Dietary Plant Pigments Linked to Lower Mortality

A Journal of Nutrition study of American adults links greater quantity and variety of plant pigments to reduced risk of death.

Updated on Nov. 8, 2026 in Nutrition

Photograph of ripe berries, apple halves, pears, loose tea leaves, and dark chocolate shavings arranged on a wooden table beside a glass teacup. — Researchers in the Journal of Nutrition linked higher intake and greater variety of plant pigments among 4,596 American adults to a 37% lower risk of death. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Would you deliberately eat a wider variety of fruits, vegetables and plant foods?

Researchers published a study in the Journal of Nutrition associating higher intake and greater diversity of dietary plant pigments with lower all-cause mortality among 4,596 American adults. Participants in the highest pigment consumption fifth had a 37% lower relative mortality hazard than those in the lowest fifth.

Why it matters

The findings add to a growing body of research suggesting that the variety of plant foods in the diet may matter alongside total intake. For U.S. adults, the results point toward everyday foods such as tea, berries and fruit as part of a broader pattern associated with longer survival.

The analysis covered 4,596 American adults followed for an average of 7.5 years, during which 717 participants died, with the highest pigment consumption fifth showing an adjusted hazard ratio of 0.63 versus the lowest. The study is observational, and the causal role of individual pigments remains unestablished.

The players

Journal of Nutrition

A peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Elsevier that covers nutritional science and human health research.

Health and Retirement Study

A longitudinal survey of older Americans conducted at the University of Michigan, widely used to study aging, health and mortality.

The details

Researchers measured pigment diversity using Shannon entropy and Hill's effective numbers, analyzing dietary data alongside mortality records. Proanthocyanidins emerged as a compound group linked to lower mortality, with principal sources including tea, apples, pears, berries, peaches, plums and dark chocolate.

Nov. 3, 2026: The Journal of Nutrition publishes the pigment and mortality study.
2024: The Journal of Nutrition publishes a separate berry and flavonoid mortality study.

Health Landscape

The U.S. study extends the June 2025 UK Biobank analysis of 124,805 participants, which linked flavonoid diversity to a 6% to 20% lower risk of mortality. Together, the two cohorts point to dietary diversity as a consistent signal in population nutrition research.

Adults who eat a wider range of colorful plant foods, including tea, berries, fruit and dark chocolate, may be consuming more of the pigments associated with lower mortality in this study. The findings are observational, so they suggest a dietary pattern rather than a guaranteed benefit from any single food.

The takeaway

Eating a broader variety of colorful plant foods appears to be a practical habit associated with better long-term survival. Focusing on variety across the week may be more useful than concentrating on any single food.