Scientists have confirmed what our elders have been saying all along about carrots – that the vegetable improves your eyesight. Its pigments – called carotenoids – which lend vegetables like carrots, spinach and peppers their colours – can delay the progression of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), one of the most common causes of vision loss in older people, reports the Daily Mail.
The study carried out by Harvard researchers, used data from a population survey of more than 100,000 over-50s for a period of 25 years. It was discovered that those who consumed the highest levels of some other forms of carotenoids – alpha-carotene, beta-carotene and beta-cryptoxanthin – had a 25 percent to 35 per cent lower risk of advanced AMD.
In other words the study suggests that carotenoids may slow down deterioration of AMD once it occurs. These findings were published in the journal of JAMA Opthalmology.
