Eating fruit may reduce the risk of developing age-related macular
degeneration, a leading cause of blindness in older people, according
to a new
study.
Researchers found that people who ate at least three servings of fruit
a day
had a 36 percent lower risk of developing age-related macular
degeneration
than people who ate fewer than 1.5 servings a day.
Bananas The study is published in the June issue of the Archives of
Ophthalmology.
Researchers analyzed data from 118,428 men and women over a period of
up to 18
years. 77,562 of study participants were woman who were part of the
Nurses'
Health Study, and 40,866 were men who who were part of the Health
Professionals Follow-up Study. All participants were 50 years of age or
older
when first enrolled in the study, with no evidence of age-related
macular
degeneration.
Participants completed surveys over the period of the study about their
diets
as well as their vitamin and supplement use.
A total of 464 study participants, 329 women and 135 men developed
early stage
age-related macular degeneration (ARM). Another 316 participants (217
women
and 99) men developed neovascular ARM, a more severe type of the
condition.
Researchers found bananas and oranges provide the best protection
against
developing neovascular ARM, the severe form of the disease, however,
they also
noted eating more vegetables did not appear to show any benefit.
In conclusion, "In these large prospective cohorts of women and men, we
found
that higher fruit intake was related to a reduced risk of neovascular
ARM.
However, none of the vitamins or carotenoids examined was clearly
related to
disease. Further studies are needed to confirm our findings and to
identify
the relevant compound(s) in fruits", wrote the authors of the study.
