If you’re really worried about your flavon-3-ols, there’s a better solution than giving up bananas

OK, but what if you really were looking forward to getting lots of good antioxidants in that fruit smoothie? After all, flavon-3-ols like (-)-epicatechin are so good for us that the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) issued a guideline for them, even though flavon-3-ols are a non-essential nutrient. The guideline tells us that there are heath benefits to be gained by consuming at least 400 milligrams of flavon-3-ols per day. If you want to get more flavon-3-ols, the best thing you can do is drink some tea. You can hit that 400-milligram recommendation with just 10 ounces of green tea (two small cups), or 12 ounces of black tea.

There are flavon-3-ols in berries, but in lesser amounts; it would take 6 cups of blackberries or 40 cups of blueberries to provide the same amount as those two cups of green tea. By the way, the same AND paper that recommended 400 milligrams of flavon-3-ols says it’s best not to get this nutrient from supplements. That’s because the most common supplements to provide it are green tea extracts, and green tea extracts can cause stomach upset and even be toxic to your liver in large amounts.