By Mae Chan
We’ve all been taught that carrots would keep our eyes sharp as a child, but as an adult, it looks like fruit such as apricots are even more important for keeping your sight. Data reported in a study published in the Archives of Opthamology indicates that eating 3 or more servings of fruit per day may lower your risk of age-related macular degeneration (ARMD), the primary cause of vision loss in older adults, by 36%, compared to persons who consume less than 1.5 servings of fruit daily.
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In this study, which involved over 100,000 women and men, researchers evaluated the effect of study participants’ consumption of fruits such as apricots among others; the antioxidant vitamins A, C, and E; and carotenoids on the development of early ARMD or neovascular ARMD, a more severe form of the illness associated with vision loss. Food intake information was collected periodically for up to 18 years for women and 12 years for men.
While, surprisingly, intakes of vegetables, antioxidant vitamins and carotenoids were not strongly related to incidence of either form of ARMD, fruit intake was definitely protective against the severe form of this vision-destroying disease.
Three servings of apricots may sound like a lot to eat each day, but by simply tossing a them into your morning smoothie or topping off a cup of yogurt or just snacking on an them and you’ve reached this goal.
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