More than 50? Why should you observe fruits and vegetables?

Eating a lot of fruits and vegetables could reduce the risk of an eye disease now affecting over 200,000 Kiwis.

Age-related macular degeneration, or AMD, is an increasingly common problem in people over 50 years of age. loss of central vision.

During her eight years of activity as an optometrist, patients often asked Naoko Chapman if she could do anything else to improve their vision

.

She returned to the University of Auckland and teamed up with associate professor optometrist Rob Jacobs and graduate dietitian Andrea Braakhuis to investigate links with the diet

. beta-carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E and copper, as well as zinc.

Supplements have been found to reduce the progression of ocular disease from early to advanced stages of AMD, but zinc "Although I find it interesting, the drawback of completing the studies is that". they do not include the complex nutrient composition of foods and diets representing the way we eat every day, "Chapman said.

"Studies on supplements are not limited to one goal: most studies have focused on a few nutrients or foods, making it difficult to examine the effect of total diet on the vision. "

Chapman and his colleagues Trawled through more than 1300 published articles, before analyzing 18 high-quality studies.

Evidence from the research found that sticking to a Mediterranean diet was linked to a decreased risk of progression of AMD.

higher consumption of vegetables, legumes, fruits, whole grains, tomatoes and seafood – was less associated with the prevalence of AMD.

Specifically, eating a lot of carotenoid-rich and omega-3-containing vegetables

A Western diet – with higher consumption of red meat, processed meat, high-fat dairy products, Fried potatoes, refined cereals and eggs – was more associated with AMD. More than two alcoholic beverages a day

The team also found an increased link between AMD and diets containing high glycemic index foods, such as sugar, white and some whole breads, and rice white

. The quality of the diet, the increase in the consumption of foods that contain the nutrients required by the retina and avoid foods that cause cell damage will play an important role in the protection against AMD, "said Mr. Chapman

for all health professionals to better understand nutrition so that nutrition counseling can be an important aspect of eye disease prevention and management. "

Chapman stated that It was difficult to assess the effect of the diet. "

" Until there are such long-term studies, we should think well of eat and not rely on fast food solutions. "

Although his study gave no easy solution, the takeaway was nonetheless simple.

" Let's eat more vegetables and fruits and make a plan to long term to eat good food for the body; including your eyes. "