One
of the best ways to protect yourself from vision loss that often accompanies
aging may be frequent trips to the salad bar and the supermarket vegetable
section, Florida International University researchers say.
Dark green leafy vegetables
such as broccoli, spinach, collards, turnip greens and yellow vegetables and
fruits such as apricots are rich in biochemical substances that protect vision
from one of the major factors in age-related macular degeneration, say Richard
Bone, professor of physics, and John Landrum, associate professor of chemistry,
in the latest issue of the journal Methods in Enzymology.
Age-related macular degeneration
leads to irreversible loss of eyesight, and it affects an estimated 25 percent
of people older than 65, and 35 percent of those older than 35.
The vegetables contain lutein
and zeaxanthin. In humans, those substances combine to form macular pigment,
which protects the small part of the retina called the macula. The macula,
about one-tenth of an inch in diameter, processes the high-resolution images
essential for reading, matching colors, sewing and any activity requiring
detailed vision.
Blue light waves - which
occur in most light - are believed to be deadly to the light-receiving cells
of the macula, Landrum said. Cells exposed to the blue light die and scar
tissue forms.
Macular pigment guards against
the damage by acting as natural sunglasses, Landrum said. The yellow pigment
filters out harmful blue light waves before they can reach the macula.
Researchers determined that
people with age-related macular degeneration were likely to have lower macular
pigment levels.
And they used themselves
as guinea pigs. After taking a lutein supplement for 140 days, they found
that the macular pigment levels in their own eyes increased from 20 to 40
percent, which would reduce the amount of blue light reaching the macula by
30 to 40 percent.
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