These are the foods that can reduce the risk of premature death

Adding more seedless fruits, apples, or cups of tea to your daily routine could be the key to living healthier, longer lives.

That's the message from a new study published in Nature Food, which shows that the amount and variety of flavonoids in our diet may be directly linked to a lower risk of chronic disease and premature death.

Researchers from Queen's University Belfast, Edith Cowan University in Perth, the Medical University of Vienna and Universität Wien, followed 124,805 adults aged 40 to 70 for more than a decade, using data from the UK Biobank.

Their results suggest that people who consumed the highest amount and greatest variety of flavonoid-rich foods had a 6–20 percent lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer, respiratory disease, and neurodegenerative disease, and a lower risk of dying from any cause.

"Daily consumption of about 500 milligrams of flavonoids was associated with a 16 percent reduction in the risk of death from any cause, as well as about a 10 percent lower risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and respiratory disease," the study found." Benjamin Parmenter, a researcher at EdithCowan University and co-author of the study, said in a statement.

"This is approximately the amount of flavonoids found in two cups of tea."

The researchers focused not only on the presence of flavonoids in the participants' diets, but also on the variety of flavonoid subtypes they consumed. This is because flavonoids are already well known to offer a range of health benefits. Foods rich in flavonoids include tea, blueberries, strawberries, oranges, apples, grapes and dark chocolate.

Parmenter emphasized that the variety of flavonoids consumed was even more important than the total amount.

Those who consumed the widest range of flavonoids had an even lower risk of these diseases, even when they consumed the same total amount. The study suggests that it is better to consume a variety of flavonoid-rich foods to achieve adequate intake, rather than relying solely on, for example, tea, because different flavonoids are found in different foods.

The researchers noted that, while the benefits of flavonoid intake are becoming increasingly clear, the mechanisms of why a wider variety offers greater protection remain to be investigated.

However, the data supports the idea that a varied diet, especially with foods rich in flavonoids, may be a more effective approach to reducing the risk of chronic disease than focusing on just one “superfood.”

Human performance scientist and longevity expert Mark Kovacs agrees that flavonoids are essential for protecting health.

He told Newsweek that berries are among the best foods to add to your diet to minimize your risk of chronic disease. He explained that blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries are packed with polyphenols, a category that also includes flavonoids.

"Stoneless fruits protect brain health, reduce oxidative stress, and may slow biological aging," Kovacs said.