The full paper is available online at the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
An Orange a Day Keeps Macular Degeneration Away
By Heather Callaghan, Editor
Maybe the phrase “apple of my eye” needs a makeover. The results of a new, long-term study are nothing short of stunning when it comes to preventing the leading cause of vision loss.
Age-related macular degeneration is among the leading causes of blindness in the United States. An estimated 11 million Americans are thought to be affected by macular degeneration. It’s the leading cause of blindness in industrialized nations and ranks third globally for vision loss. With no known cure, it’s a life-altering problem in need of a remedy.
Fruit is among those preventions. So if anyone tells you that fruit is damaging to your health, say “that’s just crazy talk.” Because all the research I’ve seen points to the miraculous restorative effects of fruit, including its abilities to halt cancer! Remember, it takes about 30 years before research echoes from the doctor’s office, maybe 15 years at best. By reading this news on our site, you’ve got a cutting edge on real health solutions.
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In one of the world’s largest epidemiology studies to date, researchers from Westmead Institute for Medical Research found that those who ate oranges reduced their risk of macular degeneration by a whopping 60%.
More than 2,000 Australian adults over age 50 were enrolled. This study lasted 15 years and oranges in particular stood out as a definitive link to good eye health.
Most researchers have looked at fruit for the small amounts of vitamins C, E and A. But more recently, it is the flavonoids, polyphenols and other life-changing compounds that have caught their attention.
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.
She added,
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.
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.
Stop Starting at Blue Light – Limit Screen Time
Researchers recently discovered that the blue light emanating from our screens is actually contributing to permanent vision loss by increasing the damage that leads to macular degeneration. Interestingly, the color orange is the opposite of blue on the color wheel!
Other remedies to prevent vision loss
- Never look at phones, laptops or tablets in the dark! This causes permanent eye damage.
- Eat foods with high amounts of flavonoids – fruit is among the foods with the highest amounts.
- Consider Saffron! – Italian researchers gave human macular degeneration participants 20mg of saffron extract per day, and after three months there was an increase in vision up to 97%!
- use the Screen Shader app on my laptop and it has made all the difference! No more piercing eye strain while I read and work all day and into the evening. This Chrome extension shades away the blue light in order to match natural daylight. You can customize it, too.
- You could limit screen use to daytime only.
- There are also yellow glasses that people wear in the evenings to counteract the effects of blue light.
- Eat wild blueberries – people report better vision and they regrow neurons!
- Don’t forget to take many breaks throughout your workday – your boss will thank you.
Were you happy to hear that oranges protect vision? Sound-off below and don’t forget to share the good news!
DISCLAIMER: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
This article (An Orange a Day Keeps Macular Degeneration Away) was created by and appeared first at Natural Blaze. It can be reshared with attribution but MUST include link to homepage, bio, intact links and this message.
Heather Callaghan is an Energy Healer, consultant, independent researcher/writer, speaker and food & health freedom advocate. She is the Editor and co-founder of NaturalBlaze as well as a certified Self-Referencing IITM Practitioner. She has written over 1,200 articles and wants readers to empower themselves to take back their health!
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