Dear Living Well Daily Reader,
“Pass the bagels… I want to go blind.”
Said no one, ever.
But if you’re skipping over certain breakfast options for bagels, doughnuts, muffins or any other processed food, you might as well be wishing your eyesight away.
According to new research, eating one type of food and drinking a common morning beverage may be the key to keeping your eyes young and healthy by warding off age-related macular degeneration, or AMD.
AMD is a debilitating condition that can ruin your eyesight by attacking your macula, a tiny part of your retina that’s vital for sharp vision and focus.
And what’s even more alarming — advanced AMD leaves you unable to see the things directly in front of you. This means that eventually, you will no longer be able to drive, cook or even see the faces of your loved ones. This condition won’t leave you totally blind, you won’t be able to see the things you treasure the most.
Fortunately, researchers at the University of Coimbra, in Portugal, have found a few tasty ways to help you keep your vision crystal clear…
Eat This, Drink That, Keep Your Sight
The study, which was published in the journal Ophthalmology, involved 883 participants that were age 55 years or older. Of those, 449 were already suffering from the early stages of AMD and 434 did not have AMD. Scientists evaluated their diets using a questionnaire gauging how often they ate foods associated with a diet rich in fruits and veggies.
Next, the participants were assigned a score based on how closely they were following the produce-generous diet. The range of scores was 0–9. The higher the score, the more closely the participant followed the diet.
After crunching the numbers, the researchers were blown away with what they had discovered…
Folks who followed the diet closest slashed their risk of AMD by a whopping 35 percent!
When they took a closer look, they found that folks who ate more fruit (five ounces or more daily) and consumed caffeinated beverages (78 mg) were at an even greater advantage when it came to warding off AMD.
This is the equivalent of eating a navel orange and drinking a six-ounce cup of coffee.
This means if you’re having this healthy combo for breakfast, you’ve reduced your risk by 35 percent before noon!
Dr. Rufino Silva, lead author of the study and professor of ophthalmology at the University of Coimbra, reports, “This research adds to the evidence that a healthy, fruit-rich diet is important to health, including helping to protect against macular degeneration… We also think this work is a stepping stone towards effective preventive medicine in AMD.”
Of course, you can eat five ounces of any fruit you wish and drink any type of caffeine anytime you want and still see results.
I should also mention there is no proof that bagels or other carbs can make you go blind… yet, anyway.
But these processed-carb-riddled choices certainly don’t provide the healthy vitamins and powerful antioxidants that fruit can. These potent nutrients are just what your body needs to boost your overall health and protect your eyesight.
So skip those bagels and scoop up some fruit to keep those peepers in perfect shape.
Live well,
Natalie Moore
Managing editor, Living Well Daily
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