Eating leafy greens could help prevent macular degeneration
Westmead Institute for Medical
Research
Researchers at the Westmead
Institute for Medical Research interviewed more than 2,000 Australian adults
aged over 49 and followed them over a 15-year period.
Eating vegetable nitrates, found
mainly in green leafy vegetables and beetroot, could help reduce your risk of
developing early-stage age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
The research showed that people who
ate between 100 to 142 mgs of vegetable nitrates each day had a 35% lower risk
of developing early AMD than people who ate less than 69mgs of vegetable
nitrates each day.
Lead Researcher Associate Professor Bamini Gopinath from the Westmead Institute and the University of Sydney said the link between vegetable nitrates and macular degeneration could have important implications.
“This is the first time the effects
of dietary nitrates on macular degeneration risk has been measured.
“Essentially we found that people
who ate 100 to 142 mgs of vegetable nitrates every day had a reduced risk of
developing early signs of macular degeneration compared with people who ate
fewer nitrates.
“If our findings are confirmed,
incorporating a range of foods rich in dietary nitrates – like green leafy
vegetables and beetroot – could be a simple strategy to reduce the risk of
early macular degeneration,” Associate Professor Gopinath said.
Incorporating a range of foods rich
in dietary nitrates – like green leafy vegetables and beetroot – could be a
simple strategy to reduce the risk of early macular degeneration.
Spinach has approximately 20mg of
nitrate per 100g, while beetroot has nearly 15mg of nitrate per 100g.
The research did not show any
additional benefits for people who exceeded 142mgs of dietary nitrate each day.
It also did not show any significant connections between vegetable nitrates and
late stage AMD, or between non-vegetable nitrates and AMD risk.
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.
The full paper is available online
at the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: https://jandonline.org/article/S2212-2672(18)30276-4/fulltext
The research was undertaken in
collaboration with colleagues from Centre for Kidney Research, Westmead;
University of Sydney; Edith Cowan University; and University of Western
Australia.
