The key is flavonoids, which are naturally occurring substances found in many common foods and beverages such as black and green tea, apples, nuts, citrus fruit, berries and more.
They have long been known to have many health benefits and new research at Edith Cowan University shows they may be even better for us than previously thought.
The Heart Foundation supported a study of 881 elderly women (median age of 80), which found they were far less likely to have extensive build-up of abdominal aortic calcification (AAC) if they consumed a high level of flavonoids in their diet.
AAC is the calcification of the abdominal aorta — the largest artery in the body, which supplies oxygenated blood from the heart to the abdominal organs and lower limbs — and is a predictor of cardiovascular risk such as heart attack and stroke.
It has also been found to be a reliable predictor for late-life dementia.
ECU study lead Ben Parmenter said while there were many dietary sources of flavonoids, some had particularly high amounts.
“The main contributors are usually black or green tea, blueberries, strawberries, oranges, red wine, apples, raisins/grapes and dark chocolate,” he said.
Black tea was the study cohort’s main source of total flavonoids.
Compared with respondents who didn’t drink tea, participants who had two-to-six cups a day had 16 to 42 per cent less chance of having extensive AAC.
Though black tea was the main source of flavonoids in the study — likely due to the age of the participants — Mr Parmenter said people could still benefit from flavonoids without putting the kettle on.
“Out of the women who don’t drink black tea, higher total non-tea flavonoid intake also appears to protect against extensive calcification of the arteries,” he said.
“This implies flavonoids from sources other than black tea may be protective against AAC when tea is not consumed.”
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