An
orange a day keeps macular degeneration away
Westmead
Institute for Medical Research
A
new study has shown that people who regularly eat oranges are less likely to
develop macular degeneration than people who do not eat oranges.
Researchers
at the Westmead Institute for Medical Research interviewed more than 2,000
Australian adults aged over 50 and followed them over a 15-year period.
The
research showed that people who ate at least one serving of oranges every day
had more than a 60% reduced risk of developing late macular degeneration 15
years later.
Lead
Researcher Associate Professor Bamini Gopinath from the University of Sydney
said the data showed that flavonoids in oranges appear to help prevent against
the eye disease.
"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," she said.
"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 has 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 some signs of macular degeneration. Age is
the strongest known risk factor and the disease is more likely to occur after
the age of 50.
There
is currently no cure for the disease.
The
research compiled data from the Blue Mountains Eye Study, a benchmark
population-based study that started in 1992.
It
is one of the world's largest epidemiology studies, measuring diet and
lifestyle factors against health outcomes and a range of chronic diseases.
"Our
research aims to understand why eye diseases occur, as well as the genetic and
environmental conditions that may threaten vision," Associate Professor
Gopinath concluded.
