Which fruits are best to eat for better heart health?

By Stephen Beech

Not all "five-a-day" fruit and vegetable portions are equal — with plums, cranberries and blackberries best for heart health, according to new research.

Those three fruits along with broad beans and cherries washed down with green tea may be the best way to a healthier heart, say scientists.

A major study by British and American researchers found that fewer than one in five people reached the intake of vital nutrients called flavanols that has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease — even including those who regularly ate five portions of fruit and vegetables a day.

Researchers tracked the diets of more than 30,000 participants across the U.K. and United States using biomarker measurements.

Lead author Javier Ottaviani said: "Flavanols can significantly reduce the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, but only if you consume enough of them.

"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."

Ottaviani, of the University of California, Davis, added: "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."

Previous research, including the largest clinical trial of flavanols — known as the COSMOS study — found that a daily intake of 500mg of flavanols "significantly" reduced the risk of dying from heart disease.

But the new study, published in the journal Food and Function, found that most people fall well short of that level, even when following standard healthy eating guidance, such as the NHS Eatwell Guide.

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Which fruits are best to eat for better heart health?

The research team say their findings raise wider questions about whether current dietary recommendations around fruit and vegetable consumption could be made more effective.

They compiled a list of the top 10 foods with the highest flavanol content per portion, topped by plums, cranberries and blackberries.

Gunter Kuhnle said: "Five-a-day is the right message, but we may need to think more carefully about which five.

"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."

Kuhnle, of the University of Reading, added: "This research is a step towards understanding what that might look like in practice."

Top 10 foods with the highest flavanol content per portion

1. Plums (500g, roughly one punnet): approximately 450mg of flavanols
2. Cranberries (250g, roughly one punnet): approximately 300mg of flavanols
3. Blackberries (200g, roughly one punnet): approximately 250mg of flavanols
4. Green tea (one 250ml cup): approximately 200mg of flavanols
5. Broad beans/fava beans (80g, a small handful): approximately 140mg of flavanols
6. Cherries (400g, roughly one punnet): approximately 130mg of flavanols
7. Apples with skin (200g, one medium apple): approximately 110mg of flavanols
8. Strawberries (200g, roughly one punnet): approximately 90mg of flavanols
9. Blueberries (150g, roughly one punnet): approximately 80mg of flavanols
10. Pinto beans (40g, two tablespoons dry): approximately 70mg of flavanols

Source: Food and Function