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Spinach, Eggs Fight Blindness

Nutrients help ward off age-related vision loss

By Sam Gale Rosen,  Newser Staff

Posted Sep 11, 2007 3:55 PM CDT
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(Newser) – Nutrients found in spinach and eggs help stave off age-related blindness, a new study shows. Macular degeneration, the most common cause of vision loss in the elderly, was 35% less likely to develop in people who consumed the most eggs, spinach, and other leafy greens, which are rich in lutein and zeaxanthin, Reuters reports.

The study looked at the eating habits of over 4,500 people aged 60 to 80. It doesn't conclusively prove that the nutrients prevent the condition, but the two nutrients were the only ones that had a measurable effect on the development of blindness. Age-related macular degeneration, which affects the center of the field of vision, afflicts some 1.2 million Americans.

Steve Rispoli, supervisor of produce at Whole Foods Market in Middletown, N.J., arranges bagged produce, including fresh spinach, at the supermarket in this Jan. 31, 2007 file photo. The E. coli-contaminated fresh spinach recalled in Sept. 2006 was processed and packaged by Natural Selection Foods LLC, but sold under...
Steve Rispoli, supervisor of produce at Whole Foods Market in Middletown, N.J., arranges bagged produce, including fresh spinach, at the supermarket in this Jan. 31, 2007 file photo. The E. coli-contaminated...   (Associated Press)
(AP Photo/Joe Nicholson)
(AP Photo/Joe Nicholson)   (Associated Press)
FOOD REALCOOK-CHARD 1 OC
FOOD REALCOOK-CHARD 1 OC   (KRT Photos)
US NEWS YE-ECOLI-ADV31 2 SJ
US NEWS YE-ECOLI-ADV31 2 SJ   (KRT Photos)
Michigan State University horticulture professor John Biernbaum and student Staci Gibson harvest lettuce and spinach growing in a greenhouse in Lansing, Michigan. Smaller scale cold boxes can be made
Michigan State University horticulture professor John Biernbaum and student Staci Gibson harvest lettuce and spinach growing in a greenhouse in Lansing, Michigan. Smaller scale cold boxes can be made   (KRT Photos)
US NEWS YE-ECOLI-ADV31 1 SJ
US NEWS YE-ECOLI-ADV31 1 SJ   (KRT Photos)
US NEWS YE-ECOLI-ADV31 3 SJ
US NEWS YE-ECOLI-ADV31 3 SJ   (KRT Photos)
SPAIN. Sabugos. A woman returns from the fields with a headful of spinach. 1985. (LON48468)
SPAIN. Sabugos. A woman returns from the fields with a headful of spinach. 1985. (LON48468)   (Magnum Photos)
FOOD REALCOOK-CHARD 2 OC
FOOD REALCOOK-CHARD 2 OC   (KRT Photos)
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More info on the research and carotenoids
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Go to the source

Abstract of the journal article
Archives of Ophthalmology

 
eggs • spinach • blindness • macular degeneration • carotenoids

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