What do grapefruit, broccoli, and strawberries have in common?
According to a British study, they are foods rich in vitamin C, which helps prevent cataracts.
Cataracts are clouding of the eye’s lens that occurs naturally with age. According to the World Health Organization, the condition is the leading cause of blindness worldwide.
Researchers at King’s College London looked at data from more than 1,000 pairs of female twins to see what factors might help prevent cataracts. They tracked the vitamin C intake and other nutrients from foods and supplements. They also recorded how opaque the subjects’ lenses were when they were around 60 and followed up with 324 pairs of twins about 10 years later.
The study showed that over the past decade, women who ate more vitamin C-rich foods had a 33 percent lower risk of developing cataracts. Their lenses were also sharper in general.
“While we can’t completely avoid developing cataracts, we can delay their onset and prevent them from getting significantly worse by eating a diet rich in vitamin C,” said study author Christopher Hammond, M.D., professor of Ophthalmology at King’s College London, UK. The researchers note that the findings only apply to vitamins consumed through food, not supplements.
Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant. The fluid inside the eyeball is usually rich in a compound similar to vitamin C that helps prevent oxidation from causing clouding of the lens. Consuming more vitamin C in the diet may increase the amount around the lens, providing additional protection.
Because the study was conducted on twins, the team was also able to calculate the role of genetic factors versus environmental factors in cataract progression. While environmental factors such as diet accounted for 65 percent, genetic factors accounted for only 35 percent, suggesting that diet and lifestyle may outweigh genetic factors.
The study, “Genetic and Dietary Factors Influencing the Progression of Nuclear Cataract,” will be published in Ophthalmology, the official journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, in June.
