How Heart-Smart Is Your Diet?

Eight questions. Find out if your daily food choices are actually protecting your heart — or leaving it exposed.

Which berry packs the most flavanols per serving?

• Blueberries — Blueberries are good — about 80 mg of flavanols per serving — but cranberries and blackberries beat them by a wide margin.
• Strawberries — Strawberries offer about 90 mg per serving, which is solid but not the leader. Cranberries deliver roughly 3× more.
• Cranberries — Correct! Cranberries deliver about 300 mg of flavanols per serving — the highest of any berry on the University of Reading's list.
• Blackberries — Blackberries are second among berries at about 250 mg per serving — an excellent choice, just edged out by cranberries.

How often do you eat fresh fruit in a typical day?

• Two or more servings — Strong habit. The American Heart Association links two daily fruit servings to longer lifespans — but the type of fruit matters too.
• Once a day — You're close to the target. Swapping in a higher-flavanol option like plums or cherries would amplify the benefit significantly.
• A few times a week — Most Americans fall here. Even adding one flavanol-rich fruit per day — an apple with skin, for example — can make a measurable difference.
• Rarely or never — This is where cardiovascular risk climbs. Research consistently shows that low fruit intake is one of the most correctable diet gaps for heart health.

True or false: Eating an apple without the skin gives you the same heart benefit.

• True — the flesh is what matters — False. The skin of an apple is where most flavanols concentrate. Peeling it removes a significant portion of the heart-protective compounds.
• False — the skin is key — Exactly right. An apple with skin delivers about 110 mg of flavanols per serving. Peel it and you lose much of that benefit.

Which of these beverages ranks in the top 10 for flavanol content?

• Black coffee — Coffee has antioxidants, but flavanols aren't its strong suit. Green tea is the beverage that made the top-10 list — at about 200 mg per cup.
• Green tea — Correct. One 250 ml cup of green tea delivers about 200 mg of flavanols — more than a full serving of cherries or blueberries.
• Orange juice — Orange juice is high in vitamin C but contains very few flavanols. Whole citrus fruit performs better than the juice.
• Red wine — Red wine contains some flavanols, but it didn't rank in the top 10. Green tea is the clear beverage winner on this list.

Do you eat any beans or legumes in a typical week?

• Yes, multiple times a week — Great habit. Both pinto beans and broad beans (fava beans) appear on the top-10 flavanol list — legumes are an underrated heart food.
• Once a week or so — You're getting some benefit. Even two tablespoons of dried pinto beans provide about 70 mg of flavanols — easy to work into soups, salads, or rice dishes.
• Rarely — Beans are one of the most affordable and overlooked heart foods. Pinto and fava beans made the top-10 flavanol list — worth adding to your rotation.
• Never — not a fan — No judgment — but this is a gap worth closing. Even small amounts of pinto beans added to chili, tacos, or soup deliver meaningful flavanol benefits.

Which fruit topped the University of Reading's flavanol ranking?

• Cherries — Cherries are in the top 10 at about 130 mg per serving — a great choice, but they rank sixth. Plums are the surprising frontrunner.
• Plums — Correct! Plums ranked first with about 450 mg of flavanols per serving — nearly double the second-place cranberry. Most Americans overlook them entirely.
• Blueberries — Blueberries are well-marketed as superfoods, but they ranked 9th on this list at 80 mg per serving. Plums deliver more than five times that.
• Apples — Apples with skin are solid at 110 mg per serving and ranked 7th — impressive for an everyday, affordable fruit. But plums lead the list.

The 'five-a-day' recommendation was designed to:

• Ensure specific flavanol intake — Not quite. The five-a-day message was a broad guideline to increase overall produce consumption — not calibrated to specific compounds like flavanols.
• Maximize vitamin C specifically — Vitamins are part of the picture, but the five-a-day guideline was about getting Americans to eat more produce generally — the nuance of which foods came later.
• Increase overall fruit and vegetable consumption — Correct. The guideline was always a broad nudge, not a precision prescription. New research suggests we now need more specific guidance about which five.
• Replace processed foods — That's a benefit, but not the original goal. Research now shows the 'right five' matter far more than five of any random fruit or vegetable.

How many servings of fruits and vegetables do you typically eat in a day?

• Five or more — You're hitting the target — now the research says focus on which five. Swapping even one serving for a higher-flavanol option can significantly boost protection.
• Three to four — You're close. The American Heart Association links five daily servings to lower cardiovascular risk — and choosing flavanol-rich options amplifies that benefit.
• One to two — Most Americans are in this range, and it's where heart risk starts to climb. Even small, targeted additions from the top-10 list can make a measurable difference.
• Less than one — This is a significant gap — and one of the most correctable risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Start with one piece of fruit at breakfast and go from there.

The quiz results above reflect a real knowledge gap that researchers say has serious consequences. Most Americans believe they're doing enough if they hit five servings of anything — a banana here, some iceberg lettuce there. But the University of Reading study, which tracked 30,000 people on two continents, found that people who consumed high-flavanol foods specifically had dramatically lower rates of dying from cardiovascular disease.

Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States. And while the five-a-day message has existed for decades, researchers now say it lacks the precision that could make it truly lifesaving. 'Flavanols can significantly reduce the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, but only if you consume enough of them,' said Javier Ottaviani, the study's lead author.

The ranking surprised even nutrition researchers. Plums — long overshadowed by blueberries in the 'superfood' conversation — came out on top by a wide margin, delivering roughly 450 mg of flavanols per punnet. Cranberries and blackberries followed, while familiar names like blueberries landed near the bottom of the top 10 at just 80 mg per serving.

What makes flavanols unique is their concentration in specific parts of the plant. In apples, for example, they're loaded into the skin — which means peeling the fruit removes much of the heart benefit. In beans, they're embedded in the seed coat. These aren't compounds that get added to food; they're either there naturally, or they're not.

The Top 10 Flavanol Foods: How They Stack Up

Five-a-day is the right message, but we may need to think more carefully about which five.Gunter Kuhnle, Professor of Nutrition, University of Reading

The research adds weight to a 2021 American Heart Association study that connected two servings of fruit and three servings of vegetables daily to longer lifespans. That study noted that most Americans fall well short of even the general five-a-day guideline — making the flavanol findings both urgent and hopeful. The upside: if you're already eating fruit, swapping in higher-flavanol options requires almost no extra effort.

A bowl of cranberries instead of grapes. Plums instead of peaches. A cup of green tea instead of a second coffee. These are small pivots with potentially significant long-term payoffs — particularly for the tens of millions of Americans already at elevated cardiovascular risk.

Swap Your Five-a-Day for More Heart Power

Typical American Choices

• ~40 mg Grapes (1 cup) Low flavanol content
• ~30 mg Peach (1 medium) Moderate flavanol content
• ~25 mg Banana (1 medium) Very low flavanols
• Iceberg lettuce — nearly zero flavanols
• Peeled apple — loses most of its flavanol benefit

Higher-Flavanol Alternatives

• ~300 mg Cranberries (1 punnet) 7× more flavanols than grapes
• ~450 mg Plums (1 punnet) The top-ranked food on the list
• ~250 mg Blackberries (1 punnet) Easy swap at any grocery store
• Fava or pinto beans — add to soups, tacos, or rice
• Apple with skin on — the skin is where it counts

How to Actually Start Eating for Your Heart

1. Add one plum or a handful of cranberries this week — You don't need to overhaul your diet. Start with the single highest-flavanol swap you can make — plums are inexpensive and available year-round in many stores.
2. Keep the skin on your apples — This is the easiest zero-cost change on the list. The apple's skin delivers most of its 110 mg of flavanols. Wash it well and eat it whole.
3. Switch one coffee to green tea — A single 250ml cup of green tea provides about 200 mg of flavanols — more than a full serving of cherries. Use it to replace your afternoon coffee.
4. Add beans to two meals a week — Pinto and fava beans both made the top-10 list. Two tablespoons of dried pinto beans in chili, soup, or a taco delivers about 70 mg of flavanols with almost no prep.
5. Talk to your doctor about your cardiovascular risk — Diet is one factor — blood pressure, cholesterol, family history, and activity level all play a role. Ask your provider how flavanol-rich foods fit into your overall heart health plan.

Common Heart-Food Myths — Set Straight

Blueberries are the best fruit for your heart.

Verdict: mixed

Blueberries are genuinely healthy, but they rank 9th on the University of Reading's flavanol list with about 80 mg per serving. Plums deliver more than five times that amount — 450 mg — yet rarely get the superfood marketing treatment.

Any five servings of fruits and vegetables will protect your heart equally.

Verdict: false

The five-a-day guideline was always a broad behavioral nudge, not a precision prescription. The new research shows that the specific foods you choose matter far more than the raw count — flavanol content varies enormously across produce.

Beans are a legume, not a fruit or vegetable, so they don't count.

Verdict: false

Both pinto beans and broad beans (fava beans) ranked in the top 10 for flavanol content per serving. Legumes are a well-established part of heart-healthy dietary guidance, including the American Heart Association's recommendations.

You need expensive supplements to get enough flavanols.

Verdict: false

Every food on the University of Reading's top-10 list is a whole food available at any grocery store, most for under $5 per serving. Plums, cranberries, green tea, and pinto beans are among the most affordable items in the produce aisle.

The Science Behind Flavanols — What Are They?

Flavanols are a class of naturally occurring plant compounds found primarily in fruits, vegetables, tea, and legumes. They belong to the broader family of flavonoids — a group of phytonutrients that scientists have studied for decades in connection with cardiovascular health.

Unlike vitamins, flavanols aren't lost through basic cooking at moderate temperatures, though they are concentrated in specific parts of the plant — like apple skin, the seed coats of beans, and the leaves used to brew green tea. Processing and peeling can significantly reduce their concentration.

The University of Reading study, which drew on health data from 30,000 participants in the U.S. and U.K., is among the largest population-level analyses of flavanol intake and cardiovascular outcomes. Researchers cross-referenced dietary records with mortality data to identify which specific foods were associated with lower rates of death from heart disease — not just which foods were generally 'healthy.'

Know Your Heart Risk — Take Action This Week

• American Heart Association: Heart-Healthy Eating: Official dietary guidelines, recipe ideas, and tools for reducing your cardiovascular risk through food choices.
• Schedule a Heart Health Check: Blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar screenings can reveal risk factors you may not feel. Many community clinics and pharmacies offer free or low-cost screenings.
• The Shopping List: Top 5 Easiest Swaps: Plums, cranberries, blackberries, green tea, apples (with skin). Five items. Available at every major grocery store. Start there.

The University of Reading findings don't invalidate decades of nutrition advice — they refine it. The five-a-day message worked as a blunt instrument to get Americans eating more produce in an era when most people ate almost none. Now, researchers say we have enough evidence to make that guidance sharper and more actionable.

Heart disease will kill more Americans this year than any other single cause. The foods on this list won't cure it — but they're the kind of specific, evidence-backed choices that compound over years and decades into real protection. A plum today, a cup of green tea tomorrow, pinto beans in Friday's soup. The science now tells us that those choices are not created equal — and knowing the difference is half the battle.

Sources & References

• Primary source: health — Justin Boggs
• University of Reading — Javier Ottaviani et al. — Study of 30,000 U.S. and U.K. participants linking dietary flavanol intake to cardiovascular mortality rates; source of the top-10 flavanol food rankings and per-serving mg data.
• American Heart Association — Dong D. Wang et al. (2021) — Study linking two daily fruit servings and three vegetable servings to reduced cardiovascular risk and longer lifespans; source of the five-a-day context and AHA dietary guidance.
• American Heart Association — Official heart-healthy eating guidelines and cardiovascular screening recommendations.
• U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — Cardiovascular disease as the leading cause of death in the United States; fruit and vegetable consumption data among American adults.