Oranges may improve your vision, prevent macular degeneration

Eat oranges for beautiful eyes. Oranges may help improve vision and prevent vision loss. People on a daily orange diet are less likely to suffer from macular degeneration - the leading cause of vision loss, a study by Australian researchers claims.

 While there is no cure for macular degeneration, eating oranges daily may help to treat the eye disease which is a part of the ageing process in humans. Age is said to be the strongest known risk factor for macular degeneration. The disease is more likely to occur after the age of 50.

Why should you eat oranges?

The study shows that people who ate at least one serving of oranges every day had more than a 60 per cent reduced risk of developing late macular degeneration 15 years later. The flavonoids in oranges appear to help prevent the eye disease, the study says.

What are Flavanoids?

Flavonoids are powerful antioxidants found in almost all fruits and vegetables, and they have important anti-inflammatory benefits for the immune system.

The study conducted by researchers at the Westmead Institute for Medical Research in Australia was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. They interviewed over 2,000 adults aged over 50 and followed them over a 15-year period.

How often one should eat oranges?

Eat oranges daily: “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,” according to lead researcher Bamini Gopinath, an associate professor at the University of Sydney. 

Eat oranges weekly: “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.

“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,” Gopinath said.

While a cure for macular degeneration is yet to be found, try eating oranges regularly to improve your vision and save your eyes from vision lost.

What is macular degeneration?

Macular degeneration is a medical condition which may result in blurred or no vision in the centre of the visual field.