An orange a day keeps optom away
A NEW study out of the Westmead Institute for Medical Research has found that eating at least one serving of oranges every day can reduce a person’s risk for developing late macular degeneration by more than 60 per cent.
Macular degeneration is the leading cause of legal blindness in Australia, responsible for 50 per cent of all cases of blindness. Generally, adopting a healthy lifestyle and regular eye testing has been shown to reduce the risk of losing sight from this disease, but this is the first time a specific ingredient has been pinpointed.
Researchers at the Westmead Institute for Medical Research interviewed more than 2000 Australian adults aged over 50 and followed them over a 15-year period.
“Essentially we found that people who eat at least one serve of orange every day have a reduced risk of developing macular degeneration compared with people who never eat oranges,” said lead researcher Associate Professor Bamini Gopinath, from the University of Sydney.
“Even eating an orange once a week seems to offer significant benefits. The data shows that flavonoids found in oranges appear to help protect against the disease.”
Associate Professor Gopinath said that until now most research had focused on the effects of common nutrients such as vitamins C, E and A on the eyes.
“Our research is different because we focused on the relationship between flavonoids and macular degeneration. Flavonoids are powerful antioxidants found in almost all fruits and vegetables, and they have important anti-inflammatory benefits for the immune system. We examined common foods that contain flavonoids such as tea, apples, red wine and oranges. Significantly, the data did not show a relationship between other food sources protecting the eyes against the disease,” she said.
One in seven Australians over 50 have signs of macular degeneration. Age is the strongest known risk factor and the disease is more likely to occur after 50. www.bodyandsoul.com.au