tea delivered around 200 mg of flavanols.
Other notable sources included broad beans (approximately 140 mg per 80-gram serving), cherries (approximately 130 mg per 400-gram punnet), apples with skin (approximately 110 mg per medium apple), strawberries (approximately 90 mg per 200-gram punnet), blueberries (approximately 80 mg per 150-gram punnet), and pinto beans (approximately 70 mg per 40-gram dry serving).
Rethinking Dietary Guidelines
The results raise important questions about whether current nutrition recommendations adequately address bioactive compounds like flavanols (搜索). Professor Gunter Kuhnle of the University of Reading noted that while the five-a-day message remains fundamentally sound, greater specificity may be warranted.
"Five-a-day is the right message, but we may need to think more carefully about which five," Kuhnle said. "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 findings underscore that while consuming ample fruits and vegetables remains a cornerstone of a healthy diet, the particular produce choices individuals make may have a significant impact on cardiovascular health outcomes. The researchers suggest that public health messaging could evolve to help people select foods richer in flavanols (搜索), potentially amplifying the heart-protective effects of a plant-rich diet.