We often hear advice to “eat healthy,” but it’s not always clear what that means in everyday life. A growing number of studies now show that certain foods rich in flavan-3-ols—a group of natural plant compounds—can improve heart health, especially by helping to lower blood pressure.
Flavan-3-ols are found in many common foods like green and black tea, dark chocolate, cocoa powder, apples, grapes, berries, and pears. They’re responsible for the slightly bitter taste in tea and dark chocolate and also help protect plants from damage.
New research looked at 145 clinical trials involving over 5,200 people and found that flavan-3-ol-rich foods improved blood pressure and helped blood vessels work better. One large trial, the COSMOS study, even found that cocoa flavanols lowered deaths from heart disease by 27%.
To get benefits, you don’t need anything fancy—just small daily changes. For example, drink two to three cups of tea, eat one to two servings of dark chocolate or cocoa, and have a couple of apples or a handful of berries. Swapping a sugary snack for an apple and some chocolate or drinking an extra cup of tea could help your heart over time.
However, more research is needed, especially for people with diabetes. It’s also important to see how these compounds interact with medications.
Still, flavan-3-ol-rich foods are a simple, affordable way to support heart health. While they can’t replace medicines entirely, they may give your heart a healthy boost—without relying on expensive supplements or superfoods.
