What eating foods like dark chocolate and berries did to a study group of more than 120,000 people

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A new study reveals what drinking tea and eating dark chocolate and berries did for a group of more than 120,000 people.
Those foods, as well as fruits like grapes, apples, oranges, and beverages like red wine, all contain flavonoids, which are compounds found in many plant products. Flavonoids can 'help your body function more efficiently while protecting it against everyday toxins and stressors,' per Healthline. The study's authors said those who consumed a diverse range of foods containing flavonoids (such as berries, grapes and dark chocolate) 'could lower their risk of developing serious health conditions and have the potential to live longer,' in a news release. The study has been peer-reviewed.
In the study, which was recently published in the journal Nature Food, researchers observed 124,805 participants between the ages of 40 and 70 from the UK Biobank, a large-scale database with biomedical information. The participants were tracked for roughly 10 years and their dietary information was collected using a questionnaire asking them about the frequency in which they ate approximately 200 types of food and 30 beverages.
Dr. Benjamin Parmenter, a research fellow at Edith Cowan University in Australia, was the study's first author and co-lead. He said consuming roughly 500 mg of flavonoids a day or more was linked to a 16 per cent lower risk of 'all-cause mortality' (meaning death from any cause).
It was also linked to a roughly 10 per cent lower risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and respiratory disease.
A study published in 2025 in peer-reviewed food science journal Foods said, as it pertains to human health, 'flavonoids are recognized for their ability to combat aging, mitigate inflammation, safeguard the nervous system, and promote overall well-being.' However, in another study published in 2022 in the Nutrition Journal, researchers 'observed an increased risk of prostate cancer by higher intake of total flavonoids.' In a study published in 2016 in the Journal of Nutritional Science, researchers called for further studies on flavonoids so their usefulness 'in the diet could be improved for better human health.'
'Over 30 different types of flavonoids are regularly consumed in the human diet. These are found in different types of everyday foods,' Parmenter told National Post over email.
A few squares of dark chocolate could be roughly 25 mg of flavonoids. One apple is equal to roughly 100 mg of flavonoids, while one orange is roughly 60 mg. For tea drinkers, one cup of black tea is roughly 300 mg of flavonoids, while the same amount of green tea is roughly 150 mg.
'We observed that consuming a higher quantity and wider diversity of dietary flavonoids, when consumed together, may represent the optimal approach for improving long-term health, compared with increasing either flavonoid quantity or diversity alone,' Parmenter said.
Those with the highest flavonoid diversity were more likely to be female, older, have a lower body mass index (BMI), be more physically active and have a higher education and were less likely to be current smokers, according to the study.
'We also know from lab data and clinical studies that different flavonoids work in different ways, some improve blood pressure, others help with cholesterol levels and decrease inflammation,' said study co-lead professor Aedín Cassidy, per the news release. Cassidy is from the Co-Centre for Sustainable Food Systems and Institute for Global Food Security at Queen's University Belfast.
The findings of the study show how 'simple and achievable dietary dietary swaps' can 'potentially improve health in the long-term,' she said.
'Dietary swaps, such as drinking more tea and eating more berries and apples for example, can help increase the variety and intake of flavonoid-rich foods, and potentially improve health in the long-term,' said Cassidy.
According to researchers, no previous works appear to have reported on the human health benefits of a flavonoid-diverse diet.
'Consequently, replication of our findings in other cohorts and clinical trials will be critical, as will the exploration of flavonoid diversity with other disease outcomes. Interpretation, however, requires careful consideration,' said researchers, in the study.
The study was led by researchers from Queen's University Belfast, Edith Cowan University Perth, and the Medical University of Vienna and Universitat Wien.
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