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Top five-a-day foods new study says your heart needs
TL;DR
A new study indicates that specific foods, rather than just any five portions of fruits and vegetables, are essential for heart health. Researchers recommend blueberries, plums, blackberries, broad beans, and cherries, along with green tea, to boost flavanol intake.
Key points
- Specific types of fresh food are crucial for heart health.
- Not all five-a-days provide the same nutrients.
- Flavanols are important nutrients often lacking in diets.
- Recommended foods include blueberries, plums, and green tea.
- Study involved 30,000 participants from the US and UK.
Eating very specific types of fresh food each day - not just any five portions of fruit and vegetables - could help keep your heart healthy, a study suggests.
Not all five-a-days are equal, researchers claim, meaning people may not be getting enough important nutrients called flavanols in their diets.
Eating blueberries, plums, blackberries, broad beans and cherries, washed down with green tea, is an ideal way to top them up, they say.
In a study of 30,000 people from the US and UK - even in some who regularly ate five portions of fruit and veg a day - these were often lacking.
Other experts are more cautious, saying it is unclear if boosting flavanol levels would prevent heart problems.
According to new research in the journal Food and Function, fewer than one in five people get enough flavanols (500mg) into their bodies every day.
These antioxidants, found in certain foods, can support heart health, circulation and blood vessel elasticity by reducing inflammation, it says.
The study tracked people's diets and used biomarkers in the participants' urine to monitor intake.
Lead investigator Dr Javier Ottaviani said some simple food switches could "make a real difference" to how much of these beneficial compounds are absorbed.
"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."
Investigator Prof Gunter Kuhnle, from the University of Reading, said while five-a-day was still the right message, we may need to think more carefully about which five.
"Different fruits and vegetables offer very different nutritional benefits beyond vitamins and minerals," he said.
"As our understanding of these compounds grows, there is a real opportunity to make dietary guidance more specific and more effective."
The NHS does not set a recommended daily flavanol level to hit, but around 500mg a day seems to be beneficial for heart health, according to the US Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
Foods with the higher flavanol content per portion, based on the researchers' tests, include:
- plums (one punnet) - 450mg
- cranberries (one punnet) - 300mg
- blackberries (punnet) - 250mg
- green tea (one 250ml cup) - 200mg
- broad beans (a small handful) - 140mg
- cherries (one punnet) - 130mg
- apple (one medium, skin on) -110mg
- strawberries (one punnet) - 90mg
- blueberries (one punnet) - 80mg
- pinto beans (two tablespoons) - 70mg
Q&A
What foods are recommended for heart health according to the study?
The study recommends blueberries, plums, blackberries, broad beans, and cherries, along with green tea.
How many people participated in the heart health study?
The study involved 30,000 participants from the US and UK.
What nutrients are often lacking in people's diets despite eating five portions of fruit and vegetables?
Many people are often lacking important nutrients called flavanols in their diets.
Is there consensus on the impact of flavanols on heart health?
Other experts caution that it is unclear if boosting flavanol levels would prevent heart problems.
